Non-motorized Transport Research Articles

Inventory- Routing Mathematical Model in Transportation Fleet of a Bike Sharing Distribution Network

Todays' bike sharing system (BSS) as a non-motorised transportation system and compatible with the environment has attracted a lot of attention in the field of public transportation. One of the issues that has been considered by some researchers in recent years is bike sharing rebalancing problem that is related to the provision of the required bike for stations and their inventory management. The proposed model is an integer nonlinear programming that is able to rebalance BSS by considering the appropriate inventory policies. The purpose of this model is finding optimal routes for the fleet of vehicles (trucks) and using the suitable trucks to traverse these routes and minimising costs of rebalancing operations in multiple periods. The efficiency of the model is proved by solving two numerical examples by the GAMS software.

Sustainable and green transportation for better quality of life case study greater Cairo – Egypt

ABSTRACT Transportation is a process that moves people from one place to another. It is an essential issue in our lives and people cannot live without it. Transport provides access for people from their home to their work, education, health services, shops, and other services. Transportation system in developing countries is suffering from many problems such as: traffic congestion, lack of reliable and safe public transportation, road accidents, and difficulties for non-motorized transport. Transportation sector is the highest sector responsible for negative environmental impacts in the cities. It is responsible for high air and noise pollution and generating greenhouse gas emissions. Transportation master plans are essential, they are not less important than urban master plans and many cities lack the preparation of these plans. Establishing a sustainable and green urban transport system with an integrated approach to policymakers and decision-makers is essential. This system will change the direction of urban transport and mobility toward a more sustainable and green future by providing and developing affordable, economically viable, people-oriented and environment-friendly transport systems. This research studies the current situation and problems facing the transportation system in developing countries in general and in Egypt specifically. It also presents the Egyptian Government intervention in solving mobility and transportation problems. Finally, the research examines the strategies and methods that transportation professionals must use to address sustainable and green transportation.

Non-Motorized Transport (NMT) User Safety Guidelines in Urban Areas of Developing Countries

In Developing countries like India, analysis of safety issues on urban roads for Non-Motorized road traffic accidents in Indian cities (Srinagar city) where fatalities constitute approximately 25 % to 50% of the total traffic deaths is important. The NMT mainly comprises of pedestrians and bicyclists. The present study focusses on using video camera through image capture analysis and 13 different locations have been selected. The usage of latitude and longitude from google earth some of locations were selected in the CBD area of Srinagar city. The present study method is before study and after study location scenario (BSL-ASLS method) was used to identify necessary safety measures along the NMT lane with high traffic volumes on urban roads under mixed traffic conditions. The behavior of the NMT users plays a vital role in the characteristics of road accidents in Srinagar city. The final results clearly indicate that in the form of pie charts are shown at the end and there is a crucial need for providing a safe and separate lane for NMT (pedestrian and bicyclists) users in Srinagar city. The government should also develop a good policy/strategy regarding NMT and should provide a barrier in segregating the motorized and non-motorized traffic. There is a scope and need to carry out more research work in this area so as to improve the Non-motorized transport safety measures.

Understanding crime and demographic influence on non-motorized trips: Macro-level analysis

ABSTRACTInterest and emphasis on non-motorized modes of transportation have been increasing in the recent years. A better understanding of factors affecting non-motorized commuting trips would enable stakeholders in non-motorized transportation to come up with relevant and cost-effective strategies to promote it. This study aims to improve the understanding on the association between non-motorized commuting trips, crime, and related demographics. Moreover, this study demonstrates an innovative approach for using yearly crime dataset (Chicago) in conjunction with the American Community Survey (ACS) dataset. ACS dataset contains data pertaining to non-motorized commuting trips and important socioeconomic characteristics. An unsupervised data mining technique called Self-Organizing Map (SOM) was used to find association between different factors as it does not require any prior assumptions. The findings show that areas with lower income households are associated with high pedestrian and bicycle commuting. A negative association between crime and non-motorized commuting was also identified. The results also show that areas with larger youth populations are likely to have high non-motorized commuting trips. This study provides insights into the ongoing state-of-the-art study designs and analysis methods associated with non-motorized travel mode.

Adapting Urban Light-Rail Transport to the African Context: A Process Conducted by Transport Authorities and Chinese Rail Corporations in Addis-Ababa, Abuja, and Lagos

A contextual approach to Light-Rail Transport (LRT) needs to be tailored towards specific contexts, in terms of situations or contingencies, such as socio-economic and environmental factors. This research intends to discuss the societal benefits comprised of well-informed contextual factors for policymakers and urban transport authorities, to enable them to be able to formulate objective policies for a city’s socio-economic development. The aim of this article is to analyze the contextual factors in three cities which are responsible for the contextualization of infrastructural innovations of urban light-rail transport from China. The methodology that has been used is a qualitative method using multiple case studies, which includes a pilot and semi-structured interview. The analysis compares the similarities and differences within Nigeria, and between Nigeria and Ethiopia. The most perceptible contextual factors which influence infrastructural innovations in Nigeria include an electric energy supply, modernization of LRT and their stations, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), and seamless integration of LRT with other transport modes. The most conspicuous factors in Ethiopia are emergency ticket shops, seamless integration of LRT with other transport modes, and Non-Motorized Transport (NMT). Nigeria and Ethiopia both share the seamless integration of LRT with other transport modes. Therefore, academically analyzing contextual factors helps to unravel the poly-contextualization and context-specific decision-making processes in LRT implementation.

Bicycling in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Opportunities and challenges

Addis Ababa is urbanizing at an increasing rate. Mobility problems and related negative impacts of motorized traffic and associated road safety issues remained to be a big challenge to the city. Improved cycling environment can play a greater role in solving those issues through reducing the exposure to risk of crashes and leading to a sustainable urban transportation. Among others, the benefits of increased level of bicycling are; health and physical fitness, clean environment, safe and cheap mode of transportation, particularly for a developing city like Addis Ababa. Regardless of the significant benefits of bicycling, the use of the bicycle as a mode of transportation in Addis Ababa is currently negligible and understudied. Furthermore, the cycling environment of the city faces many challenges. Some of the challenges are; lack of bicycle infrastructures, poorly maintained infrastructure, lack of bicycle policy and strategy. The supply of bicycle with reasonable price and lack of awareness of the benefits of using cycling as a mode of transportation are also another issue in the city. This paper is prepared to provide a review of the literature on the opportunities and challenges of bicycling in Addis Ababa. It focuses on evidence of (i) the opportunities of bicycling along with its challenges, and (ii) the current status of the cycling environment in the city. The main objective of this paper is to collect evidences that outline the potentials and problems the city faces to achieve a better cycling environment. It is expected to provide important information that can be used by transport planners, policy makers and researchers of the city improve the cycling environment. Going forward, the city has the intention to prioritize Non-Motorized Transport, including cycling in the city.

Electric Mobility and Smart Mobility Concepts—Restrained Uptake in German Cities

Ninety German cities exceeded the European threshold on NO2 in 2016, 65 of those cities developed countermeasures and strategies that were published in Green City Plans (GCP). In the scope of this study, 55 publicly available GCPs were evaluated in order to assess their potential for traffic turnaround at a municipal level. All GCPs were analyzed to determine in which of the mentioned five to seven fields of action the respective city had planned measures and which fields of action were prioritized. A more in-depth qualitative analysis of the main topics: Electric mobility, public transport, and mobility concepts was carried out. To get a better understanding of the potential impact of the measures elaborated in the GCPs, complementary information on municipal fleet vehicle stocks, requirements of charging infrastructure for public buses and results of the European roadmap on mobility concepts are given. The evaluation of the GCPs showed that to this day, city administrations mainly optimize the current system by measures of electrification and digitization. Electrification of municipal fleets, car-sharing fleets, and public transport buses is in the focus of the strategies. Instruments to increase non-motorised transport, sustainable commercial transport, and/or mobility concepts are mentioned, but play a minor role. However, there still has been no system change in Germany. Therefore, a substantial turnaround of the transport system (“Verkehrswende”) is necessary. This applies to integrated urban and transport planning, flexible, strong, fast PT, non-motorised and flexible operating systems.

Malaysian Urban Residents’ Readiness to Reduce Car Usage and their Perception on Non-Motorised Facilities.

The research in this paper tries to establish the readiness of urban residents’ in Malaysia to minimize the car usage and their inclination to use non-motorised transport, such as cycling and walking, as alternatives to using a car for commuting. This study also tries to measure the perception of the residents regarding the existing scenario of walking and cycling infrastructure facilities provided in their cities. The data used in the study was collected through a survey in three cities, namely-Shah Alam, Batu Pahat, and Putrajaya, as a representation of the main cities in Malaysia. The results produced suggested- the majority of the population was not ready to give up travelling via car and take up cycling and walking in lieu of it. The causes listed for “refusal” of reducing the car usage included hot weather, surrounding safety concerns and undesirable pedestrian and cycling infrastructure conditions. The research explored that attitude, lifestyle and high level of dependency on cars are crucial factors dictating the travel behaviour, which is the reason why residents refuse to shift to sustainable and environment friendly options of travel. The research also suggests that these three cities need to improve and uplift their walking and cycling infrastructure facilities, especially in terms of provision of cover and shade, connectivity, design and maintenance and cleanliness to motivate the urban residents to minimize usage of the cars and take up walking and cycling instead.

Is India Financing Urban Transport in the Right Direction?

Transport issues in urban centers are rising at an exponential rate and are characterized by congestion, high motorized vehicles growth, vehicular and noise pollution, road accidents and parking space constraints. Present public transport and Non-Motorized Transport (NMT) modes are inefficient and do not cater to the needs of 31.23% of urbanized population in India, which is poised to grow up to 71% by 2031 (MoUD, 2015). Lack of accessibility in public transport and NMT has compelled commuters to opt for private transport modes such as twowheelers and cars, in order to have access to work, education and other leisure activities. The paper aims to assess the finances allocated to urban transport system in the city of Pune under the jurisdiction of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The authors intend to critically review the city budget and its contribution to sustainable modes of urban transport. The key research questions are: - a) whether the budget distributes enough revenue to enhance the efficiency and accessibility of public transport modes and NMT as guided in the National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP) of 2006? b) does the local government continue to invest in temporary urban transport solutions catering to the needs of private modes of transportation? The results further show that PMC’s budget allocation is not favoring sustainable modes of transport as much as it is catering to other urban transport infrastructure and utilities. The paper concludes with recommendation on ways of innovative financing methods to make public transport sustainable and discusses various case studies of best practices followed globally pertaining to sustainable urban transport system.

IS CONGESTION PRICING AN URBAN MOBILITY SOLUTION TO BRAZILIAN CITIES?

The congestion pricing is a measure of travel demand management to discourage car use with low public and political acceptability. In the Brazilian context, the Urban Mobility Policy considers this measure to mitigate the congestion. In this paper, we present an exploratory analysis to identify the characteristics considered important by Brazilian transport experts to the implementation of the congestion pricing. The residents assessed these characteristics to identify the preference and acceptability of this scheme in Belo Horizonte (Brazil). We obtained the data from a Web-based survey from experts and residents. With the results, we simulated scenarios reducing the number of private cars in order to evaluate the real benefits of congestion price in a real network. According to Brazilian transport experts, the congestion pricing can be an efficient and well-accepted demand management measure, if the profit subsidises the public transportation systems (bus and rail) and the infrastructure to non-motorized transportation, with active public participation in the decision-making. Considering the residents’ results, we identified favourable public acceptability considering the benefits of public transport investment from the revenue obtained out of the congestion charges. However, availability for payment has a high rejection rate, although implementation strategies are perceived as advantages. The simulation indicates the reduction of travel time (seconds/km), delay time (seconds/km), queue length (vehicle) and density time (vehicle/km) indicating congestion reduction and, consequently, improving the urban mobility. The contribution of this paper is one methodology considering the Brazilian context to evaluate the congestion-pricing scheme from experts and residents point of view. Also, the results could support the discussion about the implementation of the congestion charging in Brazilian cities.

IS CONGESTION PRICING AN URBAN MOBILITY SOLUTION TO BRAZILIAN CITIES?

The congestion pricing is a measure of travel demand management to discourage car use with low public and political acceptability. In the Brazilian context, the Urban Mobility Policy considers this measure to mitigate the congestion. In this paper, we present an exploratory analysis to identify the characteristics considered important by Brazilian transport experts to the implementation of the congestion pricing. The residents assessed these characteristics to identify the preference and acceptability of this scheme in Belo Horizonte (Brazil). We obtained the data from a Web-based survey from experts and residents. With the results, we simulated scenarios reducing the number of private cars in order to evaluate the real benefits of congestion price in a real network. According to Brazilian transport experts, the congestion pricing can be an efficient and well-accepted demand management measure, if the profit subsidises the public transportation systems (bus and rail) and the infrastructure to non-motorized transportation, with active public participation in the decision-making. Considering the residents’ results, we identified favourable public acceptability considering the benefits of public transport investment from the revenue obtained out of the congestion charges. However, availability for payment has a high rejection rate, although implementation strategies are perceived as advantages. The simulation indicates the reduction of travel time (seconds/km), delay time (seconds/km), queue length (vehicle) and density time (vehicle/km) indicating congestion reduction and, consequently, improving the urban mobility. The contribution of this paper is one methodology considering the Brazilian context to evaluate the congestion-pricing scheme from experts and residents point of view. Also, the results could support the discussion about the implementation of the congestion charging in Brazilian cities.

The future is urbanised

Summary The human population is shaping the planet like never before. Although this transformation started with agriculture, the focus is now switching to cities as humanity is rapidly becoming more urbanised. Thus, the environmental and sustainability challenges of this century will all have to be addressed in the context of more than 4 billion people living in cities. Michael Gross reports.

Making the connection between accessibility and travel behaviour in university setting (Case study: Babarsari Area, Yogyakarta)

Higher education in Indonesia, particularly Yogyakarta as City of Education, is continuously growing. Babarsari is one of higher education area with rapid growth and development in Yogyakarta. This area is surrounded by several universities which then form the agglomeration of higher education area. The influence of new activities as a growth pole like this educational activity has led to rapid change on land use and people’s activity. This encourages the potential for high daily movement, especially the movement of students who are the dominant actors in this area. The majority of students are live near the university. However, this not lead to higher use of sustainable modes in this area. This paper tried to reveal the connection between accessibility and travel behaviour in university area. By using samples from three universities in this area (Atma Jaya University, STTNAS Yogyakarta, and UPN Veteran Yogyakarta), result shows that living in university surrounded area did not ensure students to have sustainable travel behaviour, particularly for their campus travel. The lack of non-motorized transport facilities is indicated as the main barrier for students to travel in more sustainable way.

Is India Financing Urban Transport in the Right Direction

Transport issues in urban centers are rising at an exponential rate and are characterized by congestion, high motorized vehicles growth, vehicular and noise pollution, road accidents and parking space constraints. Present public transport and Non-Motorized Transport (NMT) modes are inefficient and do not cater to the needs of 31.23% of urbanized population in India, which is poised to grow up to 71% by 2031 (MoUD, 2015). Lack of accessibility in public transport and NMT has compelled commuters to opt for private transport modes such as two-wheelers and cars, in order to have access to work, education and other leisure activities. The paper aims to assess the finances allocated to urban transport system in the city of Pune under the jurisdiction of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The authors intend to critically review the city budget and its contribution to sustainable modes of urban transport. The key research questions are: - a) whether the budget distributes enough revenue to enhance the efficiency and accessibility of public transport modes and NMT as guided in the National Urban Transport Policy (NUTP) of 2006? b) does the local government continue to invest in temporary urban transport solutions catering to the needs of private modes of transportation? The research is based on secondary budget data of the year 2016-17 and the data so collected, has been analyzed on various financial parameters. The results show that PMC’s budget allocation is not favoring sustainable modes of transport as much as it is catering to other urban transport infrastructure and utilities. The study thereby suggests sufficient allocation of the city’s budget towards the creation of sustainable transportation. Lastly, the paper concludes with recommendation on ways of innovative financing methods to make public transport, sustainable and discusses various case studies of best practices followed globally pertaining to sustainable urban transport system.

Kentsel Ulaşımda Özel Araç Odaklı Düzenlemelere Eleştirel Bir Bakış

Özellikle 1980li yıllarda çevre bilincinin artması ve var olan kaynakların azalması gibi nedenler sınırlı bir ortam içinde sınırsız bir gelişmenin olamayacağı farkındalığını oluşturmuştur. Bu bağlamda ortaya çıkan "sürdürülebilir gelişme" kavramı birçok alanda olduğu gibi ulaşım politikalarında da kendini göstermiştir. Genel olarak "sürdürülebilir bir ulaşım" insan ve ekosistem sağlığını, ekonomik gelişmeyi ve sosyal adaleti koruyup geliştirmek koşulu ile hem günümüz hem gelecek için hareketlilik ihtiyacının karşılanması olarak tanımlanmaktadır. Sürdürülebilir kent içi ulaşım kavramı ise temelde toplumun tüm bireylerine eşit erişim imkânı sunan, toplu taşımayı ve motorsuz ulaşım alternatiflerini ön planda tutan, diğer ulaşım türleri(modları) ile entegrasyonunu sağlayan kapsamlı bir ulaşım sistemidir. Günümüzde hem gelişmiş hem de Türkiye gibi gelişmekte olan ülkelerde sürdürülebilir ulaşım sistemleri oluşturulması hususunda çabalar gösterilmekte ve çeşitli politikalar uygulanmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, Van kent merkezi iş alanında (MİA) ilgili yerel yönetimin ilgili birimi olan Ulaşım ve Koordinasyon Merkezi tarafından mevcut trafik yoğunluğunu azaltmak amacı ile parkomat uygulaması ve kent merkezinin iki ana caddelerinden biri olan Cumhuriyet Caddesi’nin bir kısmının toplu taşım güzergâhı kapsamından çıkarılması ele alınmaktadır. Buradan hareketle çalışmada, yerel yönetimin bu düzenlemeleri sürdürülebilir ulaşım politikaları bağlamında mevzuat ve mekânsal açısından tartışılmaktadır.

An interim evaluation of Penang’s first bike-share scheme

Bike-sharing schemes are gaining worldwide momentum as a non-motorized transport. The reasons why cities have jumped on the bandwagon of implementing a bike-share system are to reduce traffic congestion, to improve air quality and as an alternative transport option to move around cities. As part of the effort to be “cleaner, greener, healthier and safer,” Penang Island has decided to launch the first bike-share scheme in Penang, making it the first state in Malaysia to ever implement a bike-sharing program with a docking station. While the existing literature on bike-sharing focuses on European and North American cities, less attention is given to experiences in South East Asia, especially small cities in the South East Asia. This paper aims to fill that gap by evaluating the performance of the pioneer of the bike-sharing program in Penang; i.e. the LinkBike. Using the inaugural data from LinkBike’s first annual report, as well as data from personal interviews and grey literature, this paper attempts to understand the performance, opportunities and challenges facing LinkBike in its first year of operation. Essentially, results show that LinkBike was performing quite well considering it was the bike-share pioneer in Penang. This paper also highlights several opportunities such as attractive brands and effective outreach strategy and challenges in terms of payment method, safety concerns and lack of cycling culture. Understanding these motivators and constraints will better shape the performances of LinkBike in terms of ridership and cultivating the cycling culture in Penang. Keywords : bike-share, cycling, LinkBike, non-motorized transport, performance, program evaluation

Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index Decomposition of CO2 Emissions from Urban Passenger Transport: An Empirical Study of Global Cities from 1960–2001

The urban transport sector has become one of the major contributors to global CO2 emissions. This paper investigates the driving forces of changes in CO2 emissions from the passenger transport sectors in different cities, which is helpful for formulating effective carbon-reduction policies and strategies. The logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) method is used to decompose the CO2 emissions changes into five driving determinants: Urbanization level, motorization level, mode structure, energy intensity, and energy mix. First, the urban transport CO2 emissions between 1960 and 2001 from 46 global cities are calculated. Then, the multiplicative decomposition results for megacities (London, New York, Paris, and Tokyo) are compared with those of other cities. Moreover, additive decomposition analyses of the 4 megacities are conducted to explore the driving forces of changes in CO2 emissions from the passenger transport sectors in these megacities between 1960 and 2001. Based on the decomposition results, some effective carbon-reduction strategies can be formulated for developing cities experiencing rapid urbanization and motorization. The main suggestions are as follows: (i) Rational land use, such as transit-oriented development, is a feasible way to control the trip distance per capita; (ii) fuel economy policies and standards formulated when there are oil crisis are effective ways to suppress the increase of CO2 emissions, and these changes should not be abandoned when oil prices fall; and (iii) cities with high population densities should focus on the development of public and non-motorized transport.

Built environment, income and travel behavior: Change in the city of Chengdu, China 2005–2016

In this paper, we look at differences in travel behavior and location characteristics across income in Chengdu, China at two points of time, 2005 and 2016, using household travel surveys. Specifically, we compare changes over time for different income groups for Chengdu in 2005 and 2016. We find that walking or biking remains the most common mode for all income groups but higher-income households appear to have more choices depending on the proximity of their neighborhood to downtown. We also find that both average local and average regional access have worsened since 2005. Furthermore, it appears that there is less economic diversity within neighborhoods in 2016 when compared to 2005, with more locations appearing to have 40% or more of low-, middle-, or high-income households than in the past. Finally, we find that low-income households and older trip makers are more likely to walk or bike and that high-income households are the most likely to own cars and use motorized modes. Built environment characteristics like mixed land use appear to significantly reduce travel time in 2016 but do not result in higher non-motorized transport mode share. We contribute to existing literature by evaluating changes in the relationship of built environment and travel behavior during a period of rapid urbanization and economic growth in a Chinese city.

Analyzing effects of transport policies on travelers’ rational behaviour for modal shift in Denmark

In this paper, an innovative agent-based model is developed to simulate emergent patterns arising from individual actions to analyze opportunities for modal shift in Denmark (ABMoS-DK). Themodeling processsimulates the interaction between travelers (agents) and the network, and applies aheuristic algorithm to model travelers’rational decision making process based on tangible costs (ticket price, fixed and variable operation and maintenance costs) and Value of Travel Time (VOTT) explained by Value of Time (VoT), travel time and level of service. The traveler is described by a set of socio-economic attributes (income, family structure, place of residence, car/bike ownership) and the utility is derived from properties of alternative modes to determine whether to use non-motorized, public or private transport. Fluctuation of tangible costs and value of travel time can provide comparative advantages to the alternative modes and has the potential to affect the utility of the mode derived by traveler and change mode choice decision. A set of “pull” and “push” policy scenarios are formulated to help us understand how different factors affect mode choice in transport. We find that disincentivizing private cars has the highest potential for shifting from car use followed by incentives for sustainable modes and expansion of public transport infrastructure. The paper concludes that capturing rational behavioural features of consumers with fine level of heterogeneity in modelling will help to better understand the dynamics of the transportation system and consequently assist policy makers to better identify and target consumer groups with the highest shift potential.

Accommodating bicycle and pedestrian traffic in sub-urban areas Sri Lanka

The concept of sustainability has become a key idea in national and international discussion following the publication of Brundtland Commission Report. Sustainability in non-renewable resource management ultimately results in more energy saving options. However, it is less evident in a small scale and in energy saving terms. This paper attempts to highlight the importance of sustainable transportation for achieving the goal of promotion of energy saving cities. Objectives of the study are to identify a suitable road network to designate as bicycle and pedestrian priority roads and to identify modifications required to accommodate these non-motorized transport modes in promotion of sustainable transportation. A case study carried out in Rathmalana West area where roads were rehabilitated after a storm water drainage. Logical analysis to the collected information derived a suitable pedestrian/bicycle priority network that connects coastline to main arterial. The results rectified the provisions for increase public transport coverage and thereby concentrate on encouraging pedestrians and cyclists.