Time taken for residents to adopt a new public transport service: examining heterogeneity through duration modelling

When a new public transport service is introduced it would be valuable for public authorities, financing organisations and transport operators to know how long it will take for people to start to use the service and what factors influence this. This paper presents results from research analysing the time taken for residents living close to a new guided bus service to start to use (or adopt) the service. Data was obtained from a sample of residents on whether they used the new service and the number of weeks after the service was introduced before they first used it. Duration modelling has been used to analyse how the likelihood of starting to use the new service changes over time (after the introduction of the service) and to examine what factors influence this. It is found that residents who have not used the new service are increasingly unlikely to use it as time passes. Those residents gaining greater accessibility benefits from the new service are found to be quicker to use the service, although the size of this effect is modest compared to that of other between-resident differences. Allowance for the possibility that there existed a proportion of the sample that would never use the new service was tested using a split population model (SPD) model. The SPD model indicates that 36% of residents will never use the new service and is informative in differentiating factors that influence whether Route 20 is used and when it is used.

Second best toll and capacity optimisation in networks: solution algorithm and policy implications

This paper looks at the first and second best jointly optimal toll and road capacity investment problems from both policy and technical oriented perspectives. On the technical side, the paper investigates the applicability of the constraint cutting algorithm for solving the second best problem under elastic demand which is formulated as a bilevel programming problem. The approach is shown to perform well despite several problems encountered by our previous work in Shepherd and Sumalee (Netw. Spat. Econ., 4(2): 161–179, 2004). The paper then applies the algorithm to a small sized network to investigate the policy implications of the first and second best cases. This policy analysis demonstrates that the joint first best structure is to invest in the most direct routes while reducing capacities elsewhere. Whilst unrealistic this acts as a useful benchmark. The results also show that certain second best policies can achieve a high proportion of the first best benefits while in general generating a revenue surplus. We also show that unless costs of capacity are known to be low then second best tolls will be affected and so should be analysed in conjunction with investments in the network.

Identifying optimal data aggregation interval sizes for link and corridor travel time estimation and forecasting

With the recent increase in the deployment of ITS technologies in urban areas throughout the world, traffic management centers have the ability to obtain and archive large amounts of data on the traffic system. These data can be used to estimate current conditions and predict future conditions on the roadway network. A general solution methodology for identifying the optimal aggregation interval sizes for four scenarios is proposed in this article: (1) link travel time estimation, (2) corridor/route travel time estimation, (3) link travel time forecasting, and (4) corridor/route travel time forecasting. The methodology explicitly considers traffic dynamics and frequency of observations. A formulation based on mean square error (MSE) is developed for each of the scenarios and interpreted from a traffic flow perspective. The methodology for estimating the optimal aggregation size is based on (1) the tradeoff between the estimated mean square error of prediction and the variance of the predictor, (2) the differences between estimation and forecasting, and (3) the direct consideration of the correlation between link travel time for corridor/route estimation and forecasting. The proposed methods are demonstrated using travel time data from Houston, Texas, that were collected as part of the automatic vehicle identification (AVI) system of the Houston Transtar system. It was found that the optimal aggregation size is a function of the application and traffic condition.

Regulation of the informal transport sector in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil: welfare impacts and policy analysis

In Brazil, the explosion of informal transport activity during the past decade has had profound effects on formal public transport systems and is a source of great controversy in the urban transportation sector. A variety of policies have been proposed to manage the growth of the sector. This study seeks to understand how proposed policies will impact the users of these systems. A corridor in Rio de Janeiro with substantial informal activity was used as a case study. Measures of welfare changes in a discrete choice framework were used to estimate proposed policies’ impacts on users. Eleven candidate policies were evaluated, ranging from the eradication of the informal modes and investment in formal modes, to the legalization of the informal modes. Benefits were compared with costs and the distribution of benefits across income classes was explored. Net benefits from some policies were found to be substantial. Legalizing the informal sector was found to benefit users slightly but further investments in the sector are probably inefficient. Users benefited most from improvements in formal mass transit modes, at roughly 100–200 dollars per commuter per year. Finally, policies to foster a competitive environment for the delivery of both informal and formal services were shown to benefit users about 100 dollars per commuter per year. Together, the regulation of the informal sector and investments in the formal sector serve to reinforce the movement towards competitive concessions for services and help reduce the impacts of cartelization and costly in-road competition.

管棚超前支护在平顶直墙隧道中的优化设计

管棚法作为浅埋暗挖隧道的一种辅助工法在防止隧道塌方、控制地层位移方面发挥着重要作用.管棚设计需要确定两个基本参数--间距、截面尺寸.而管棚的设计理论还不够成熟.文章引入土拱原理可以计算管棚的最大间距;而对于截面尺寸.提出在弹性地基梁法的基础上,考虑隧道开挖影响并结合增量法进行计算较为合理.同时认为,两个基本参数的相互影响必须综合考虑,假定管棚直径进行间距设计,应根据管棚受力分析进行校核,通过多次循环假定、计算、校核以得到较为合理的管棚设计参数.     

沿海港口发展环境及适应性分析

立足于国际经贸环境、中国国民经济以及中国对外贸易发展和产业布局调整的最新形势,分析当前全国沿海港口发展的阶段性特点及面临的宏观环境。提出码头评估能力的概念,客观分析港口吞吐量统计数据的构成,就沿海港口评估能力与运输需求的总体适应性、分区域适应性、发展结构适应性以及与产业布局适应性进行探讨,提出问题及建议,展望港口发展态势。     

稀燃快燃点火系研发的试验研究

利用火花能量转换原理和能量叠加原理．提出了一种稀燃快燃点火系．简要介绍和分析了它的组成及工作原理．并对其匹配传统点燃式发动机的适应性进行了试验研究.     

快速脱缆钩过载问题分析与解决措施研究

本文介绍了巴基斯坦卡西LNG码头双船并靠模式的快速脱缆钩布置和选型方法,介绍了FSRU/LNG船舶的系缆过程以及在这个过程中发生的快速脱缆钩过载停车故障问题,针对停车故障问题,分别进行了三次现场检测研究,通过检测引缆过程中快速脱缆钩绞盘电动机内的电压和电流,计算出电动机的实际功率和实际拉力,并针对检测结果的详细分析研究...     

Fault diagnosis for singular stochastic systems

This paper studies the fault diagnosis of singular stochastic systems. The probability distribution of output is measured by probability density functions (PDFs), which are modeled by a square root B-spline expansion. An adaptive nonlinear observer is proposed to estimate the size of the fault occurring in systems. Furthermore, the linear matrix inequality (LMI) approach is applied to establish sufficient conditions for the existence of the observer. Finally, the simulation results are given to indicate the method for diagnosing the fault.