Policy packages for modal shift and CO2 reduction in Lille,France

This paper proposes different policy scenarios to cut CO₂ emissions caused by the urban mobility of passengers. More precisely, we compare the effects of the ‘direct tool’ of carbon tax, to a combination of ‘indirect tools’ – not originally aimed at reducing CO₂ (i.e. congestion charging, parking charges and a reduction in public transport travel time) in terms of CO₂ impacts through a change in the modal split. In our model, modal choices depend on individual characteristics, trip features (including the effects of policy tools), and land use at origin and destination zones. Personal “CO₂ emissions budgets” resulting from the trips observed in the metropolitan area of Lille (France) in 2006 are calculated and compared to the situation related to the different policy scenarios. We find that an increase of 50% in parking charges combined with a cordon toll of €1.20 and a 10% travel time decrease in public transport services (made after recycling toll-revenues) is the winning scenario. The combined effects of all the policy scenarios are superior to their separate effects.     

考虑空车调配协调的货物列车开行方案优化研究

为实现空车调配与货物列车开行方案协调优化，结合基本运行图架构与车流径路，构建货运时空服务拓展网络。考虑配空与装卸取送、集编发等环节的时间接续要求，节点与区段不对流空车要求，以重车流全程运送与空车配送等广义总费用最少为目标，建立整数规划弧路模型。针对既有算法设计局限性，结合重车或空车配空的时间接续要求，提出将不同的 k 短路重车流方案与空车配空方案相关联的改进可行解构造方法，设计混合差分进化求解算法。实例研究表明，考虑空车调配进行重车、空车流组织协调优化，能够减少空车走行费用，及时满足装车需求，有效保证作业车流配合中转车流集结编组及时挂线，提高方案可实施性。     

Traffic and emissions impact of congestion charging in the central Beijing urban area: A simulation analysis

Congestion charging is being considered as a potential measure to address the issue of substantially increased traffic congestion and vehicle emissions in Beijing. This study assessed the impact of congestion charging on traffic and emissions in Beijing using macroscopic traffic simulation and vehicle emissions calculation. Multiple testing scenarios were developed with assumptions in different charging zone sizes, public transit service levels and charging methods. Our analysis results showed that congestion charging in Beijing may increase public transit use by approximately 13%, potentially reduce CO and HC emissions by 60–70%, and reduce NOx emissions by 35–45% within the charging zone. However, congestion charging may also result in increased travel activities and emissions outside of the charging zone and a slight increase in emissions for the entire urban area. The size of charging zone, charging method, and charging rate are key factors that directly influence the impact of congestion charging; improved public transit service needs to be considered as a complementary approach with congestion charging. This study is used by Beijing Transportation Environment and Energy Center (BTEC) as reference to support the development of Beijing’s congestion charging policy and regulation.     

Comparing French carpoolers and non-carpoolers: Which factors contribute the most to carpooling?

Carpooling is an effective solution to major environmental problems but it is insufficiently used, particularly in France. In order to increase carpooling, it is important to understand why people do or not carpool. This study, carried out a large sample of drivers, was aimed at (1) identifying whether or not people carpool, (2) investigating the factual data (e.g. socio-demographics, transportation accessibility) and motivational factors (e.g. attitudes regarding car use, public transportation, environment) upon which carpoolers and non-carpoolers differ, and (3) highlighting the main determinants of the practice of carpooling. An online survey was administered to 1207 French drivers (48% men, ages 19–87) recruited by means of a random-quota method. In our sample, 52.5% of the participants said they were using carpooling. Carpoolers and non-carpoolers were similar in terms of kilometers driven per year, distance to their workplace or schools/universities, and public transportation accessibility. Compared to non-carpoolers, carpoolers were more likely to be women, have children, have positive attitudes toward public transport, and be more environmentally aware. These results suggest various different strategies for increasing the number of carpoolers and the frequency of carpooling use by taking into account the gender of road users.     

Public protests against the Beijing–Shenyang high-speed railway in China

With the rapid expansion of the high-speed railway infrastructure in China, conflicts arise between the interests of local citizens living along the planned tracks and the national interests of governmental authorities and project developers. This paper addresses questions of why and how Chinese citizens mobilize for and participate in protests against high-speed railway projects and to what effect. To this end, a comprehensive study was conducted on the decision-making process, public opinions, and protest actions regarding the plans and site choices for the Beijing–Shenyang high-speed railway from 2008 to 2013, combining quantitative and qualitative methods. In general, local residents are supportive of high-speed railway project construction, but they contest the closed decision-making process and the poor design and siting choices for the track by governmental authorities and companies. After four years of resident protests through formal complaints, lobbying, protest demonstrations, organizing alternative opinion polls, and discussions with authorities, citizens were partially successful in changing the siting of the track, adding protective measures (e.g., tunnels and sound screens), and saving green belts. Two conclusions can be drawn from this case study. First, regardless of the growing legal requirements, public participation in major projects in China is far from a standard practice. Final citizen participation is often preceded by serious conflict. Second, with defined good governance boundaries, there is increasing room for public participation in environmental movements, which does influence final decisions.     

Walking accessibility and property prices

Walking is an imperative travel mode, especially for short trips. Walking accessibility, which is defined as the ease of reaching essential destinations in the walk-in catchment area, may affect property prices because residents are more likely to be willing to pay for this attribute. In addition, different categories of public services may have varied influencing directions and magnitude. These two hypotheses are tested in this study. Taking Xiamen, China as a case study, we estimate the cumulative opportunities of public services on foot and develop a set of hedonic pricing models (more specifically, two pre-specified ordinary least squares models, four Box-Cox transformed models, and two spatial econometric models) to estimate, whether and to what extent, walking accessibility contributes to price premiums (or discounts). Using a database of 22,586 second-hand residential properties in 358 multi- or high-storey residential complexes, we find that (1) walking accessibility to public services contributes to the variations in housing prices and plays a role in determining housing prices; (2) different categories of services have vastly divergent, even opposite, influencing impacts; and (3) walking accessibility to primary schools, commercial centers, and sports and cultural centers have positive effects on house prices whereas walking accessibility to comprehensive hospitals adversely affects housing prices. Methodologically, we confirm that spatial econometric methods improve estimation accuracy and have more explanatory power relative to the standard non-spatial models. Robustness check analysis further guarantees the plausibility of this study.     

Competitiveness and macroeconomic impacts of reduced wait times at U.S. land freight border crossings

We analyze the macroeconomic and trade impacts of reducing wait times by adding one customs officer at each of the twelve major land freight crossings of the U.S. The change in wait time stemming from staffing changes is first estimated on the basis of primary data and then translated into changes in freight costs through a logistical model. The transportation cost changes are then fed into a multi-country computable general equilibrium model. We find that adding one customs officer at each land border crossing would, on average per crossing, generate an increase in U.S. GDP of $350 thousand and 3.58 additional jobs.     

智能网联车环境下高速匝道汇入车流轨迹优化模型

为了解决传统匝道控制车流汇入时车辆需要减速至停止，从而造成延误时间过长的问题，提出了一种智能网联车环境下的高速匝道汇入车辆轨迹优化的两阶段优化模型，其中，第1 阶段优化车辆进入匝道口的时序；第2 阶段基于第1 阶段的最优时序，优化车辆轨迹. 根据所构建的模型设计了一种启发式算法优化车辆通过匝道冲突区域的时序，然后结合 GPOPS工具优化车辆的轨迹.为了验证所提出方法的有效性，将所提出的方法应用到20 min 随机到达的车流，进行仿真实验.实验结果表明，与先进先出的方法相比，本文所提出的方法能够使总延误减少59.7%，总油耗减少10.5%，说明该方法能够实现车辆以较高的速度通过匝道冲突区域，有效地减少了车辆汇入延误，同时也节约了油耗.     

考虑游览船运营特征的航道通过能力评价方法

为构建客货船舶协同动态运行控制技术体系，以经典航道通过能力模型为基础，构建基于游览船运营特征(发船高峰性和航线集中度)的航道通过能力模型.根据黄浦江游览核心区船舶自动识别系统(AIS)数据，对所提出的航道通过能力模型进行实证分析.研究结果表明，本文航道通过能力模型能够较为准确地评价研究区域的实际航道通过能力.游览船发船高峰时期与现有航线规划条件下，黄浦江游览核心区航道通过能力(76艘/h)趋近饱和状态；当过境船到达超过69艘/h时，建议海事相关部门采取“错峰”航行等相关政策.     

Validating and improving public transport origin–destination estimation algorithm using smart card fare data

Smart card data are increasingly used for transit network planning, passengers’ behaviour analysis and network demand forecasting. Public transport origin–destination (O–D) estimation is a significant product of processing smart card data. In recent years, various O–D estimation methods using the trip-chaining approach have attracted much attention from both researchers and practitioners. However, the validity of these estimation methods has not been extensively investigated. This is mainly because these datasets usually lack data about passengers’ alighting, as passengers are often required to tap their smart cards only when boarding a public transport service. Thus, this paper has two main objectives. First, the paper reports on the implementation and validation of the existing O–D estimation method using the unique smart card dataset of the South-East Queensland public transport network which includes data on both boarding stops and alighting stops. Second, the paper improves the O–D estimation algorithm and empirically examines these improvements, relying on this unique dataset. The evaluation of the last destination assumption of the trip-chaining method shows a significant negative impact on the matching results of the differences between actual boarding/alighting times and the public transport schedules. The proposed changes to the algorithm improve the average distance between the actual and estimated alighting stops, as this distance is reduced from 806 m using the original algorithm to 530 m after applying the suggested improvements.