The accuracy of proxy responses in a stated choice setting: A re-examination and some controversial conclusions

Data is typically gathered from an individual respondent who represents the group or the household. This individual is often identified as the “primary decision maker” and is asked to provide responses as a proxy for the group given that the cost of interviewing each member individually is impractical and/or expensive. The collection of joint preferences is rarely undertaken, with the use of proxy responses not uncommon in travel behaviour research. Under such a framework, there exists an assumption that the primary decision maker has perfect knowledge of other group member preferences, and bargaining behaviour, and is able to synthesise this information when providing a response on their behalf. The validity of such an assumption however remains an open question, with recent research calling the reliability of proxy responses into account (Bateman and Munro, 2009). In this paper, using three models estimated in willingness to pay space, we examine the accuracy of proxy responses in a stated choice experiment. We find that there is overlap between a proxy response and the own preferences of the individual providing the proxy choice, but while the proxy responses fail to represent the full preference heterogeneity that exists in the actual choices made by individuals, the proxy responses in aggregate provide a suitable replacement for actual data, subject to a number of caveats.     

Surface street traffic volume and single-family house price

This study investigates the relationship between surface street traffic volume and single-family house prices in a relatively small city in the US. Hedonic price models are estimated using data from 9670 transactions that occurred between January 1998 and March 2011. It is discovered that parcels fronting or adjacent to a high-traffic street sell, on average, at an 8.1% discount compared to similar parcels that are not so situated. Restricting the analysis to parcels on or adjacent to a high-traffic street, house price and traffic volume are found to be negatively related; a doubling of volume from any particular traffic count, ceteris paribus, reduces selling price by an average of 2.1%.     

Traffic noise abatement: How different pavements, vehicle speeds and traffic densities affect annoyance levels

In this paper, annoyance ratings from traffic noise recorded on cobblestones, dense asphalt, and open asphalt rubber pavements are assessed with regard to car speeds and traffic densities. It was found that cobblestones pavements are the most annoying; also while open asphalt rubber pavement imposes less annoyance than dense asphalt it is not significantly different. Higher car speeds always lead to greater annoyance, as does higher traffic densities. LAeq and LAmax correlate well with annoyance, but loudness is the best predictor. Roughness and sharpness exhibit inconsistent interactions.     

Ridership drivers of bus rapid transit systems

We have collected information on 46 bus rapid transit (BRT) systems throughout the world to investigate the potential patronage drivers. From a large number of candidate explanatory variables (quantitative and qualitative), 11 sources of systematic variation are identified which have a statistically significant impact on daily passenger-trip numbers. These sources are fare, headway, the length of the BRT network, the number of corridors, average distance between stations; whether there is: an integrated network of routes and corridors, modal integration at BRT stations, pre-board fare collection and fare verification, quality control oversight from an independent agency, at-level boarding and alighting, as well as the location of BRT. The findings of this paper offer important insights into features of BRT systems that are positive contributors to growing patronage and hence should be taken into account in designing and planning BRT systems.     

Tradeoffs among free-flow speed, capacity, cost, and environmental footprint in highway design

This paper investigates differentiated design standards as a source of capacity additions that are more affordable and have smaller aesthetic and environmental impacts than modern expressways. We consider several tradeoffs, including narrow versus wide lanes and shoulders on an expressway of a given total width, and high-speed expressway versus lower-speed arterial. We quantify the situations in which off-peak traffic is sufficiently great to make it worthwhile to spend more on construction, or to give up some capacity, in order to provide very high off-peak speeds even if peak speeds are limited by congestion. We also consider the implications of differing accident rates. The results support expanding the range of highway designs that are considered when adding capacity to ameliorate urban road congestion.     

CFD Analysis of Ship-to-Ship Hydrodynamic Interaction

A numerical study of ship-to-ship interaction forces is performed using a commercial CFD code, and the results are compared with experimental data and with the results of a panel method analysis. Two ship models have been used in the interaction forces analysis: a tug and a tanker, advancing parallel to each other with different lateral distances and two different values of the fluid depth. Computations are carried out with four different flow models: inviscid and viscous flow with the free surface modeled as a rigid wall and inviscid and viscous flow with the deformable free surface. A fair agreement was obtained with available experimental data and results obtained by panel method. The influence of viscosity in the computations is found to be comparatively weak, while the wavemaking effects may be important, at small magnitude of the horizontal clearance.     

Effects of the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative on the wine import logistics of China

China’s Belt and Road (BR) initiative is expected to facilitate international trade between the countries involved. In this study, we review the special requirements of wine logistics and the market growth potential of wine consumption in China. A model minimizing generalized logistical costs is developed and applied to wine imports in China, so that the best candidate cities in which to locate transport gateways and distribution centers can be identified. Our analysis suggests that the most preferred gateways are Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong, which all have similar delivery costs. In comparison, Beijing and Chongqing have much higher delivery costs, mainly because they do not have good access to marine transport and/or efficient domestic distribution networks. For long-distance intercontinental transport of large volumes of wine, marine shipping remains the only viable delivery mode. However, wine distribution within China extensively uses air, road, and water transport. Therefore, cities with excellent multi-modal transport services are better positioned to become wine logistics gateways. Our study also highlights the importance of value-added services and good government support, which are important factors that influence distribution costs and quality.     

Development of railway station choice models to improve the representation of station catchments in rail demand models

ABSTRACT

This paper describes the development of railway station choice models suitable for defining probabilistic station catchments. These catchments can then be incorporated into the aggregate demand models typically used to forecast demand for new rail stations. Revealed preference passenger survey data obtained from the Welsh and Scottish Governments was used for model calibration. Techniques were developed to identify trip origins and destinations from incomplete address information and to automatically validate reported trips. A bespoke trip planner was used to derive mode-specific station access variables and train leg measures. The results from a number of multinomial logit and random parameter (mixed) logit models are presented and their predictive performance assessed. The models were found to have substantially superior predictive accuracy compared to the base model (which assumes the nearest station has a probability of one), indicating that their incorporation into passenger demand forecasting methods has the potential to significantly improve model predictive performance.     

Back-Calculation of Ground Stress Field and Rockburst Analysis for Wunvfeng Tunnel北大核心CSCD

Studying the in-situ stress distribution at a tunnel site is very important to determine surrounding rock characteristics, the engineering design and the construction scheme. By using the multiple linear regression method based on the least square algorithm, the initial geostress field is analyzed and the corresponding regression coefficients are obtained. The ground stress obtained from the proposed back analysis is reasonable and can meet the demands of the engineering applications. From the rockburst risk level distribution diagram, it is speculated that the Wunvfeng tunnel is in the high filed stress area. Field monitoring should be strengthened and emergency plans should be made to cope with the rockburst risks during the construction process. © 2018, Editorial Office of "Modern Tunnelling Technology". All right reserved.     

Experimental Study on Mechanical Behaviors of Prefabricated Column-Base Joint with Grouted Sleeves Connecting Longitudinal Reinforcements in Tunnels北大核心CSCD

In recent years, large shield tunnels with internal double-decked lanes have been developing rapidly in the field of highway tunnels, and prefabricated elements are increasingly adopted in internal structure. Based on the columns-base joint in Zhuguanglu tunnel, which is under construction, 2 full-scale specimens are designed for the quasi-static test, one specimen is connected with grout sleeve splicing and the other is cast in place. The test results show that: the bearing capacity of specimen with grout sleeve splicing is equal to that of cast-in-situ specimen, but its ductility and energy dissipation capacity are worse than that of the cast-in-situ specimen. And for the specimen with grout sleeve splicing, there exists crack concentration on the area above the sleeve. The crack width is too larger in this area. © 2018, Editorial Office of "Modern Tunnelling Technology". All right reserved.