Use of an activity diary survey to examine travel and activity reporting in a home interview survey: An example using data from Adelaide,Australia

Research presented in this paper uses results from an acitivity diary survey to comment on the quality of data collected in a home interview travel survey. The two surveys were conducted in Adelaide, Australia. Evidence is presented to suggest that although a period of slightly more than three years separated the two surveys, the samples were reasonably similar with respect to their socio-demographic composition and real mobility levels. There was, however, a much higher level of travel and out-of-home activity reporting in the activity diary when compared to the home interview survey. Differences in reporting rates are examined in detail and areas of deficiency with the home interview survey are identified. The paper concludes with a short discussion of the possible implications of these deficiencies when home interview survey data is used to investigate a range of urban transport issues.     

Microeconomic theory and generalised cost

In a number of articles in this journal the use of generalised cost in travel demand analysis and transport planning has been subject to debate. However, some of the fundamental problems raised in these articles are left unanswered — e.g., the precise relationship between conventional microeconomic consumer demand theory and generalised cost, an issue with which this article is concerned. It is shown here that necessary and sufficient conditions for expressing travel demand in terms of generalised cost are that this cost, when measured in monetary units, is linear, and that the time variable is weighted by a constant marginal value of time. It is also shown that these conditions imply strong assumptions about the consumer's behaviour — e.g., that the willingness to pay to save time whilst travelling is not a function of real income.     

Locating and sizing park-ride lots with interactive computer graphs

Two alternative methods for conducting a preliminary analysis of the problem of locating and sizing park-ride lots for an urban bus transit system are examined. These alternative methods are tested using a large and complex street network representing the northern half of the City of Seattle, Washington. Four design criteria are identified and an overall measure of system performance is devised. The problem is to determine the size and location of three park-ride lots that will maximize the performance of the system. The first method utilizes a computing system called LOCATOR II in an interactive graphic mode. In an experimental setting, five students use LOCATOR II to locate three park-ride lots and their solutions are found to exhibit a very high average level of performance. The second method does not involve a direct interaction with the computing system but does use LOCATOR II in a batch mode. Several students participate in three rounds of the batch mode experiment and the performance of their designs is somewhat poorer than the designs found in the interactive graphics experiment. Overall, the experimental results show that relatively inexperienced persons can find a high performance design for a reasonably complex problem quickly and inexpensively. These designs can provide a good starting point for the detailed consideration of many of the other aspects of the problem of providing a high performance bus transit service in an urban area.     

Energy consumption,pollutant production,and dollar costs of diesel suburban commuter trains

The results presented in this report are based on data obtained from Chicago's three largest diesel commuter railroads. Those aspects of their operations that relate to energy and pollution are described. Service characteristics, such as average occupancy and average trip distance, are presented. Energy consumption results are presented and discussed. With energy efficiency measured in passenger-miles per Btu, it is found that trips by diesel commuter train are 3.5 times more energy efficient than Chicago Central Area auto trips. The total trip from home to suburban station, then by train to a downtown terminal, is found to be 2.2 times more energy efficient than Chicago Central Area auto trips. Pollutant production rates are presented for five pollutants. For every pollutant except sulfur oxides, trains are found to be less polluting per passenger-mile than autos. Per passenger-mile pollutant emissions from trains are, overall, less damaging by a factor of 5.5 than the per passenger-mile emissions from autos. Travel on these diesel commuter trains is less costly to society than auto travel (1972 suburban-based autos). This is the case whether one compares the train trip alone with an auto trip or the home-to-suburb an-station-tlien-to-a-downtown-terminal trip with a home-to-downtown auto trip.     

Stated preference analysis of travel choices: the state of practice

Stated preference (SP) methods are widely used in travel behaviour research and practice to identify behavioural responses to choice situations which are not revealed in the market, and where the attribute levels offered by existing choices are modified to such an extent that the reliability of revealed preference models as predictors of response is brought into question. This paper reviews recent developments in the application of SP models which add to their growing relevance in demand modelling and prediction. The main themes addressed include a comparative assessment of choice models and preference models, the importance of scaling when pooling different types of data, especially the appeal of SP data as an enriching strategy in the context of revealed preference models, hierarchical designs when the number of attributes make single experiments too complex for the respondent, and ways of accommodating dynamics (i.e. serial correlation and state dependence) in SP modelling.An earlier modified version was presented as the keynote address to the 1993 National Conference on Tourism Research, held at the University of Sydney, 19 March 1993. The comments of Jordan Louviere, Lester Johnson, Paul Hooper, W.G. Waters II and Mark Bradley are appreciated.     

Dense network traffic models,Travel time reliability and traffic management. I: General introduction

This paper is the first of a pair of papers discussing two main themes concerning dense network modelling. These themes are: (1) the changing nature of traffic management technology and the underlying objectives behind traffic management practice, and (2) the use of measures of network reliability in models, especially as an element of the evaluation of alternative network configurations. This paper considers the role and function of dense network models, and their relationships with other transport network models on the basis of the hierarchical view of models. It then explores the peculiar characteristics of dense network models and provides examples of typical models. Changing needs for modelling capabilities, in terms of the evolution of traffic management technology and practice are discussed, pointing the way to future model developments. The companion paper develops the second theme through the definition and application of a set of network reliability indices that may be applied to different trip movements.     

Do motor-vehicle users in the US pay their way?

Governments in the US spend over a hundred billion dollars per year to build and maintain roads and provide a variety of services for motor-vehicle users. To pay for these infrastructure and services governments collect revenue from a variety of taxes and fees. The basic objective of this paper is to compare these government expenditures with the corresponding user tax and fee payments in the US. At the outset I argue that the such comparisons tell us something about the equity but not necessarily the economic efficiency of highway financing. I then present four different ways one might tally up government expenditures and user payments, depending on the extent to which one wishes to count “indirect” expenditures (e.g., on prosecuting car thieves) and non-targeted general-tax payments (e.g., severance taxes on oil). I make a comprehensive analysis of all possible expenditures and payments, and then compare them according to three of the four ways of counting expenditures and payments. The analysis indicates that in the US current tax and fee payments to the government by motor-vehicle users fall short of government expenditures related to motor-vehicle use by approximately 20–70 cents per gallon of all motor fuel. (Note that in this accounting we include only government expenditures; we do not include any “external” costs of motor-vehicle use.) The extent to which one counts indirect government expenditures related to motor-vehicle use is a key factor in the comparison.     

Modeling residential sorting effects to understand the impact of the built environment on commute mode choice

This paper presents an examination of the significance of residential sorting or self selection effects in understanding the impacts of the built environment on travel choices. Land use and transportation system attributes are often treated as exogenous variables in models of travel behavior. Such models ignore the potential self selection processes that may be at play wherein households and individuals choose to locate in areas or built environments that are consistent with their lifestyle and transportation preferences, attitudes, and values. In this paper, a simultaneous model of residential location choice and commute mode choice that accounts for both observed and unobserved taste variations that may contribute to residential self selection is estimated on a survey sample extracted from the 2000 San Francisco Bay Area household travel survey. Model results show that both observed and unobserved residential self selection effects do exist; however, even after accounting for these effects, it is found that built environment attributes can indeed significantly impact commute mode choice behavior. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the model findings for policy planning.

欧洲客车设计案例剖析--伊利萨尔客车

旅游客车制造业是一个既专业又特殊的行业。乍一看,它理应归属于汽车制造业;但从产品的实际情形以及相对较小的年产量来看,它又应归属于手工艺品行业;在这里可以看到,机械制造结合了手工艺,汽车造型融入了建筑艺术。这篇文章概述了伊利萨尔旅游客车的设计过程:从与客户的第一次     

Study on lateral dynamic characteristics of vehicle/turnout system

Based on Chinese No. 12 high speed, single-way swing nose rail concrete sleeper turnout, a comprehensive vehicle/turnout system coupling dynamic model has been established in this paper, and the lateral and vertical dynamic characteristics of vehicle/turnout systems have been simulated while the car passes through the turnout zone on divergence. These dynamic characteristics show that the lateral impact and vibration of the systems caused by the wheel/rail contact and irregularity are very intensive, especially at the switch zone and nose area of the turnout, and the lateral dynamics of the turnout system, such as lateral stability, vibrating responses, impacting and the allowable passing velocity force between the wheelsets and the switch rails are much more complicated than that of the vertical ones.