Value of travel time reliability: A review of current evidence

Travel time reliability is a fundamental factor in travel behavior. It represents the temporal uncertainty experienced by travelers in their movement between any two nodes in a network. The importance of the time reliability depends on the penalties incurred by the travelers. In road networks, travelers consider the existence of a trip travel time uncertainty in different choice situations (departure time, route, mode, and others). In this paper, a systematic review of the current state of research in travel time reliability, and more explicitly in the value of travel time reliability is presented. Moreover, a meta-analysis is performed in order to determine the reasons behind the discrepancy among the reliability estimates.     

Prediction of travel time variability for cost-benefit analysis

Unreliable travel times cause substantial costs to travelers. Nevertheless, they are often not taken into account in cost-benefit analyses (CBA), or only in very rough ways. This paper aims at providing simple rules to predict variability, based on travel time data from Dutch highways. Two different concepts of travel time variability are used, which differ in their assumptions on information availability to drivers. The first measure is based on the assumption that, for a given road link and given time of day, the expected travel time is constant across all working days (rough information: RI). In the second case, expected travel times are assumed to reflect day-specific factors such as weather conditions or weekdays (fine information: FI). For both definitions of variability, we find that the mean travel time is a good predictor. On average, longer delays are associated with higher variability. However, the derivative of variability with respect to delays is decreasing in delays. It can be shown that this result relates to differences in the relative shares of observed traffic ‘regimes’ (free-flow, congested, hyper-congested) in the mean delay. For most CBAs, no information on the relative shares of the traffic regimes is available. A non-linear model based on mean travel times can then be used as an approximation.     

On the income elasticity of the value of travel time

Transport infrastructure is long-term and in appraisal it is necessary to value travel time savings for future years. This requires knowing how the value of time (VTT) will develop over time as incomes grow. This paper investigates if the cross-sectional income elasticity of the VTT is equal to inter-temporal income elasticity. The study is based on two identical stated choice experiments conducted with a 13 year interval. Results indicate that the relationship between income and the VTT in the cross-section has remained unchanged over time. As a consequence, the inter-temporal income elasticity of the VTT can be predicted based on cross-sectional income elasticity. However, the income elasticity of the VTT is not a constant but increases with income. For this reason, the average income elasticity of the VTT in the cross-sections has increased between the two survey years and can be expected to increase further over time.     

适于TBM施工的HSP法实时预报技术设计与实现

为实现TBM施工隧道的实时地质预报,以TBM刀盘滚刀破岩震动作为震源的HSP法地质预报技术为基础,通过分析TBM施工工艺与机身结构特点,对HSP系统硬件和软件进行优化设计,使其小型化、自动化和智能化,并搭载于TBM上进行智能控制。在TBM掘进过程中,首先,通过隧道轮廓位置的检波器连续或高频次地采集地震反射波信号; 然后,经系统软件对数据的自动处理,实时获取掌子面前方地层反射特征参数图谱; 其次,通过智能识别技术完成对不良地质反射界面的有效拾取与判识; 最后,实现不良地质的探测。通过对适于TBM施工的HSP法实时预报技术进行优化设计,实时探查前方地层不良地质(体)位置、规模与性质,为TBM的高效施工起到一定的推助作用。     

Identifying optimal data aggregation interval sizes for link and corridor travel time estimation and forecasting

With the recent increase in the deployment of ITS technologies in urban areas throughout the world, traffic management centers have the ability to obtain and archive large amounts of data on the traffic system. These data can be used to estimate current conditions and predict future conditions on the roadway network. A general solution methodology for identifying the optimal aggregation interval sizes for four scenarios is proposed in this article: (1) link travel time estimation, (2) corridor/route travel time estimation, (3) link travel time forecasting, and (4) corridor/route travel time forecasting. The methodology explicitly considers traffic dynamics and frequency of observations. A formulation based on mean square error (MSE) is developed for each of the scenarios and interpreted from a traffic flow perspective. The methodology for estimating the optimal aggregation size is based on (1) the tradeoff between the estimated mean square error of prediction and the variance of the predictor, (2) the differences between estimation and forecasting, and (3) the direct consideration of the correlation between link travel time for corridor/route estimation and forecasting. The proposed methods are demonstrated using travel time data from Houston, Texas, that were collected as part of the automatic vehicle identification (AVI) system of the Houston Transtar system. It was found that the optimal aggregation size is a function of the application and traffic condition.

Effects of countdown timers on queue discharge characteristics of through movement at a signalized intersection

This study investigates how countdown timers installed at a signalized intersection affect the queue discharge characteristics of through movement during the green phase. Since the countdown timers display the time remaining (in seconds) until the onset of the green phase, drivers waiting in the queue at the intersection are aware of the upcoming phase change, and are likely to respond quicker. Thus, the countdown timers could reduce the start-up lost time, decrease the saturation headway, and increase the saturation flow rate. This study observed vehicle flow at an intersection in Bangkok for 24 h when the countdown timers were operating, and for another 24 h when the countdown timers were switched off. The signal plans and timings remained unchanged in both cases. Standard statistical t-tests were used to compare the difference in traffic characteristics between the “with timer” and “without timer” cases. It was found that the countdown timers had a significant impact on the start-up lost time, reducing it by 1.00–1.92 s per cycle, or a 17–32% time saving. However, the effects on saturation headway were found to be trivial, which implies that the countdown timers do not have much impact on the saturation flow rate of signalized intersections, especially during the off-peak day period and the late night period. The savings in the start-up lost time from the countdown timers was estimated to be equivalent to an 8–24 vehicles/h increase for each through movement lane at the intersection being studied.     

高频雷达信号的双线性时频分布性能研究

针对海杂波背景下高频地波雷达的目标探测问题,采用时频分析方法研究对海杂波中的非平稳多分量目标探测。讨论了海杂波背景下的目标检测问题,以及信号的双线性时频分布,通过仿真研究了时频分布性能,尤其是核函数抑制多分量目标的交叉项作用。仿真结果显示,伪Wigner-Ville分布较Wigner-Ville分布对于交叉项的抑制作用较大,而平滑伪Wigner-Ville分布降低交叉项的效果更好。     

舰用齿轮箱抗冲击能力时域计算

为找出舰船设备的潜在问题或薄弱环节，从而保证舰船的战斗力；以及为避免由于对设备的抗冲击性能不了解即进行冲击试验可能对设备造成的损坏，抗冲击数值模拟分析对于舰用设备是必要的。对舰用齿轮箱抗冲击能力进行时域数值模拟，使用MDT软件建立齿轮箱三维几何模型，利用HyperMesh软件进行前处理以及有限元网格划分，并将有限元模型导入ABAQUS软件，对齿轮箱抗冲击能力进行时域计算。分析数值模拟结果得到了齿轮箱典型部位处冲击响应，总结了齿轮箱抗冲击的一些规律，并找出了齿轮箱结构抗冲击的薄弱环节，为齿轮箱结构优化设计提供了参考。     

并联混合动力汽车ECMS的时变等效因子提取算法的研究

为解决当前等效燃油消耗最小控制策略(ECMS)未能根据实际工况选取最优等效因子的问题,利用动态规划算法(DP)和ECMS各自的优点,构建并联混合动力汽车能量算法模型,即采用动态规划算法的等效燃油消耗最小控制策略(ECMSwDP),将等效因子作为全局最优算法的控制变量,通过对等效因子的离散全局优化,获得基于工况的最佳时变等效因子。在标准工况下对时变等效因子实时控制策略与全局最优控制策略DP的各项性能参数进行了数值仿真,验证了时变等效因子提取算法的有效性和等效因子初始值选取方法的可行性。     

集装箱装卸设备采购项目管理中的约束条件和质量管理

以集装箱装卸设备采购工作为例,探讨项目管理中的约束条件(范围、费用、时间)与质量管理之间的关系,分析它们之间的相互作用和影响.