The role of accessibility in basic transportation choice behavior

Accessibility measures reflect the level of service provided by transportation systems to various locations. Basic transportation choice behavior is defined to include those decisions of how many automobiles to own and how many trips to which destinations to make by automobile and by public transit. Here, these decisions are assumed to be made jointly by urban households and are conditional upon residential location decisions. It is the purpose of this paper to explore the role of accessibility as a causal factor in such basic transportation choice behavior.An economic utility theory model of choice behavior is postulated in which the benefits from making trips to specific destinations are reflected by measures of destination attraction. Through determination of utility-maximizing trip frequencies, indirect utility functions are developed which include accessibility concepts. Behavioral implications of these concepts are proposed and contrasts are drawn to accessibility measures used in conventional segregated models of trip distribution, modal choice, and automobile ownership.Sensitivity analyses of alternative empirical definitions of accessibility in the choice model are conducted using data from the Detroit Regional Transportation and Land Use Study — covering counties in southeastern Michigan. These analyses employ a multinomial logit estimation technique and focus on definitions of trip attraction. Results of these analyses indicate that more complicated attraction measures can be replaced by measures involving the proportion of either urban area population or urban area employment within a traffic analysis zone. Also, evidence is found that decision-makers in the case study area consider trips of up to 60 or even 90 minutes duration when evaluating accessibilities offered by alternative public and private transportation systems.     

Changing the timing of activities in resolving Scheduling Conflicts

Following the growing interest in the characterisation and modelling of activity scheduling and re-scheduling behaviour, this paper reports the results of a study on the resolution of activity scheduling conflicts. Using empirical data collected through an Internet survey, the modification of the timing of pre-planned activities to accommodate a new activity in the schedule was analysed. Schedule adjustment was studied using a parametric hazard model. The results indicate that the characteristics of the activities involved are the most important factors influencing the process of schedule change. Several correlations among schedule modifications were found. Harry Timmermans is a Professor at the Eindhoven University of Technology. He is also Director of the Urban Planning Group and the European Institute of Retailing and Services Studies. Tomás Ruiz is a Lecture and researcher at the Technical University of Valencia (Spain). Prior to his employment with the University, Dr. Ruiz was a consultant at Estudios, Proyectos y Planificación S.A.     

城市交通控制的演变--政策与技术变更

在过去的一个世纪里,城市交通控制始终在演变,以适应日益复杂的政策目标和不断增长的交通需求。一个高效的交通控制系统可以带来很多收益,例如缓解拥堵、提高经济效益以及改善道路安全和空气质量。车辆检测和通信技术方面取得的显著进步为交通控制系统的调控能力带来了一系列阶段性变化：从早期（固定配时）信号控制发展到现代化的集成系统。多种类型的交通控制系统在全球不同地区建设完成,每种系统都有各自的优势和不足。首先通过对比分析目前占据领先地位的商用系统（以及一些较少为人所知的系统）,凸显交通控制系统的关键特征和差异,然后评估目前的交通控制系统是否能实现现代交通政策的职能和需求。最后,探讨了当前及未来的交通政策,以及未来10年交通控制发展的技术性蓝图,指出交通控制有望通过技术进步从有限数据时代迈入大数据时代。     

金属的咆哮 机械的诗歌

2009年底,三大艺术机构向公众展出了粗加工金属制成的艺术品,原型皆来自汽车。这是一场远距离的,围绕材料以及汽车地位的对话。第一件,也许是最具冲击力的一件作品,来自于Jeremy Deller的装置艺术作品,该作品获得了2004年泰纳奖(Turner Prize)。作为一个天生具备挑衅精神的英国艺术家,Deller于10月11月在芝加哥MCA展示了他的作品《它就是它,关于伊拉克的谈话(It iswhat it is:Conversation about Iraq)》。