Electric vehicle park-charge-ride programs: A planning framework and case study in Chicago

In suburban areas, combining the use of electric vehicles (EV) and transit systems in an EV Park-Charge-Ride (PCR) approach can potentially help improve transit accessibility, facilitate EV charging and adoption, and reduce the need for long-distance driving and ensuing impacts. Despite the anticipated growth of EV adoption and charging demand, PCR programs are limited. With a focus on multi-modal trips, this study proposes a generic planning process that integrates EV infrastructure development with transit systems, develops a systematic assessment approach to fostering the PCR adoption, and illustrates a case implementation in Chicago. Specifically, this study develops a Suitability Index (SI) for EV charging locations at parking spots that are suitable for both EV charging and transit connections. SI can be customized for short-term and long-term planning scenarios. SI values are derived in Chicago as an example for (1) commuter rail stations (for work trips), and (2) shopping centers near transit stops as potential opportunities for additional weekday parking and EV charging (for multi-purpose trips/MPT). Furthermore, carbon emissions and vehicle miles travelled (VMT) across various travel modes and trip scenarios (i.e., work trips and MPT) are calculated. Compared to the baseline of driving a conventional vehicle, this study found that an EV PCR commuter can reduce up to 87% of personal VMT and 52% of carbon emissions. A more active role of the public sector in the PCR program development is recommended.     

When are subsidies to trans-European network projects justified?

The trans-European transport network (TEN-T) encompasses the major planned transport infrastructure in Europe, ranging from high speed rail to port infrastructure. Projects in this category are considered priority projects and receive European subsidies; but these have been insufficient to get these projects off the ground. This paper addresses two research questions. First, it sketches the basic economics of cross-boundary infrastructure projects: what pricing and investment policies can we expect, what is the role of through traffic and high fixed costs of infrastructure? Second, it examines briefly what lessons the EU could draw from the experience of other existing federal funding institutions like the US and Germany. These ideas are used to propose a new subsidy scheme for the TEN-T projects.     

基于车路协同多业务优先级的车载通信退避算法

为研究车路协同下不同优先级业务的通信,打破传统IEEE802.11 标准的CSMA/CA(Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance)协议所采用的二进制指数退避策略（Binary Exponential Backoff, BEB）仅适用于传统业务如语音、视频等业务,而未考虑车路协同场景典型业务及其优先级的限制,提出一种面向车路协同的车载通信退避算法。首先,研究车路协同场景下的典型通信业务;然后,利用层次分析法建立了业务优先级层次结构模型,对车路协同下的业务进行了优先级的划定;最后,基于车路协同多业务优先级不同对传统BEB算法进行改进,提出一种面向车路协同的车载通信退避算法。通过仿真,验证了所提算法具有良好的适应性,可针对不同业务优先级,提供差异化的信息资源和业务传输保障,相对于传统的通信协议系统丢包率降低,系统吞吐量增加。     

Strategic assessment of capacity consumption in railway networks: Framework and model

In this paper, we develop a new framework for strategic planning purposes to calculate railway infrastructure occupation and capacity consumption in networks, independent of a timetable. Furthermore, a model implementing the framework is presented. In this model different train sequences are generated and assessed to obtain timetable independence. A stochastic simulation of delays is used to obtain the capacity consumption. The model is tested on a case network where four different infrastructure scenarios are considered. Both infrastructure occupation and capacity consumption results are obtained efficiently with little input. The case illustrates the model’s ability to quantify the capacity gain from infrastructure scenario to infrastructure scenario which can be used to increase the number of trains or improve the robustness of the system.     

国际金融危机对广西-东盟物流业的影响及对策

文章基于对东盟的贸易结构、运输方式和广西-东盟的物流业发展现状的分析,以广西物流基础设施发展举措为重点,对国际金融危机下广西-东盟的物流业发展对策进行了探讨。     

西部交通基础设施影响评价指标体系研究

文章以交通基础设施为研究主体,以西部地区社会经济为研究对象,结合国内外基础设施评价的理论基础和西部地区的实际情况,分析主体和研究对象之间的影响因素,并在此基础上构建了交通基础设施评价指标体系,从区域经济影响、社会环境、自然环境3个方面评估交通基础设施对西部地区的影响,通过模糊综合评价模型的计算,得到分项评价结果和总体评价结果,并作出评价分析。     

Public transport policy in Canada and the United States: Developing political commitment from the federal government

The United States federal government has been involved in public transport funding for over 40 years, whereas in Canada the federal government has little history of urban public transport policy. In that context, over the past 10 years, Canada has made significant progress in developing new federal commitments for public transport. Critical as these developments have been, however, they do not represent a true National Transit Strategy, which needs to be permanent, predictable and comprehensive. This claim is supported by economic analysis which suggests that Canadian government investment in transit is significantly below the optimal level.     

Metro commuters’ satisfaction in multi-type access and egress transferring groups

This paper considers both the access and egress stages as an entire process to analyze the satisfaction levels of commuters with metro commuter journeys. Based on a survey in Nanjing, China, seven intermodal travel groups are employed as targets for this analysis. The groups include Walk–Metro–Walk, Walk–Metro–Bus, Bike–Metro–Walk, Bike–Metro–Bus, Bus–Metro–Walk, Bus–Metro–Bus and Car–Metro–Walk, which are named according to the modes of transportation that are employed for access and egress trips. Binary logit models are developed for each group to identify the main factors of satisfaction level. The results show that access and egress stages serve important but different roles in the seven groups. Facility service qualities in two stages are the primary factors that affect overall satisfaction. The groups with same access or egress modes have significantly different core factors. Access by bike and bike–metro–transit users are concerned with bike parking safety, whereas bike–metro–walk users value parking spaces near metro stations. With two transfers between bus and metro, transit–metro–transit users indicate that the weak point in the access stage is the crowded spaces on buses. However, transit–metro–walk users value bus on-time performance, which is also valued by groups with metro–bus egress transfers. For egress by walking, commuters that use motorized modes for access are concerned with the egress walking environment, whereas users of non-motorized access modes are more concerned with egress walking spaces. The findings of this study are helpful for policy developments than can improve public satisfaction with commutes by urban metro.     

Engineering condition assessment of cycling infrastructure: Cyclists’ perceptions of satisfaction and comfort

The UK National Cycle Network comprises 23,660 km of cycling and walking paths of which a significant percentage is dedicated off-road infrastructure. This represents a significant civil engineering infrastructure asset that currently contributes to the provision of a sustainable transport mode option nationwide. Commuting and recreational cyclists have observed the often hazardous conditions on these paths. There are various simple measures that could be taken to improve the maintenance of such off-road paths. Reliance on walk-over surveys (direct visual inspection) and path users notifying the local authority may not be tackling maintenance in a resource efficient manner. The proposed inspection method includes the use of an instrumented bicycle to examine cycle path condition through user perception of satisfaction and quality. A questionnaire was conducted to identify the attributes of off-road cycling infrastructure people find most important in relation to their personal satisfaction. An exploratory factor analysis was undertaken on perception study data to elucidate the determination of the variables associated with perceived user satisfaction. The study has shown that people find maintenance issues to be of high importance, especially surface issues. From exploratory factor analysis of results, satisfaction has been found to load with comfort and safety. Field testing was then conducted using subjective user opinions and objective vibration data. These results were then used to assist the creation of dedicated user perception based surface condition rating-scales.