Lightweight Occupancy Estimation on Freeways Using Extended Floating Car Data

Advanced traffic management systems rely heavily on technology to perform accurate estimations of the current state of the traffic as well as its short-term evolution. The objectives are improving traffic flow and enhancing road safety. Their success is based on accurate monitoring of two key variables, specifically speed and occupancy. The latter of the two has, to date, received significantly less attention from the scientific community. In this work we present a lightweight method to perform “on-line” occupancy estimation. We first propose three occupancy measurements calculated from data collected by a floating car: vehicle count, percentage of stop time, and headway. We then extend these discrete values to a continuous estimation of occupancy in space and time. The proposed estimators are based on a pairwise linear regression of each of the previously calculated measurements over certain references obtained from other floating cars or magnetic loop detectors. The method has been calibrated and validated under real traffic conditions and data. Despite the ease of implementation, the method is able to reproduce the occupancy values generated by the actual loop detectors, achieving promising results, with estimation errors down to 6.52%, even before multivehicle systems are considered.     

Benzene concentrations on board chemical tankers

Maritime transport of benzene is regulated by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). Two important guidelines for a ship’s crew in this matter are IMO circulars 1095 and 1220. The first one describes the minimum safety standards for ships carrying liquids in bulk containing benzene while circular 1220 deals with structural guidelines for new ships carrying liquids in bulk containing benzene, but also technical developments could help in improving safety and health protection on board chemical tankers carrying benzene in bulk. The aim of the present paper is to determine the benzene concentration in the working and living environment on board a modern chemical tanker carrying benzene in bulk, where all safety, technical and operational procedures described by IMO in the above-mentioned circulars are followed. During specific cargo operations, we measured the benzene concentrations on different locations on board by means of Radiello® passive diffusive samplers. Despite all measures taken, we found an important difference in benzene concentration between operations with a benzene cargo compared to operations without benzene on board, as well as inside and outside the accommodation. Moreover, even during discharge operations, where the emission is theoretically zero, we found an important increase in the benzene concentration. In addition, we found less favourable results for the engine room.     

Factors that affect the ability of people with disabilities to walk or wheel to destinations in their community: a scoping review

ABSTRACT

It is essential that the pedestrian environment accommodates all users so they can participate in everything the community has to offer. However, people with disabilities (PWDs) often find it difficult to navigate this environment because of physical and social accessibility factors. While we know a great deal about which factors act as barriers and facilitators to mobility, we do not know enough about how they influence navigation (i.e. planning a route, en route decisions, and route learning) or how they can be improved. A scoping review was conducted to identify these factors, assess their implications, and suggest future directions. In total, 3394 studies were found and screened, 163 full-text articles were reviewed, and 37 articles met the inclusion criteria for the final review. These studies focused on those with visual impairments, navigating crosswalks, and the cognitive elements of navigation. Future research is needed that includes more types of disabilities, considers the navigational process from planning to arrival, and evaluates interventions.     

Influence of the weather on mode choice in corridors with time-varying congestion: a mixed data study

Studies that link human behaviour to the influence of weather have historically been conducted in such fields as tourism, marketing and leisure. In most studies that jointly examine weather and the mode of transport, only open-air transportation has been considered (for example, bicycle, motorcycle or walking). This focus, together with the habitual use of data collected with automatic devices and a lack of studies that analyse this issue using stated preference data, are the main reasons motivating this paper. This paper aims to analyse the influence of weather and the density of traffic on the choice of transport mode. A case study is conducted in an access/egress corridor located in the city of Barcelona (Spain). Two data sources were used: revealed preference and stated preference data. Modelling techniques using mixed data enabled the stronger features from both data sources to be captured. Finally, we discuss how the selection of different alternative specific constants in models estimated using mixed data could generate unrealistic forecasting results if environmental changes are expected in the actual market.     

Potential economic benefits of using a weather ship routing system at Short Sea Shipping

This contribution investigates the economic benefits of using weather ship routing on Short Sea Shipping (SSS) activities. The investigation is supported with the development of a ship routing system based on pathfinding algorithm, the parametrization of the wave effect on navigation, and the use of high-resolution meteo-oceanographic predictions. The optimal ship routing analysis is investigated in a European SSS system: the link between Spanish and Italian ports. The results show the economic benefits using ship routing in SSS during energetic wave episodes. The rate of cost savings may reach 18% of the total costs under particular bad weather conditions in the navigation area. The work establishes the basis of further developments in optimal route applied in relatively short distances and its systematic use in the SSS maritime industry.     

Shifting urban freight deliveries to the off-peak hours: a review of theory and practice

This paper presents a comprehensive review of the literature on off-peak hour deliveries (OPHD). The review identifies different approaches and policy levers used in the past, such as the laissez-faire approach, a road pricing approach, an incentives approach, and a regulatory approach. The paper also identifies different delivery reception schemes discussed in the literature. The authors complement the theory with a synthesis of pilot tests and the analysis of a set of interviews with practitioners (from the public sector and other organisations) in charge of OPHD programmes. The results from this review show the potential benefits that these programmes could bring about, the challenges faced in the early stages – along with potential solutions – and the significant progress that has been made in this domain in the last decade. According to the review, the results from the pilot tests tend to be positive, suggesting the importance of these programmes to reach more efficient and sustainable transportation systems.     

Sail-assisted motor vessels weather routing using a fuzzy logic model

In this study sail-assisted motor vessels weather routing is investigated to establish the most economical route by applying available information of the ship's behavior regarding the encountered sea-conditions. To derive the vessel’s fuel use on a route, a fuzzy logic model is constructed through an automated identification process. Only data collected from actual integrated bridge measurements systems is used. Fuzzy modeling is a framework providing a flexible and transparent mathematical structure to describe the physical relationships in a vessel's behavior. This consumption model is integrated into a determinist weather-routing optimization workflow based on a systematic meshing scheme of the sailing area. Pareto-optimization with a multi-objective genetic algorithm is used to maximize fuel economy in a limited or optimum time. The benefits of the developed decision helping tool in sail-assisted motor vessel routing are highlighted on a westbound north Transatlantic journey.     

Factors Affecting Knowledge,Perceptions, and Attitudes Regarding North Carolina Coastal Reserve Management

During the period May 25–October 28, 2007, we collected data in face-to-face interviews on four sites in the North Carolina Research Reserve system. We subsequently conducted analyses on the effects of education, income, length of visitation, and frequency of visitation on visitor knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes regarding management. Visitors to the sites were well-educated, listed incomes above the state median, and were racially homogeneous. At the overall level, the majority (63%) knew who owned the sites, but only 43% correctly identified the managing agency. The majority also believed that overall conditions at the sites were stable, although those that had been visiting longer perceived conditions as deteriorating. Education was positively correlated with knowledge of ownership and management, and with support for additional rules and enforcement. Neither income, nor frequency of visitation showed any correlation with any of the dependent variables at the overall level. Some site-specific findings differed from the overall findings and varied from site to site. These differences were addressed individually.     

A new method for the solution of the normal contact problem in the dynamic simulation of railway vehicles

Due to requirements related to computational efficiency, in the majority of railway dynamic simulators the Hertz theory is used for solving the normal problem in wheel/rail contact. This theory is based on a large number of assumptions. Particularly noteworthy is the assumed simplification that the undeformed distance between the bodies in contact can be assimilated by a quadratic function. There are many situations in which the undeformed distance cannot be represented by this kind of function. As such, the results obtained with Hertz theory in these cases are not accurate.

In this paper, a new method for solving the normal problem that overcomes the above-mentioned limitation is presented. First, the exactness of the new method is tested with Hertzian cases. The results obtained are almost exact. Second, the results calculated with the new method in more general cases are compared with the ones obtained with the variational method of Kalker (more exact but computationally less efficient).     

Understanding individual travel decisions: results from a commuters survey in Geneva

In this paper, we present the results of an extended traveler behavior survey conducted in Geneva (Switzerland) in March 1994. In this survey, commuters were asked about the impact of various factors, related to individual or household characteristics and situational, contextual and environmental constraints on their basic travel decisions. In particular, the issues of mode, route and departure time choice were investigated, together with the diversion from normal patterns in response to adverse weather conditions. Some cross cultural comparisons are discussed with respect to the results of a similar survey conducted in Brussels (Belgium) in 1992 (Khattak & de Palma 1995, 1997).