Metropolitan Transportation Systems Research Articles

PRESENTATION OF LAND‐USE AND TRAFFIC EFFICIENCY ASSESSMENT/ŽEMĖNAUDOS IR TRANSPORTO EFEKTYVUMO VERTINIMAS/ОЦЕНКА ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ ЗЕМЛЕПОЛЬЗОВАНИЯ И СИСТЕМ ТРАНСПОРТИРОВАНИЯ

Abstract Extensive research has shown that land use and transportation features are linked by a complex, yet identifiable, set of relationships, hence, in order to interpret this link and relationship, there are just a few investigations and models, especially in IRAN. Nowadays, Transportation Plans rarely acknowledge any feedback effects from transportation improvements on land use, and thereby ignore these effects in plan evaluation. This omission has the potential consequence of exaggerating mobility and environmental benefits of transportation projects and undervaluing the potential benefits of land use or transportation policies. This paper uses the main concepts of transportation efficiency of metropolitan transportation systems. It offers a neural model to measure and assess land use and transportation system efficiency. Besides the fact that many different factors work simultaneously, shaping our land use and its transportation efficiency, such as agricultural features, socioeconomic parameters, e...

A New Approach to Finance Metropolitan Transportation and Ensure System Performance

This article presents a new approach to ensure the performance of highway systems in metropolitan areas while providing a new funding source that will allow a reduction or elimination of existing taxes dedicated for transportation use. The approach involves conversion of existing freeways in metropolitan areas into premium-service free-flowing highways that provide fast, frequent, and inexpensive express bus service, while charging all private vehicles a variable toll, except for authorized buses and certified vanpool vehicles. The article provides estimates of the potential economic and financial impacts from such an approach applied in the five most congested U.S. metropolitan areas. The estimates suggest that the concept could provide sufficient revenue to replace the fuel tax and perhaps other transportation taxes, while providing huge reductions in congestion delay and fuel consumption.

Conceptual Model of a Self-Organizing Traffic Management Hazard Response System

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, have sparked renewed interest in developing effective policies and strategies for evacuating densely populated areas. The current analytical tools for dealing with such evacuations are sorely lacking in both theory and practice. The conceptual model presented joins the technical areas of cellular automatons, evolutionary computation, and transportation science with some recent research on infrastructure security to make significant progress in traffic management and hazard response systems. The overall goal of this research is to develop a fundamental understanding of the evolutionary and emergent behavior of transportation systems that are operating under emergency evacuation conditions. This new knowledge can be used to develop more effective operational strategies and consequently more robust hazard response systems. Furthermore, the specific research objective is to investigate the formulation and application of cellular automaton models of metropolitan transportation systems, with a focus on systems operating under emergency evacuation conditions. The basic context is evacuation of a defined urban area, such as the urban core of Washington, D.C., under terrorist attacks. The conceptual model proposes the use of evolutionary algorithms to search the space of the evacuation control strategies and determine the most successful strategies for a given urban area.

Conceptual Model of a Self-Organizing Traffic Management Hazard Response System

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, have sparked renewed interest in developing effective policies and strategies for evacuating densely populated areas. The current analytical tools for dealing with such evacuations are sorely lacking in both theory and practice. The conceptual model presented joins the technical areas of cellular automatons, evolutionary computation, and transportation science with some recent research on infrastructure security to make significant progress in traffic management and hazard response systems. The overall goal of this research is to develop a fundamental understanding of the evolutionary and emergent behavior of transportation systems that are operating under emergency evacuation conditions. This new knowledge can be used to develop more effective operational strategies and consequently more robust hazard response systems. Furthermore, the specific research objective is to investigate the formulation and application of cellular automaton models of metropolitan transportation systems, with a focus on systems operating under emergency evacuation conditions. The basic context is evacuation of a defined urban area, such as the urban core of Washington, D.C., under terrorist attacks. The conceptual model proposes the use of evolutionary algorithms to search the space of the evacuation control strategies and determine the most successful strategies for a given urban area.

A Transportation-Efficient Land Use Mapping Index

Land use and transportation are linked by complex, yet identifiable, relationships. Tools are needed to formalize this relationship and to take it into account when decisions are made about urban and suburban transportation systems. This paper reviews foundational concepts of performance measures of metropolitan transportation systems. It offers a rationale for the types of tools needed to measure and assess land use and transportation system efficiency. One tool being developed by the Washington State Department of Transportation–-the Transportation-Efficient Land Use Mapping Index (TELUMI)–-illustrates how research findings can be applied in metropolitan transportation planning. TELUMI uses cartographic modeling (CM) techniques and parcel-level geographic information system data. The fine resolution of the data measures microscaled land use conditions associated with travel patterns in built-up areas. CM generates maps of zones in a region that match land use conditions with travel behaviors. Zones are defined by land use variables, such as density of activities, presence and agglomeration of destinations, block size, and transportation infrastructure attributes. CM also performs advanced quantitative analyses of map attributes, and it is effective with lay and professional audiences. TELUMI's use of individual land use variables makes it possible to target intervention strategies, such as augmenting density or building sidewalks, and to evaluate their effectiveness in improving transportation efficiency. TELUMI assists transportation and local planning authorities in allocating transportation investments appropriate to multimodal travel.

A Transportation-Efficient Land Use Mapping Index

Land use and transportation are linked by complex, yet identifiable, relationships. Tools are needed to formalize this relationship and to take it into account when decisions are made about urban and suburban transportation systems. This paper reviews foundational concepts of performance measures of metropolitan transportation systems. It offers a rationale for the types of tools needed to measure and assess land use and transportation system efficiency. One tool being developed by the Washington State Department of Transportation-the Transportation-Efficient Land Use Mapping Index (TELUMI)-illustrates how research findings can be applied in metropolitan transportation planning. TELUMI uses cartographic modeling (CM) techniques and parcel-level geographic information system data. The fine resolution of the data measures microscaled land use conditions associated with travel patterns in built-up areas. CM generates maps of zones in a region that match land use conditions with travel behaviors. Zones are de...

La ecuación "más privado, menos estatal": quiénes ganan y quiénes pierden. El caso del servicio de transporte público en el Gran Buenos Aires

El articulo pretende demostrar, particularmente para el caso del transporte publico metropolitano, como la transformacion de las estructuras estatales, siguiendo los dictados de las nuevas formas de acumulacion flexible, impactan en perjuicio de crecientes contingentes de poblacion. Cautivos del sistema de transporte masivo, operado hoy en su totalidad por empresas privadas; desprotegidos por un Estado debilitado y permeable al poder de lobby de los concesionarios, ven desdibujarse hasta casi desaparecer el concepto de servicio publico, cuya esencia implica la garantia de universalidad de las prestaciones. Presentamos la medicion de la accesibilidad departamental, relacionando oferta de transporte masivo con poblacion residente y niveles de pobreza. El analisis de su distribucion socioespacial explicaria las incidencias con que los costos de transporte gravitan sobre los estratos mas desprotegidos, los que por sus caracteristicas y localizacion, no conforman mercados rentables para la operatoria privada.

Strategic responses to free distribution daily newspapers

The traditional business model of the daily newspaper is being challenged by an increasing number of free daily newspapers worldwide. The traditional model relies on the circulation sales and advertising revenue streams and an extensive circulation system to homes and newstands (Picard & Brody, 1998) The free distribution papers have reject this model and created a one that relies only on advertising income and establishes free distribution in and around metropolitan public transportation systems.

Utilisation and integration of interdisciplinary computer models into a tool for analysing ozone production from transportation sources

High ozone levels detected over large inland areas in Israel triggered an analysis of air mass back-trajectory, which pointed to the coastal Tel-Aviv metropolitan transportation system as the origin of the ozone's precursors. In order to link the transportation emissions to ozone formation, interdisciplinary modelling systems were utilised and integrated. The transportation-to-ozone formation simulation interfaced transportation, emission factor, atmospheric and transport/diffusion models. The modelling results elucidated the spatial and temporal overlap between the ozone precursors and ozone production. The model simulations indicated an eastward transport accompanied with a 3-D expansion of the pollution cloud. The results agreed well with observed spatial and temporal ozone levels.

Record Flood-Producing Rainstorms of 17–18 July 1996 in the Chicago Metropolitan Area. Part III: Impacts and Responses to the Flash Flooding

Abstract A record-breaking 24-h rainstorm on 17–18 July 1996 was centered on south Chicago and its southern and western suburbs, areas with a population of 3.4 million. The resulting flash flooding in Chicago and 21 suburbs broke all-time records in the region and brought the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers above flood stage. More than 4300 persons were evacuated from the flooded zones and 35 000 homes experienced flood damage. Six persons were killed and the total estimated cost of the flood (losses and recovery actions) was $645 million, ranking as Illinois’ second most costly weather disaster on record after the 1993 flood. Extensive damages and travel delays occurred on metropolitan transportation systems (highways and railroads). Commuters were unable to reach Chicago for up to three days and more than 300 freight trains were delayed or rerouted. Communities dealt with removal of flood-damaged materials, as well as damage to streets, bridges, and sewage treatment and water treatment plants. Reduced c...

Implementing Regional Transportation Planning

The typical metropolitan transportation system focused on the interests of individual jurisdictions rather than cooperatively with regional partners. By overcoming typical barriers and working as a strategic team focused on regional interests, transportation planning can be improved to better serve a region. This article focuses on a recent Federal Highway Authority (FHWA) initiative for early deployment of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) technology in Hampton Roads, Virginia, and reveals lessons learned. Issues include identification of stakeholders, team building, soliciting customer input, constructing a regional information architecture, andpromoting potentialpublic-private partnerships. Specific suggestions on methods for enhancing regional transportation system planning and implementation are provided. Data was gathered while the authors were under contract to conduct an evaluation of the regional transportation-planning initiative. Methods included participant observations, case studies, surveys, and document review. Results of the study validate the strength of strategic planning, evaluation of planning processes, and customerfocus.

Priority for public transit in Germany

AbstractPriority for public transit includes a large variety of measures, including improvements to infrastructure and vehicles. For vehicles, the low floor concept is of particular importance. The central points of priority measures, however, are improvements of traffic control by traffic signals. Here, an improved sensitivity regarding public transit vehicles is the key to a remarkable reduction of factors causing delay. Different techniques for a traffic actuated signal control and different strategies regarding the degree of priority are applied. Thus, especially the reliability of public transit operations is increased. The priority efforts must be embedded in an integrated plan covering the whole urban or metropolitan transportation system.

Appraising large-scale investments in a metropolitan transportation system

A package of large-scale investments in the transportation infrastructure in the Stockholm metropolitan region is currently being proposed. It contains new investments in the railway and subway systems as well as new links in the road system. This paper deals with the issue of appraising this kind of investment program. One major problem is the lack of a unique standard method, and it is argued that several tools should be used in a practical evaluation of large-scale investments in the transportation system.

CHANGING SALES PATTERNS IN MAJOR AMERICAN METROPOLISES, 1963-1982

This study analyzes changing levels of retail sales (in constant dollars to control for inflation) between 1963 and 1982 in 17 American metropolises, in 39 major retail centers in outlying parts of those metropolises, and in the central business districts of those metropolises. At the metropolitan level, growth in retail sales was highly correlated with growth in population and personal incomes. Patterns of sales growth for the outlying major retail centers were more varied. The most successful major retail centers focused on large regional shopping centers and occupied favorable locations with respect to metropolitan transportation systems. The swift establishment of competing centers often meant that periods of rapid sales increases were brief for major retail centers, some of which also experienced significant changes in their retail mixes. Central business districts generally had slower sales-growth rates than outlying centers, although the widely varying situations of different downtowns were reflect...