Vehicle type choice under the influence of a tax reform and rising fuel prices

Differentiated vehicle taxes are considered by many a useful tool for promoting environmentally friendly vehicles. Various structures have been implemented in several countries, e.g. Ireland, France, The Czech Republic, and Denmark. In many countries the tax reforms have been followed by a steep change in new vehicle purchases toward more diesel vehicles and more fuel-efficient vehicles. The paper analyses to what extent a vehicle tax reform similar to the Danish 2007 reform may explain changes in purchasing behaviour. The paper investigates the effects of a tax reform, fuel price changes, and technological development on vehicle type choice using a mixed logit model. The model allows a simulation of the effect of car price changes that resemble those induced by the tax reform. This effect is compared to the effects of fuel price changes and technology improvements. The simulations show that the effect of the tax reform on fuel efficiency is similar to the effect of rising fuel prices while the effect of technological development is much larger. The conclusion is that while the tax reform appeared in the same year as a large increase in fuel efficiency, it seems likely that it only explains a small part of the shift in fuel efficiency that occurred and that the main driver was the technological development.     

An advanced traveler general information system for Fresno,California

This study estimates the effects of an advanced traveler general information system (ATGIS), which includes fuel consumption and health-related emissions cost information on transportation network users’ travel choice behavior for recurrent congestion conditions. The effects are estimated using four different formulations based on four different behavioral assumptions. Incorporating stochastic features in link cost estimation rather than in route choice, we provide a novel modeling approach that enables us to use transportation planning models of major metropolitan areas without a need for major computationally-expensive changes in the existing models. We examined the effects of an ATGIS on the Fresno, CA, road network and found several interesting results. First, the ATGIS impact is closely related to pre-system (prior to the implementation of an ATGIS) perceived fuel and emissions costs. Total travel time in the city can be reduced by 17% (no pre-system perceived costs) to 1% (accurate pre-system perceived costs), and even increased by 1% (higher-than-actual pre-system perceived costs). Second, the addition of emissions costs, although negligible relative to fuel and time costs, can effectively reduce total system-wide travel time by up to 1% and fuel consumption by up to 0.6% during peak hours. Third, the ATGIS can reduce annual social costs by as much as $1053 million (high gas price, no pre-system perception) to $48 million (medium gas price, accurate pre-system perception), which are comparable to social cost savings by a congestion pricing (CP) scheme in the study area.     

Assessing greenhouse gas and related air pollutant emissions from road traffic counts: A case study for Mauritius

The road transport sector is one of the major contributors of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants emissions. Regional emissions levels from road vehicles were investigated, in Mauritius, by applying a fuel-based approach. We estimated fuel consumption and air emissions based on traffic counts on the various types of classified roads at three different regional set ups, namely urban, semi urban and rural. The Relative Development Index (RDI), a composite index calculated from socio-economic and environmental indicators was used to classify regions. Our results show that the urban motorways were the most polluting due to heavy traffic. Some rural areas had important pollution levels as well. Our analysis of variance (ANOVA), however, showed little difference in emissions among road types and regions. The study can provide a simple tool for researchers in countries where data are very scarce, as is the case for many developing countries.     

水泥混凝土路面病害综合处治技术初探与实践

文章结合广西桂林至柳州高速公路工程,介绍了水泥混凝土路面存在的主要病害与发展趋势,从设计、交通量、施工、养护管理、自然环境方面分析了水泥混凝土路面的损坏原因,提出了针对性的水泥混凝土路面综合处治技术。工程实践证明,综合处治技术的成功应用,可有效延长路面的使用寿命。     

单段与两段喷射均质直喷汽油机混合气形成研究

针对某均质缸内直喷汽油机低速时燃油湿壁问题,用定容弹试验对喷雾模型进行标定,同时使用FIRE 软件对单段和两段喷油策略的混合气形成过程进行数值模拟研究.结果表明,转速为2000 r/min的全负荷工况下,单段喷油时燃油湿壁现象较为严重,而采用两段喷油可明显改善燃油碰壁情况,且点火时刻缸内混合气均匀性也得到改善;第2段喷油结束时刻越晚,燃油碰壁量越小,混合气浓度分布均匀性越差.     

西部交通基础设施影响评价指标体系研究

文章以交通基础设施为研究主体,以西部地区社会经济为研究对象,结合国内外基础设施评价的理论基础和西部地区的实际情况,分析主体和研究对象之间的影响因素,并在此基础上构建了交通基础设施评价指标体系,从区域经济影响、社会环境、自然环境3个方面评估交通基础设施对西部地区的影响,通过模糊综合评价模型的计算,得到分项评价结果和总体评价结果,并作出评价分析。     

汽车燃油经济性优化方法

在环境和燃油资源的压力下，人们越来越多的重视汽车节油。文章从汽车燃油经济性的特点出发，通过大量的试验数据着重分析了整备质量和发动机排量对汽车燃油经济性的影响程度，通过对发动机特征的分析，介绍了改善发动机效率的方法，进而优化汽车的燃油经济性，同时从变速器和阻力2个方面分析了通过提高机械效率来改善燃油经济性的方法。结果表明，燃油经济性的优化是一个集轻量化、提高燃烧效率及改善机械效率的过程。     

移动式信号设备故障记录分析装置

采用便携采集模块及综合采集设备进行现场采集,并配合数据分析软件,对于铁路现场偶发信号故障及曲线波动异常等不明故障进行监测及分析,可有效提高信号设备故障定位的准确性、方便性及时效性。     

基于道路综合费用的平面选线模型优化方法的研究

根据道路平面路线方案布置特点,将选线中要考虑的各种因素均转化为费用进行考虑,因而道路平面路线方案也即转化为该模型费用最小化的优化问题,由于道路平面方案优选设计是复杂的多目标决策问题,方案模型的建立在很大程度上影响到项目的营运费用和建设费用,通过对研究遗传算法变异算子对模型影响的分析,设计了一种遗传算法对路线平面线形进行优化,该算法可以提高收敛速度和解的精度,并同时保持优良个体的进化稳定性,在一定程度上弥补了定常参数在克服早熟中缺乏普遍性的缺点。最后,进行了道路优化验证,实验结果表明,该算法无论从鲁棒性和有效性方面都超过了传统的优化算法,说明该算法在道路选线中有很高的应用价值。