Intelligent transport systems solutions in transitional countries: The case of Korea

Transport policy in Korea is driven by the need to cope with ever-worsening traffic conditions. The development of an intelligent transport systems (ITS) Master Plan for Korea is of particular interest and demonstrates the heavy reliance placed on ITS measures to facilitate both the management of congested (but expanding) highway networks and to encourage a shift to greater use of public transport. The paper highlights the major achievements of ITS in Korea by assessing the evidence provided by the widespread implementation of ITS technologies (such as the creation of 'showcase' demonstrations). Some observations from the implementation of ITS in (so-called) transitional economies are presented.     

Nutrient cycling and primary production in the marine systems of the Arctic and Antarctic

Primary production events in both the Arctic and the Antarctic are highly localized. Carbon-14 incubations that did not account for this caused antarctic primary production estimates to be revised too far downwards from the historic view of high productivity. The primary production regime in the Arctic is even more heterogeneous than in the Antarctic. Arctic primary production rates are in the process of being revised upwards because of a better spatial and temporal distribution of incubation experiments and a re-awakening of interest in estimating new production from the distribution of chemical variables. Similarly, recent examination of temporal changes in nitrate concentrations and recognition of the importance of ice-edge blooms has caused antarctic primary productivity to be revised upwards. In both the Arctic and the Antarctic, the ratio of “new” to total primary production is high, and neglect of this fact can lead to an underestimation of the potential that these regions have for influencing global cycles of bioactive chemicals. Some recent data on temporal changes in nitrate from Fram Strait emphasize the poor state of our knowledge by suggesting an unexpectedly high “new” production rate of 1 g C m⁻² d⁻¹ for a 35 day experiment that encountered an early Phaeocystis bloom. Chemical distributions suggest that new production over the shelf seas that border the Polar Basin is about 50 g Cm⁻² yr⁻¹.The shelves in the Arctic Ocean's marginal and adjacent seas comprise 25% of the total global continental shelf. These extensive shallow regions have much higher rates of primary production than the Polar Basin and may be globally significant sites of denitrification. Globally significant silica deposition could occur on these shelves or on the adjacent slopes.Because of the differences in geomorphology and stratification, global warming is likely to increase primary production in the Arctic and will probably decrease antarctic primary production.In addition to sharing high ratios of “new” to total primary production, high ammonium concentrations occur in the Arctic and Antarctic. It is possible that these accumulations arise from a strong repression of nitrification at low temperatures.     

A tool to aid redesign of flexible transport services to increase efficiency in rural transport service provision

Rural areas generally have lower and more dispersed demands for travel which cannot sustain conventional public transport services and consequently have a greater number of flexible and demand responsive transport services operating. These services usually operate on a stand-alone basis, are often subsidized and are typically only accessible by certain passenger types or for specific trip purposes. This generally results in uncoordinated and inefficient transport provision overall. The Flexible integrated transport services (FITS) system featured in this paper has been designed to address this problem. FITS can be used as a planning tool to assess potential benefits from relaxing operating constraints (e.g., a service's operating boundaries), which can potentially suggest service redesign. It also includes the capacity to assign subsidy payments on a trip by trip basis to increase cost efficiency whilst meeting a greater proportion of transport needs. The case study in the paper focusses on transport to health in the Aberdeenshire and Morayshire areas of Scotland in the UK. Despite flexible transport operators receiving public funds to meet passenger needs, this is currently being supplemented by public bodies paying large amounts in taxi fares in instances where there is a statutory obligation to provide travel but where no other suitable transport service exists. The results demonstrate the potential substantial savings which could be realized by allowing transport operators to redesign their services by relaxing constraints and by the reassignment of subsidies: resulting in more passenger demands being met and a reduction in public spending on taxi fares.     

Integrated Control Methodologies for Road Vehicles

Summary This paper considers the scope, methodologies and architectures for the design and development of interacting control systems in road vehicles. The increasing use of electronic controls leads inevitably to an increase in overall system complexity. Given the time and economic constraints of the modern automotive industry, it is not feasible to synthesise and validate the full set of vehicle controls in the form of a unified and centralized controller. On the other hand a fully decentralized approach to control system development and operation will induce performance limitations from un-modelled or unexpected interactions; at worst, such interactions can cause instability and loss of function. There is now increasing pressure to achieve control coordination whilst maintaining a modular approach to the overall system design. With this in mind, the paper provides a framework to review current practice in integrated vehicle control, assesses recent developments in control integration methodologies that are most relevant to the vehicle application, and formulates an enhanced multi-layer architecture that includes explicit coordination functionality. Overall emphasis is placed on the role of control system architecture, the resulting flow of control information and the implications for control system design. An example from handling dynamics is presented, demonstrating the viability of new and flexible approaches. In conclusion a number of outstanding research problems are highlighted.     

Public/private-sector cooperation in urban transportation: Lessons from ridesharing experiences in Connecticut

An important characteristic of urban transportation policy and planning today is the increasing role that the private sector is playing in identifying and implementing transportation projects. For example, a recent examination of the possible forms of such involvement found that there were four major categories of action that could be used to classify recent private-sector efforts in urban transportation: (1) aid to and/or provision of transportation services; (2) formation of advocacy or advisory groups whose purpose is to influence public policy; (3) sponsorship of transportation studies; and (4) provision of management assistance to public agencies (Gordon, 1982). In many of these efforts, the successful implementation of a project or program required close cooperation between public and private-sector officials. The purpose of this paper is to examine the characteristics of this interaction and explore the implications for transportation planning and policy.Examples of public/private-sector interaction in two Connecticut cities, Hartford and Stamford, are used to illustrate the characteristics of successful transportation program implementation. Although the examples are limited to two cities, and are mainly concerned with one major category of action (ridesharing), the characteristics of the process used and of the results can be applied to other situations where public/privatesector interaction is desired.     

Market efficiency within dry bulk markets in the short run: a multi-agent system dynamics Nash equilibrium

In this paper, we assess the Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) in relation to dry bulk shipping in the short run. The aim is to explain why freight rates in the different ship segments are highly correlated. By building a system dynamics model, which is well-suited to modelling complex and stochastic processes with limited data availability, we attempt to track the arbitrage process in which the different ship types (Handy, Panamax and Capesize) literally seek to transport each others’ cargoes (substitution) when this is beneficial. Also, within one ship segment, we govern the arbitrage opportunities arising from regional differences in freight rates. Although the EMH is ever more contested in the maritime literature, holistic and analytical proof is provided that efficiency is maintained through the intrinsic arbitrage free and evolutionary behaviour in the system towards the Nash equilibrium.     

Real-Time Transportation Mode Detection Using Smartphones and Artificial Neural Networks: Performance Comparisons Between Smartphones and Conventional Global Positioning System Sensors

Traditionally, traffic monitoring requires data from traffic cameras, loop detectors, or probe vehicles that are usually operated by dedicated employees. In efforts to reduce the capital and operational costs associated with traffic monitoring, departments of transportation have explored the feasibility of using global positioning system (GPS) data loggers on their probe vehicles that are postprocessed for analyzing the traffic patterns on desired routes. Furthermore, most cell phones are equipped with embedded assisted-GPS (AGPS) chips, and if the mode of transportation the phone is in can be anonymously identified, the phones can be treated as if they are probe vehicles that are voluntarily hovering throughout the city, at minimal additional costs. Emerging cell phones known as “smartphones” are equipped with additional sensors including an accelerometer and magnetometer. The accelerometer can directly measure the acceleration values, as opposed to having acceleration values derived from speed values in conventional GPS sensors. The magnetometer can measure mode-specific electromagnetic levels. Smartphones are subscribed with roadside Internet data plans that can provide an essential platform for real-time traffic monitoring. In this article, neural network-based artificial intelligence is used to identify the mode of transportation by detecting the patterns of distinct physical profile of each mode that consists of speed, acceleration, number of satellites in view, and electromagnetic levels. Results show that newly available values in smartphones improve the mode detection rates when compared with using conventional GPS data loggers. When smartphones are in known orientations, they can provide three-dimensional (3-D) acceleration values that can further improve mode detection accuracies.     

绿色道路:路面可持续性评价系统

绿色道路是评价路面设计和施工过程相关的可持续性发展的一种建议标准。该系统依据可持续发展的实践性为道路工程打分,通过得分的高低来评价工程的可持续性。充分完善的绿色道路系统具有以下内容和功能:1)鼓励更多道路工程尝试可持续性的实践;2)为道路可持续性评价提供一种标准和方法;3)使工程设计更优;4)使业主单位能评判道路工程的优劣。绿色道路评价系统通过6大类的54个评分项完成对道路工程的评分,是发展道路可持续性设计的可靠系统。     

Highway and transportation planning in England

This article presents an overview of highway and transportation planning in England. It covers the division of responsibilities between central and local government; the organisation of the Department of Transport; the planning, financing and implementation of road schemes, both local and national. A very brief review of transport legislation is included.NOTE: This paper was printed before the UK General Election of May 1979. The Department of Transport is now responsible to the Minister of Transport. The Minister has similar responsibilities to those previously exercised by the Secretary of State for Transport as referred to in this paper. The views expressed in this paper are those of the writer and are not necessarily those of the Department of Transport.