Discussions on rail in urban areas and rail history

This paper includes discussions on rail in urban areas and railway history. More specifically commonly used terms and definitions for rail services, policy and practice in urban areas are discussed followed by an overview of railway developments around the world.     

Enhancing stated preference surveys in transportation research: the contribution of geographic information systems

In this paper we argue that visualization, data management and computational capabilities of geographic information systems (GIS) can assist transportation stated preference research in capturing the contextual complexity of many transportation decision environments by providing respondents with maps and other spatial and non-spatial information in graphical form that enhance respondents' understanding of decision scenarios. We explore the multiple inherent contributions of GIS to transportation stated preference data collection and propose a framework for a GIS-based stated preference survey instrument. We also present the design concepts of two survey prototypes and their GIS implementation for a sample travel mode choice problem.     

综合运输通道耗散结构分析

基于各种运输方式的技术经济特征和交通运输业可持续发展理念,借助于耗散结构理论,研究综合运输通道是一个具有耗散结构特性的开放系统。通过对综合运输通道结构的分析,实现综合运输通道内各种运输方式的协调发展,合理竞争;满足人们出行与货运需求;不断完善和提高各种运输方式适应环境的能力,实现通道内外的和谐可持续发展。     

高速公路客运发展研究

近年来,高速公路客运随着高速公路的快速增长而迅速发展,其拥有安全、快捷、舒适、优质服务等特点,但也面临着客运站建设落后、运力结构不合理、运力与运量不平衡等问题,研究高速公路客运的发展措施对于指导实际工作有一定的意义。     

The use of demand correlation in the modeling of air carrier departure delays as first‐order autoregressive random processes

A method for modeling air carrier departure delays at commercial‐service airports as autoregressive random processes is presented. This method employs the correlation of a priori demand data to significantly reduce prediction error in the optimal least‐squares estimator for additive white noise. The reduction factor of the prediction error is demonstrated to be on the order of 10² over that of the unbiased estimator. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

User perspectives in public transport timetable optimisation

The present paper deals with timetable optimisation from the perspective of minimising the waiting time experienced by passengers when transferring either to or from a bus. Due to its inherent complexity, this bi-level minimisation problem is extremely difficult to solve mathematically, since timetable optimisation is a non-linear non-convex mixed integer problem, with passenger flows defined by the route choice model, whereas the route choice model is a non-linear non-continuous mapping of the timetable. Therefore, a heuristic solution approach is developed in this paper, based on the idea of varying and optimising the offset of the bus lines. Varying the offset for a bus line impacts the waiting time passengers experience at any transfer stop on the bus line.In the bi-level timetable optimisation problem, the lower level is a transit assignment calculation yielding passengers’ route choice. This is used as weight when minimising waiting time by applying a Tabu Search algorithm to adapt the offset values for bus lines. The updated timetable then serves as input in the following transit assignment calculation. The process continues until convergence.The heuristic solution approach was applied on the large-scale public transport network in Denmark. The timetable optimisation approach yielded a yearly reduction in weighted waiting time equivalent to approximately 45 million Danish kroner (9 million USD).     

The management of the rural transportation problem in Nigeria

In spite of the fact that about 70% of Nigeria's population live in rural areas, these areas have remained largely inaccessible. Not only do they lack motorable roads and organized public transport but also field surveys indicate that nearly all rural inhabitants do not have a private car. A Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure has been set up to manage the inaccessibility problem, among others. Whereas there are several conventional approaches to the management of the rural transportation problem, the Nigerian approach relies on the provision of roads. This restrictive approach with an emphasis on locational to the neglect of personal accessibility has various limitations which are analysed.     

大坡度引水隧道无轨运输出渣方式的应用

辽西北供水工程11#支洞，断面小、坡度大，出渣运输方式是决定工期的关键控制因素。采用无轨运输出渣方式，存在以下问题：隧道纵坡坡度较大，运输渣车爬坡困难、存在严重的安全隐患；断面小，自卸车在陡坡上运行和洞内调头困难等。对此采取扩大隧道开挖断面、设置避车洞，改装车辆、确保车辆制动的可靠性；加强安全管理措施等。实践证明，采用无轨运输方式出渣具有节约工期、经济效益显著等特点，可根据实际工况加以选用。     

Evolution of the household vehicle fleet: Anticipating fleet composition, PHEV adoption and GHG emissions in Austin, Texas

In today’s world of volatile fuel prices and climate concerns, there is little study on the relationship between vehicle ownership patterns and attitudes toward vehicle cost (including fuel prices and feebates) and vehicle technologies. This work provides new data on ownership decisions and owner preferences under various scenarios, coupled with calibrated models to microsimulate Austin’s personal-fleet evolution.Opinion survey results suggest that most Austinites (63%, population-corrected share) support a feebate policy to favor more fuel efficient vehicles. Top purchase criteria are price, type/class, and fuel economy. Most (56%) respondents also indicated that they would consider purchasing a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) if it were to cost $6000 more than its conventional, gasoline-powered counterpart. And many respond strongly to signals on the external (health and climate) costs of a vehicle’s emissions, more strongly than they respond to information on fuel cost savings.Twenty five-year simulations of Austin’s household vehicle fleet suggest that, under all scenarios modeled, Austin’s vehicle usage levels (measured in total vehicle miles traveled or VMT) are predicted to increase overall, along with average vehicle ownership levels (both per household and per capita). Under a feebate, HEVs, PHEVs and Smart Cars are estimated to represent 25% of the fleet’s VMT by simulation year 25; this scenario is predicted to raise total regional VMT slightly (just 2.32%, by simulation year 25), relative to the trend scenario, while reducing CO₂ emissions only slightly (by 5.62%, relative to trend). Doubling the trend-case gas price to $5/gallon is simulated to reduce the year-25 vehicle use levels by 24% and CO₂ emissions by 30% (relative to trend).Two- and three-vehicle households are simulated to be the highest adopters of HEVs and PHEVs across all scenarios. The combined share of vans, pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles (SUVs), and cross-over utility vehicles (CUVs) is lowest under the feebate scenario, at 35% (versus 47% in Austin’s current household fleet). Feebate-policy receipts are forecasted to exceed rebates in each simulation year.In the longer term, gas price dynamics, tax incentives, feebates and purchase prices along with new technologies, government-industry partnerships, and more accurate information on range and recharging times (which increase customer confidence in EV technologies) should have added effects on energy dependence and greenhouse gas emissions.     

大型机场地面集疏运需求预测方法研究

机场地面集疏运系统是机场发展的重要支撑，交通需求预测是进行机场集疏运交通规划的前提。笔者以四阶段预测的基本原理为基础，结合机场集疏运需求特点，对预测的整体思路、方法、步骤和内容等进行详细分析，优化调整出行分布、方式划分预测模型，并以南京禄口国际机场为实例进行了预测。研究成果对国内同类大型机场的集疏运需求预测具有借鉴和参考价值。