Abstract

To preserve resources for future generation, there is rising agreement that transportation system sustainability should capture attributes of system effectiveness and system impacts on economic development, environmental integrity, and social quality of life. To make the region sustainable, sustainability assessment can be incorporated at the planning level in order to influence decision making, and support policies. This paper present a review on methodologies that can be applied in sustainability assessment in transportation planning which can be used to incorporate sustainability more effectively in the planning process. This review on research study is potentially useful to road and transport infrastructural development agencies who are interested in understanding the range of tools and indicators being used for sustainability assessment, so that they can expand or refine their performance measures to capture sustainability in transportation planning, and using them in evaluating tradeoffs among challenging alternative as well as in identifying major alternative

Abstract

This is a revised version of a previous working paper, of the same name, which incorporates corrections to errors in our estimates of TFP growth. This paper examines major privately-owned British railway companies before World War I. Quantitative evidence is presented on return on capital employed, total factor productivity growth, cost inefficiency, and speed of passenger services. There were discrepancies in performance across companies but ROCE and TFP typically fell during our period. Cost inefficiency rose before 1900 but then was brought under control as a profits collapse loomed. Without the discipline of either strong competition or effective regulation, managerial failure was common. This sector is an important qualification to the conventional wisdom that late-Victorian Britain did not fail.

Abstract

Traffic congestion today is a major problem in almost all of the metropolitan areas of the world. An increasing level of congestion results in negative impacts on the urban environment. These include environmental pollution, energy problems and traffic accidents. The analysis of these problems and the predictions of the impacts of any transport policies that could be devised to deal with them are very critical to their success. Traffic problems are almost the same in most modern cities either in developed countries or less economically developed countries.The driving cycle for a vehicle is the representation of a speed–time sequenced profile, which is developed for a specific area or city. It is an important requirement in the evaluation of the driver’s behaviour and the performance of vehicles for a number of applications, mainly in the area of environmental studies. For example, fuel consumption and emissions’ predictions need information input on the characteristics of driving patterns of traffic. The applications of driving cycle analysis can be extended however, to many more other areas. The motivation for this research is to investigate the detailed impacts of travel demand management (TDM) measures, thatare already in application. This is to improve the network performance, using driving cycle analysis. It is important to explicitly assess these measures using a micro-level detailed approach in order to comprehend overall results in terms of emissions and network performance. These understandings will benefit government agencies and policy makers in their planning and appraisals. It will also benefit public transport providers to improve their service in attracting and retaining their customers.The developments of the real world driving cycles in Edinburgh and Abu Dhabi have been presented in this research. The analysis of real world data, which has been obtained from monitoring traffic conditions in both cities using the GPS tracking of traffic, is presented. This data was collected from trips which have been carried out on a number of traffic corridors in both cities. The assessment of various parameters of traffic (i.e. speed, time percentage spent on acceleration, deceleration, idling, cruising and cycle duration) and their statistical validity, produced a real world driving cycle for the buses as well as the private cars. Two TDM measures have been considered; bus lanes and traffic calming measures. At each corridor, a handheld GPS device was used to record speed, acceleration, deceleration and distances driven. This data enabled the analysis of driving cycles for the buses and for the private cars. The driving cycle analysis and investigations have further been investigated using regression analysis techniques. The results suggest that the approach shows potential but further research is needed with more data available. The results suggest that the driving cycle analysis approach would be very useful to have a better understanding of driving behaviour and also the detailed impacts of the transport policies on traffic. In terms of bus lanes and traffic calming measures, the results show some positive impacts of these policies, while there are evidences of some negative impacts as well. These findings would be very valuable for the policy decision makers. It is recommended from this research that the driving cycle analysis could be utilised effectively in the assessment of TDM measures. Further investigations and analysis of driving cycle is urgently recommended in a number of research directions. Combined GIS and GPS data could also enhance the development in this research. Document type: Thesis

Abstract

Modal shift from road to rail for freight movements is a potential means by whichthe negative environmental and social impacts of such transport can be reduced. Assuch it features strongly in contemporary transport policies in Great Britain. Thisthesis examines the interactions between logistical structure and freight modalchoice, to determine the extent to which rail's mode share is likely to be increased.The research assesses the influence of recent logistical changes both withincompanies and along supply chains on mode choice and identifies the likelihood offuture changes resulting in greater rail usage. A combined approach involving a postal questionnaire survey and in-depth company interviews was adopted. Further,to consider the interactions between the supply of rail freight services and their levelof uptake, original databases of rail freight services at the disaggregated level havebeen constructed and analysed for the years 1991, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000.The research thus provides a greater understanding of the importance of modalchoice in individual firms' logistical decision-making processes, as well as throughsupply chains from source to customer. Key logistical issues that have affected, andare likely to affect, mode choice are identified and utilised to assess the potential for rail. Significant potential for modal shift is found to exist though many obstaclesare also identified for many types of movement, relating to both supply- and demand-side factors. The importance of a coherent transport policy to deal withthese obstacles to allow rail freight to meet its potential is highlighted. Document type: Thesis

Abstract

Ekici, Şule Önsel (Dogus Author) -- Özaydın, Özay (Dogus Author) The transportation sector is one of the most significant sources of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. In order to mitigate climate change, it is important to apply effective and immediate policies to reduce the transportation sector's emissions. This study aims to: (1) define the dimensions of the transportation sector, such as its environmental, economic, social, and political elements, and (2) investigate how they relate to climate change, in order to assess potential mitigation scenarios and policies that could reduce the sector's contribution to climate change. First, sector-related variables were specified using expert opinions and a literature survey. Relationships between the variables and the associated intensity values were then identified using document coding, as well as by gathering expert opinions through a workshop. A fuzzy cognitive map analysis was then conducted to investigate the relationships between the variables and the resulting impacts by the transportation sector on climate change. A scenario analysis was also conducted in order to identify the most effective policies in reducing the impacts of transportation on climate change, at both the local and global levels. For the scenario analysis at the global level, projections by the International Energy Agency were analyzed through the model. The local policy suggestions developed by Turkish authorities were also evaluated using scenario analysis.

Abstract

The current literature in the field of cycle lanes has often shown contradictory evidence as to the benefits and risks of cycle lanes and previous work has specifically shown that on higher speed roads, drivers may pass closer to a cyclist when a cycle lane is present. Utilising an instrumented bicycle, we collected information as to the passing distance demonstrated by drivers when overtaking a cyclist within the urban (30 mph/40 mph) environment. The presented analysis shows that when a driver encounters a cyclist mid-block (i.e. not at a junction), there are more significant variables than the presence of a cycle lane that determines the overtaking distance. The three most significant variables identified are: absolute road width, the presence of nearside parking and the presence of an opposing vehicle at the time of an overtaking manoeuvre. The analysis also demonstrated that there is a larger unknown factor when it comes to overtaking distances. We postulate that this unknown variable is the driver himself and will vary by area, site and even time of day (i.e. different driving cultures, congestion, or frustration during peak times, etc.) making it difficult to quantify. First Published Online: 22 Sep 2014 Document type: Article