The Movingo integrated ticket: seamless connections across the mälardalen region of Sweden

ABSTRACT

The need for improved public transport (PT) ticketing in ever-growing deregulated PT markets has made well-designed integrated ticketing systems a priority area of intervention for PT service providers around the world. Yet, very little practical evidence of its impacts are reported in Sweden and in the world at large. The focus of this study was the impacts of the Movingo integrated ticketing scheme in terms of PT patronage, user satisfaction and the perceived quality of the ticketing set-up. Three travel surveys were conducted along the Stockholm-Uppsala route. Methods including logistic regression and correlated t-tests were used to analyse the samples. The findings suggest that the scheme made rail commuting more attractive resulting in an overall increase of about 24% in ticket sales with 3% – 15% car commuters reporting that they patronised PT services after the project. The scheme also resulted in increased rail commuter satisfaction. The overall perceived quality of the ticketing set-up did not however improve due to interoperability challenges. Service providers’ uncertainty about equitable distribution of revenue among the participating service providers, interoperability challenges and the lack of interest among most of the participating service providers to sell Movingo tickets are some issues to be addressed.     

Towards measures of affective and eudaimonic subjective well-being in the travel domain

Studies of the connections between transportation and subjective well-being (SWB) require a clear understanding of the conceptual composition of travel-related SWB as well as psychometric instruments to measure these complex topics. Well-established psychological scales for measuring general SWB—including both hedonic (affective and cognitive) and eudaimonic aspects—are difficult to adapt or have yet to be tested in the travel domain. Existing measures of travel liking and travel satisfaction are somewhat inadequate for these purposes, especially for representing eudaimonia. Using a questionnaire survey of 680 commuters in the Portland, Oregon, region, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses examined responses to a total of 42 items. Results suggested four-factor measurement models of both travel affect (Enjoyment, Attentiveness, Distress, and Fear) and travel eudaimonia (Health, Competence, Autonomy, and Security). Despite some limitations and opportunities for enhancements, these models show promise as ways of measuring affective and eudaimonic SWB in the travel domain for future studies and travel surveys.

     

Time-series analysis of remote-sensed chlorophyll and environmental factors in the Santa Monica–San Pedro Basin off Southern California

The time-series of remote-sensed surface chlorophyll concentration measured by SeaWiFS radiometer from September 1997 to December 2001 and the relevant hydrological and meteorological factors (remote-sensed sea surface temperature, atmospheric precipitation, air temperature and wind stress) in Santa Monica Bay and adjacent waters off southern California were analyzed using wavelet and cross-correlation statistical methods. All parameters exhibited evident seasonal patterns of variation. Wavelet analysis revealed salient long-term variations most evident in air temperature during El Niño 1997–1998 and in wind stress during La Niña 1998–1999. Short-period (<100 days) variations of remote-sensed chlorophyll biomass were mostly typical to spring seasons. Chlorophyll biomass was significantly correlated with air temperature and wind stress: an increase of chlorophyll biomass followed with 5–6-day time lag an increase of wind stress accompanied by a simultaneous decrease of air temperature. The mechanism of these variations was an intensification of phytoplankton growth resulting from the mixing of water column by wind stress and entrainment of nutrients into the euphotic layer.     

Fluxes of dissolved inorganic carbon in three estuarine systems of the Cantabrian Sea (north of Spain)

The diffusive and in situ fluxes of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and total alkalinity (TA) have been measured and an estimation has been made of the water–atmosphere fluxes of CO₂ in three estuarine systems of the Cantabrian Sea during the spring of 1998. Each of these systems undergoes a different anthropogenic influence. The diffusive fluxes of dissolved inorganic carbon and total alkalinity obtained present values ranging between 0.54–2.65 and 0.0–2.4 mmol m⁻² day⁻¹, respectively. These ranges are in agreement with those of other coastal systems. The in situ fluxes are high and extremely variable (35–284 mmol TA m⁻² day⁻¹, 43–554 mmol DIC m⁻² day⁻¹ and 22–261 mmol dissolved oxygen (DO) m⁻² day⁻¹), because the systems studied are very heterogeneous. The values of the ratio of the in situ fluxes of TA and DIC show on average that the rate of dissolution of CaCO₃ is 0.37 times that of organic carbon oxidation. Equally, the interval of variation of the relationship between the benthic fluxes of inorganic carbon and oxygen (F_DIC/F_DO) is very wide (0.3–13.9), which demonstrates the different contributions made by the processes of aerobic and anaerobic degradation of the organic matter, as well as by the dissolution–precipitation of CaCO₃. The water–atmosphere fluxes of CO₂ present a clear dependence on the salinity. The brackish water of these systems (salinity<20), where maximum fluxes of 989 mmol m⁻² day⁻¹ have been estimated, act as a source of CO₂ to the atmosphere. The more saline zones of the estuary (salinity>30) act as a sink of CO₂, with fluxes between −5 and −10 mmol m⁻² day⁻¹.     

A practical approach to identifying the market potential for high speed rail: A case study in the Sydney-Canberra corridor

This paper presents the methodology and selective empirical results from a study of the demand for a high speed rail system serving the Sydney-Canberra corridor currently dominated by air travel for business trips and car travel for non-business trips. We outline the steps involved in the study from problem specification, data needs, development of base year trip tables, model specification and estimation to establish switching behaviour in the presence of a new mode and calculation of induced demand for current travellers. A stated choice heteroskedastic extreme value switching model is used to evaluate the choice of fare type for business and non-business travel given the current mode used in the corridor for each sampled traveller conventional train, charter coach, scheduled coach, plane or car. Starting with the current travel profile, patronage can be predicted under alternative fare regimes, taking into account diverted traffic, induced traffic and growth. Treating fare class as endogenous enhances the real choice context facing potential patrons.     

Evasive manoeuvres with a steering robot

In the pursuit of an objective rating on vehicle stability performance, it is always desirable to reduce disturbances and inconsistencies during experimental evaluations, especially the ones introduced by human drivers. This paper presents the development of a steering robot designed for closed-loop steering tasks during evasive manoeuvres. It describes the controller structure and discusses experimental results, in addition to simulation/vehicle model verifications and theoretical control analysis.     

Multiphysic modelling of railway vehicles equipped with pneumatic suspensions

This article presents a multidisciplinary approach of railway pneumatic suspension modelling: both multibody and pneumatic aspects are taken into account. The work aims at obtaining a realistic model of the secondary suspension and coupling it with a multibody model of a train. Various components of the pneumatic circuit such as bellows, tanks, pipes and valves are taken into account. The article focuses on the bellow-pipe-tank subsystem for which several modelling approaches are presented and compared. Differences between differential and algebraic models are highlighted, and an application-dependent choice between them is suggested. A complete model of the pneumatic circuit is then obtained and coupled with a multibody model of the train. As a result, the behaviour of a suburban train equipped with a pneumatic secondary suspension is analysed, in particular undesired oscillating motions which affect the comfort. Topological modifications and improvements of the suspension are also investigated and discussed.     

Coupled transport-reaction pathways and distribution patterns between siliciclastic-carbonate sediments at the Ria de Vigo

This paper examines the linkages between the space-distribution of grain sizes and the relative percentage of the amount of mineral species that result from the mixing process of siliciclastic and carbonate sediments at the Ria de Vigo (NW of Spain).The space-distribution of minerals was initially determined, starting from a detailed mineralogical study based on XRD-Rietveld analysis of the superficial sediments. Correlations between the maps obtained for grain sizes, average fractions of either siliciclastic or carbonates, as well as for individual-minerals, were further stabilised. From this analysis, spatially organized patterns were found between carbonates and several minerals involved in the siliciclastic fraction. In particular, a coupled behaviour is observed between plagioclases and carbonates, in terms of their relative percentage amounts and the grain size distribution.In order to explain these results a conceptual model is proposed, based on the interplay between chemical processes at the seawater–sediment interface and hydrodynamical factors. This model suggests the existence of chemical control mechanisms that, by selective processes of dissolution-crystallization, constrain the mixed environment's long-term evolution, inducing the formation of self-organized sedimentary patterns.     

On the axial force induced on a duct by a propulsor

The axial force induced on a duct (duct thrust) which surrounds a propulsor is, by means of an energy conservation argument, expressed in terms of the thrust and power of the propulsor and the kinetic energy losses per unit of time of the propulsor and the duct. Emphasis is put on the linear theory of an axisymmetric ducted actuator disk, where it is shown that the work done by the duct thrust is equal to the extra work done by the actuator disk when it is surrounded by the duct. This simplified model gives more insight into the interaction between the propeller and the duct and on the limits of linearization.