Railway transportation and environmental efficiency in China

Railway is one of the most efficient and environmental-friendly ways to transport people and goods. High-speed railway has been developing rapidly and the railway mileage has increased by 21.18% in China during the period of 2006–2011 and thus it is interesting to evaluate whether the railway transportation has reduced the environmental impact of transport in China. In this paper, we first use a non-radial DEA under managerial disposability to measure the environmental efficiency of 30 regions in China; then we propose a panel beta regression with fixed effects to model the impact of railway transportation on environmental efficiency. The results indicate that the environmental efficiency slowly increased during 2006–2011 and it exhibits regional disparities with the eastern area having the highest environmental efficiency and the western area being the lowest one; Moreover, we also find a significant positive impact of railway transportation on higher environmental efficiency.     

What are the determinants in making people free riders in proof-of-payment transit systems? Evidence from Italy

Nowadays, in proof-of-payment transit systems, fare evasion is provoking strong interest in public transport companies (PTCs) due to the relevant economic losses, social inequity and increased levels of violence affecting personal security. Therefore, there is the need to recognize possible fare evaders. By using 2177 on-board personal interviews, gathered from an Italian PTC, and logistic regression models, we isolate determinants of possible free-rider passengers and, hence, those whom it might be advisable to target in order to capitalize on the effect of the application of countermeasures on fare evasion put forward by the local PTC. We show that males, younger than 26 years, with a low education level, unemployed and/or students and without an alternative mode of transport other than the bus are more probably fare evaders. Moreover, people who make trips of shorter than 15 min, who are systematic users and are not satisfied with the service are possible fare evaders. Finally, we found that a low level of inspection, knowledge of fines and previous ticket violations are determinants which make people more prone to evade fares. These outcomes are very useful, because, to the best of our knowledge, they represent the first empirical contribution showing the determinants which help evaluate the propensity to be a fare evader, in probabilistic terms. Moreover, they could help PTCs understand who might be a fare evader, in order to anticipate suitable countermeasures.     

What is behind fare evasion in urban bus systems? An econometric approach

Fare evasion is a problem in many public transport systems around the world and policies to reduce it are generally aimed at improving control and increasing fines. We use an econometric approach to attempt explaining the high levels of evasion in Santiago, Chile, and guide public policy formulation to reduce this problem. In particular, a negative binomial count regression model allowed us to find that fare evasion rates on buses increase as: (i) more people board (or alight) at a given bus door, (ii) more passengers board by a rear door, (iii) buses have higher occupancy levels (and more doors) and (iv) passengers experience longer headways. By controlling these variables (ceteris paribus), results indicate that evasion is greater during the afternoon and evening, but it is not clear that it is higher during peak hours. Regarding socioeconomic variables, we found that fare evasion at bus stops located in higher income areas (municipalities) is significantly lower than in more deprived areas. Finally, based on our results we identified five main methods to address evasion as alternatives to more dedicated fine enforcement or increased inspection; (i) increasing the bus fleet, (ii) improving the bus headway regularity, (iii) implementing off-board payment stations, (iv) changing the payment system on board and (v) changing the bus design (number of doors or capacity). Our model provides a powerful tool to predict the reduction of fare evasion due to the implementation of some of these five operational strategies, and can be applied to other bus public transport systems.     

Route choice stickiness of public transport passengers: Measuring habitual bus ridership behaviour using smart card data

This paper explores how we can use smart card data for bus passengers to reveal individual and aggregate travel behaviour. More specifically, we measure the extent to which both individual and bus routes exhibit habitual behaviour. To achieve this, we introduce a metric called Stickiness Index to quantify the range of preferences of users that always select to travel on the same route (high stickiness) to those with a more varied patterns of route selection (low stickiness). Adopting a visual analytic and modelling approach using a suite of regression models we find evidence to suggest that stickiness varies across the metropolitan area and over a 24-h period wherein higher stickiness is associated with high frequency users where there is substantial variability of route travel times across all alternatives. We argue that our findings are important in their capacity to contribute to a new evidence base with the potential to inform the (re)-design and scheduling of a public transit systems through unveiling the complexities of transit behaviour.     

基于优化高斯过程回归算法的锂离子电池可用容量估算

为了解决应用数据驱动算法估算锂离子电池可用容量时存在的电池老化特征提取不准确、可用容量衰退趋势跟踪精度低及模型要求训练数据量大等问题,提出一种基于优化高斯过程回归算法的锂离子电池可用容量估算方法,实现锂离子电池强非线性全衰退过程可用容量精确估算。首先,提取电池表面平均温度、容量增量曲线峰值及峰值对应电压作为表征电池老化状态的健康因子,通过灰色关联度分析法和熵权值法对所选健康因子进行合理性评估;然后,用2个单一核函数构造高斯过程回归算法复合核函数,并利用鲸鱼优化算法完成复合核函数的参数寻优,基于优化后的高斯过程回归模型实现锂离子电池可用容量估算;最后,通过对比不同核参数寻优算法,证明鲸鱼优化算法在参数寻优方面的先进性,并通过与传统的高斯过程回归、支持向量机、径向基神经网络等机器学习算法进行可用容量估算对比,证明模型的有效性。研究结果表明:基于复合核函数和鲸鱼优化算法参数寻优可以有效改善高斯过程回归模型性能,所建立的优化高斯过程回归模型能够基于较少训练数据实现电池容量的精确估算,并能够有效追踪锂离子电池非线性长周期衰退趋势;对不同电池数据也具备较好的自适应能力,可用容量估算最大误差低于1.56%。     

Impacts of accident severity factors and loss values of crashes on expressways in Thailand

The number of road accidents and the level of accident severity have been extensively applied as the indicators for measuring the efficiency of service provision in road network systems of each country. This research utilized accident data on expressway networks during B.E.2550 (2007) to B.E.2553 (2010) (updated data was collected), in which Expressway Authority of Thailand (EXAT) as legislatively mandated unit has taken responsibility for the execution of nine expressway routes covering distances totaling over 207 km with a record of 2194 crashes. The chief objective of the study aims to forecast the accident severity through formulating Multiple Logistic Regression Model to analyze the probability of injury accident and fatal accident in comparison with property damage only accident. Its measurement comprehensively considers statistical relationship among variables such as average speed on road section, average traffic volume per day, period of time, weather conditions, physical characteristics of accident area, and causes of accident. Together, the research question is to verify whether these variables affect the opportunity or probability of three levels of accidents and investigate impacts of accident loss values due to the reduction in crash severity measures.     

柴油乘用车实际道路排放的多项式回归模型

以车载排放试验数据为基础,对某柴油乘用车实际道路行驶速度、加速度、比功率、发动机转速、负荷、空燃比、排气流量、排气温度、燃油消耗量等影响因素进行了主成分分析,所提取主成分的累积方差贡献率达95%。通过多项式回归建立了柴油乘用车实际道路THC、CO、CO2、NOx排放与综合影响因素之间的回归模型。结果表明,建立回归模型的THC、CO、CO2和NOx排放预测误差分别为1.9%、6.2%、2.4%和2.7%,所建立模型的准确性较好。     

基于线形指标的山岭重丘区高速公路事故预测模型

依据我国山岭重丘区高速公路几何线形和交通事故数据,建立了基于交通流量和几何线形指标的高速公路基本路段事故预测模型.首先,基于几何线形条件对基本路段进行了划分,确定了路段单元.其次,分析并确定了理想线形条件的范围,建立了理想线形条件下的基本事故率预测模型.再次,应用BP神经网络与敏感性分析相结合的方法,确定出了对事故发生有突出影响的道路纵坡、平曲线半径和直线段长度3个线形指标,并确定了上述线形指标的事故率修正系数.依据基本事故率预测模型及事故率修正系数即可进行事故预测.模型验证结果表明:该模型能够对路段单元进行事故预测,事故总体预测值与实际值的相对误差在-5.85％～-7.87％之间.     

艾亚法与兰泼凯勒法权重修正的船舶阻力预报

针对船舶阻力估算方法精度低和船型适用范围小的问题,提出一种适用于目前运输的三大主力船型的阻力预报方法,对艾亚法和兰泼凯勒法所估算的阻力值加以权重修正因子,然后将两者修正后的值相加即为最终估算的船舶阻力值,经权重修正法修正后的阻力值和试验值对比结果表明,其阻力预报精度明显提高,适用范围可扩大到目前三大主力船型。     

基于岭回归-马氏距离的隧道围岩分类预测方法的研究

基于岭回归与马氏距离判别法的基本原理,选取岩石质量指标RQD、完整性系数Kv、单轴饱和抗压强度Rw、纵波波速Vp、弹性抗力系数Ko和结构面摩擦系数f作为评价指标,通过岭回归分析确定其权重系数,根据权重系数的大小剔除权重较小的指标,最终采用Rw,Ko和f建立马氏距离判别模型,并利用广东省某隧道工程进行模型检验。结果表明：岭回归-马氏距离判别法预测结果与实际相吻合,从而验证了岭回归-马氏距离判别法用于围岩分类预测是可行的。最后,运用建立的岭回归-马氏距离判别模型对东深供水改造工程隧洞围岩进行预测,经计算分析发现,所选洞段围岩判别结果与《水工隧洞设计规范》（SL279-2002）的分类结果一致,进一步证明了该方法用于隧道围岩分类预测的合理性及有效性。