Optimization of Fare Structure and Service Frequency for Maximum Profitability of Transit Systems

Abstract

Providing efficient public transportation has been recognized as a potential way of alleviating congestion, improving mobility, mitigating air pollution, and reducing energy consumption. Many people use public transportation systems for their daily commute, while others use different transportation modes (e.g. cars, taxis, carpools, etc.). Inexpensive fares with good transit service encourages ridership, and the resulting revenue may be used to provide better service. Optimization of transit service frequency and its associated fare structure is desirable in order to increase revenue at reasonable transit operating expenditure. The objective of the study reported here is to maximize profit subject to service capacity constraint, while elastic demand is considered. The solution methodology is developed and applied to solve the profit maximization problem in a case study based on Newark, NJ, USA. Numerical results, including optimal solutions and sensitivity analyses, are presented. It is found that an optimal temporal headway and differential fare structure that maximizes total profit for the studied subway system can be efficiently solved.     

Provably secure authenticated Diffie-Hellman key exchange for resource-limited smart card

Authenticated Diffie-Hellman key agreement is quite popular for establishing secure session keys. As resource-limited mobile devices arc becoming more popular and security threats are increasing, it is desirable to reduce computational load for these resource-limited devices while still preserving its strong security and convenience for users. In this paper, we propose a new smart-card-based user authenticated key agreement scheme which allows users to memorize passwords, reduces users＇ device computational load while still preserves its strong security. The proposed scheme effectively improves the computational load of modular exponentiations by 50%, and the security is formally proved.     

T_H1 AND T_H2 CELL ANTIGEN RECEPTORS IN EXPERIMENTAL LEISHMANIASIS

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Comments on enhanced yoking proof protocols for radio frequency identification tags and tag groups

A radio frequency identification (RFID) yoking proof scheme can generate proofs of simultaneous presence of two tags in the range of a specified reader so that an off-line verifier can verify the proofs later. This proof has found several interesting applications. However, many existing RFID yoking schemes are vulnerable to replay attacks. To overcome the weaknesses, Cho et al. proposed a new RFID yoking proof protocol and a new grouping protocol. Unfortunately, Cho et al.’s schemes are still vulnerable to replay attacks. In this paper, in addition to demonstrating weaknesses, we further discuss the rationale behind these weaknesses to provide a guide line for designing secure RFID yoking schemes. Based on the guide line, we propose a new RFID yoking scheme and a new RFID grouping scheme. Performance evaluation shows that our scheme outperforms its counterparts.     

Airline industry deregulation and changes in systematic risk

Deregulation of U.S. Airline Industry may have lowered systematic risk because pricing freedom and route flexibility improved airline management reaction to various economic conditions. Reduced systematic risk offers lower cost of equity capital for the industry as a whole as well as for individual carriers. Previous research has had mixed results in identifying a relationship between deregulation and airline industry cost of capital. This study plots airline industry Beta coefficients across the years 1963 to 1987 and clears up previously conflicting research findings. Beta coefficients had been falling since the fuel crisis of 1974 and continued to fall through 1980. Fluctuations since deregulation have been relatively minor and systematic risk has leveled off at a significantly lower value than before deregulation. Studies which concentrate on the fluctuation in Beta since 1978 are dependent on the exact time period of analysis, and their conclusions that deregulation raised or lowered systematic risk are likewise suspect. A broader view of systematic risk changes in the deregulatory era shows airline Betas peaking from 1971 to 1973 and a gradual decrease as deregulation was being discussed, implemented, and legally mandated. This gradual decline from 1974 to 1980 may be attributed to such factors as fuel prices, interest rates, general inflation as well as deregulation. In any case systematic risk of the U.S. Airline industry has been lower since deregulation than in decades before.     

复杂悬跨条件下的管线涡激振动分析(英文)

Spans occur when a pipeline is laid on a rough undulating seabed or when upheaval buckling occurs due to constrained thermal expansion. This not only results in static and dynamic loads on the flowline at span sections, but also generates vortex induced vibration (VIV), which can lead to fatigue issues. The phenomenon, if not predicted and controlled properly, will negatively affect pipeline integrity, leading to expensive remediation and intervention work. Span analysis can be complicated by: long span lengths, a large number of spans caused by a rough seabed, and multi-span interactions. In addition, the complexity can be more onerous and challenging when soil uncertainty, concrete degradation and unknown residual lay tension are considered in the analysis. This paper describes the latest developments and a .state-of-the-art. finite element analysis program that has been developed to simulate the span response of a flowline under complex boundary and loading conditions. Both VIV and direct wave loading are captured in the analysis and the results are sequentially used for the ultimate limit state (ULS) check and fatigue life calculation.     

Remotely-sensed chlorophyll a observations of the northern Red Sea indicate seasonal variability and influence of coastal reefs

The biological dynamics of the open northern Red Sea (21.5°–27.5° N, 33.5°–40° E) have not been studied extensively, due in part to both the inaccessibility of this desert region and political considerations. Remotely-sensed chlorophyll a data therefore provide a framework to investigate the primary patterns of biological activity in this oceanic basin. Monthly chlorophyll a data from the 8-year Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View sensor (SeaWiFS) mission, and data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), were analyzed with the Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) online data analysis system “Giovanni”. The data indicate that despite the normal low chlorophyll a concentrations (0.1–0.2 mg m^− 3) in these oligotrophic waters, there is a characteristic seasonal bloom in March–April in the northernmost open Red Sea (24° to 27.5° N) concurrent with minimum sea surface temperature. The location of the highest chlorophyll concentrations is consistent with a linear box model [Eshel, G., and Naik, N.H., 1997. Climatological coastal jet collision, intermediate water formation, and the general circulation of the Red Sea. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 27(7), 1233–1257.] of Red Sea circulation. Two years in the data set exhibited a different seasonal cycle consisting of a relatively weak northern spring bloom and elevated chlorophyll concentrations to the south (21.5° to 24° N).The data also indicate that large coral reef complexes may be sources of either nutrients or chlorophyll-rich detritus and sediment, enhancing chlorophyll a concentration in waters adjacent to the reefs.     

Scheduling highway work zones with genetic algorithm considering the impact of traffic diversion

Highway work zones caused excessive delay to road users. To reduce user and maintenance costs, work zones shall be designed and scheduled accordingly. An analytical model is developed to jointly optimize work zone lengths and schedule as well as diverted traffic volume for highway maintenance projects, considering time‐varying demand, variable maintenance cost, and various production rates of maintenance crew. With a genetic algorithm, an iterative procedure is developed to search for the optimal solution. A numerical example is illustrated, in which various traffic mitigation plans for a highway maintenance project are evaluated. A sensitivity analysis is conducted, and results indicate the threshold volumes for various conditions (e.g., maintenance crews and capacity of the work zone) at which diverting traffic is desirable. This study demonstrates an effective approach to search for the optimal work zone schedule, which is also applicable to evaluate the effectiveness of traffic diversion plans for a pre‐planned work zone schedule. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Coordination of last train transfers using automated fare collection (AFC) system data

This paper studies last train coordination problem for metro networks, aiming to maximize the total number of passengers who can reach their destinations by metro prior to the end of operation. The concept of last boarding time is defined as the latest time that passengers can board the last trains and reach final destinations. The corresponding method for calculating last boarding time is also put forward. With automatic fare collection system data, an optimization model for coordinating last trains is proposed. The objective function optimizes the number of passengers who can reach their final destinations during the train period using departure times and headways of last trains for each line as decision variables. Afterwards, an adaptive genetic algorithm is put forward to solve this model and is applied to a case study of the Shanghai metro system. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.