On the morning commute problem with bottleneck congestion and parking space constraints

Morning commuters choose their departure times based on a combination of factors—the chances of running into bottleneck congestion, the likely schedule delays, and parking space availability. This study investigates the morning commute problem with both bottleneck congestion and parking space constraints. In particular, it considers the situation when some commuters have reserved parking spots while others have to compete for public ones on a first-come-first-served basis. Unlike the traditional pure bottleneck model, the rush-hour dynamic traffic pattern with a binding parking capacity constraint varies with the relative proportions of the two classes of commuters. It is found that an appropriate combination of reserved and unreserved parking spots can temporally relieve traffic congestion at the bottleneck and hence reduce the total system cost, because commuters without a reserved parking spot are compelled to leave home earlier in order to secure a public parking spot. System performance is quantified in terms of the relative proportions of the two classes of commuters and is compared with those in the extreme cases when all auto commuters have to compete for parking and when none of them have to compete for one.     

System optimal dynamic traffic assignment: Properties and solution procedures in the case of a many-to-one network

Thanks to its high dimensionality and a usually non-convex constraint set, system optimal dynamic traffic assignment remains one of the most challenging problems in transportation research. This paper identifies two fundamental properties of the problem and uses them to design an efficient solution procedure. We first show that the non-convexity of the problem can be circumvented by first solving a relaxed problem and then applying a traffic holding elimination procedure to obtain the solution(s) of the original problem. To efficiently solve the relaxed problem, we explore the relationship between the relaxed problems based on different traffic flow models (PQ, SQ, CTM) and a minimal cost flow (MCF) problem for a special space-expansion network. It is shown that all the four problem formulations produce the same minimal system cost and share one common solution which does not involve inside queues in the network. Efficient solution algorithms such as the network simplex method can be applied to solve the MCF problem and identify such an optimal traffic pattern. Numerical examples are also presented to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed solution procedure.     

Age related annual crash incidence rate ratios in professional drivers of heavy goods vehicles

ObjectivesEvidence concerning crash risk for older heavy vehicle drivers is sparse, making it difficult to assess if it is prudent to encourage older drivers to remain in the workforce in a climate of labour shortages. The objective of this study was to estimate annual crash rate ratios of older male heavy vehicle drivers relative to their middle aged peers.MethodsData utilized in this study includes all crashes meeting inclusion criteria involving heavy goods vehicles, categorised as rigid trucks and articulated trucks; this data was recorded by the New South Wales Roads and Traffic Authority. The exposure to the risk of a crash was represented by distance travelled for each vehicle type and year, by age of driver, as estimated by the Australian Survey of Motor Vehicle Use. Negative binomial regression modelling was applied to estimate annual crash incidence rate ratios for male drivers in various age groups.ResultsA total of 26,146 crashes occurred in New South Wales during 1999–2006, involving a total of 54,191 vehicles; removing observations that did not meet the inclusion criteria, 19,736 observations remained representing 12,501 crashes. For rigid trucks, the incidence rate ratio for drivers aged 65+ years, compared to 45–54 year olds, was 0.74 (95% CI 0.51, 0.98). For articulated trucks, the annual crash incidence rate ratio for drivers aged 65+ years compared to 45–54 year olds was 1.4 (95% CI 0.96, 1.9), and that for drivers aged 55–64 years compared to 45–54 year olds was 1.1 (95% CI 0.83, 1.3).ConclusionsOlder male professional drivers of heavy goods vehicles have lower risk of crashes in rigid vehicles, possibly due to accrued driving experience and self-selection of healthy individuals remaining in the workforce. Thus, encouraging these drivers to remain in the workforce is appropriate in the climate of labour shortages, as this study provides evidence that to do so would not endanger road safety.     

A GIS‐based traffic analysis zone design: implementation and evaluation

The purpose of this paper is to implement an efficient method for GIS‐based traffic analysis zone (TAZ) design in order to evaluate and validate such a method. The method was developed by the authors.

Moran's I spatial autocorrelation coefficient and sample variance are used for evaluating the generated TAZs using the Champaign‐Urbana, IL region as a case study. Sensitivity analysis is also conducted to explore the fluctuations in TAZ generation outcomes. The evaluation, the validation as well as the TAZ design have been implemented with ARC/INFO GIS software on a UNIX workstation platform.     

Simple analytical models for estimating the queue lengths from probe vehicles at traffic signals

As mobile traffic sensor technology gets more attention, mathematical models are being developed that utilize this new data type in various intelligent transportation systems applications. This study introduces simple analytical estimation models for queue lengths from tracked or probe vehicles at traffic signals using stochastic modeling approach. Developed models estimate cycle-to-cycle queue lengths by using primary parameters such as arrival rate, probe vehicle proportions, and signal phase durations. Valuable probability distributions and moment generating functions for probe information types are formulated. Fully analytical closed-form expressions are given for the case ignoring the overflow queue and approximation models are presented for the overflow case. Derived models are compared with the results from VISSIM-microscopic simulation. Analytical steady-state and cycle-to-cycle estimation errors are also derived. Numerical examples are shown for the errors of these estimators that change with probe vehicle market penetration levels, arrival rates, and volume-to-capacity ratios.     

Data Fusion-Based Traffic Density Estimation and Prediction

Traffic congestion has become a major challenge in recent years in many countries of the world. One way to alleviate congestion is to manage the traffic efficiently by applying intelligent transportation systems (ITS). One set of ITS technologies helps in diverting vehicles from congested parts of the network to alternate routes having less congestion. Congestion is often measured by traffic density, which is the number of vehicles per unit stretch of the roadway. Density, being a spatial characteristic, is difficult to measure in the field. Also, the general approach of estimating density from location-based measures may not capture the spatial variation in density. To capture the spatial variation better, density can be estimated using both location-based and spatial data sources using a data fusion approach. The present study uses a Kalman filter to fuse spatial and location-based data for the estimation of traffic density. Subsequently, the estimated data are utilized for predicting density to future time intervals using a time-series regression model. The models were estimated and validated using both field and simulated data. Both estimation and prediction models performed well, despite the challenges arising from heterogeneous traffic flow conditions prevalent in India.     

铁路线路技术标准与运量水平之间的耦合关系研究

为了确定铁路线路技术标准与运量水平之间的耦合关系,分析运量水平主导线路主要技术标准类项目特性和线路技术标准主导运量水平类项目特性,从供需平衡角度出发,得出运量构成机制和线路标准条件从能力供给到运量诱发的质变条件。     

美国交通运输机构及职能简介

从4个层次分别介绍美国联邦政府运输机构、美国联邦独立运输管理机构、美国地方交通运输机构及美国道路交通管理机构的职能分工，侧重于其在道路交通管理方面的职能。     

老旧散货船营运缺陷与管理探讨

针对老旧散货船在营运中安全问题,阐述了加强老旧散货船的营运管理,做好安全防范,采取正确的管理措施是确保船舶营运安全的前提。重点探讨了老旧散货船的营运缺陷,分析了缺陷可能产生的后果,提出了营运中应采取的管理措施及建议。