Occasional Travel Research Articles

Risks and Benefits of Future Travel with Hyperloop: A Multi-Analytical Approach

Despite significant government investment in Hyperloop transportation across various countries, research on its potential advantages and drawbacks from the tourist’s perspective remains scarce. Guided by prospect theory, this study examines the perceptions and behaviors of frequent ( n = 386) and occasional ( n = 214) travelers regarding Hyperloop technology, using multiple analytical methods such as partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), multi-group analysis (MGA), fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), and artificial neural networks (ANN). The study explores how four perceived benefits (economic, environmental, socio-cultural, and time-saving) and four perceived risks (functional, physical, psychological, and financial concerns) influence travelers’ intentions to use Hyperloop for tourism. The PLS-SEM and MGA analyses indicate that frequent travelers prioritize time-saving, while economic, environmental, socio-cultural benefits, and functional risks influence occasional travelers’ decisions. Additionally, fsQCA findings identify distinct benefit-risk combinations affecting travel decisions, and deep learning models highlight critical factors predicting Hyperloop adoption. This study provides theoretical insights and practical strategies for integrating Hyperloop into tourism planning and management.

Bus Network Adjustment Pre-Evaluation Based on Biometric Recognition and Travel Spatio-Temporal Deduction

A critical component of bus network adjustment is the accurate prediction of potential risks, such as the likelihood of complaints from passengers. Traditional simulation methods, however, face limitations in identifying passengers and understanding how their travel patterns may change. To address this issue, a pre-evaluation method has been developed, leveraging the spatial distribution of bus networks and the spatio-temporal behavior of passengers. The method includes stage of travel demand analysis, accessible path set calculation, passenger assignment, and evaluation of key indicators. First, we explore the actual passengers’ origin and destination (OD) stop from bus card (or passenger Code) payment data and biometric recognition data, with the OD as one of the main input parameters. Second, a digital bus network model is constructed to represent the logical and spatial relationships between routes and stops. Upon inputting bus line adjustment parameters, these relationships allow for the precise and automatic identification of the affected areas, as well as the calculation of accessible paths of each OD pair. Third, the factors influencing passengers’ path selection are analyzed, and a predictive model is built to estimate post-adjustment path choices. A genetic algorithm is employed to optimize the model’s weights. Finally, various metrics, such as changes in travel routes and ride times, are analyzed by integrating passenger profiles. The proposed method was tested on the case of the Guangzhou 543 route adjustment. Results show that the accuracy of the number of predicted trips after adjustment is 89.6%, and the predicted flow of each associated bus line is also consistent with the actual situation. The main reason for the error is that the path selection has a certain level of irrationality, which stems from the fact that the proportion of passengers who choose the minimum cost path for direct travel is about 65%, while the proportion of one-transfer passengers is only about 50%. Overall, the proposed algorithm can quantitatively analyze the impact of rigid travel groups, occasional travel groups, elderly groups, and other groups that are prone to making complaints in response to bus line adjustment.

Super-capacitor integration into hybrid vehicle power source

The plug-in hybrid vehicle based on the concept of battery operated vehicle with strong electrical motor(s) and electrochemical battery is for thermal comfort of crew and for occasional elongated travel range completed by generator, which is designed on average traction power only and during of journey is mainly used in co-generative run for cabin heating. Such vehicle efficiency can be improved by the third power source, specifically used only for acceleration and regenerative braking purposes. That role is optimal for super-capacitor, which has very good charging efficiency and can store the energy from braking to the next acceleration. Both these actions are usually very fast with high power in very short time. Its sizing and voltage control is investigated in this paper.

Investigating occasional travel patterns based on smartcard transactions

Public transportation (PT) studies often neglect non-routine trips focusing predominantly on commuting. However, recent research revealed that occasional trips make up a substantial portion of public transport journeys, and traveler preferences for non-routine trips diverge from their preferences for regular commuting. We study non-routine trips based on a database of 63 million smartcard (SC) records of PT boardings made in Israel during June 2019. The characteristics of these trips are revealed by clustering PT users’ boarding records based on the location of the boarding stops and time of day, applying an extended DBSCAN algorithm. Our major findings are that (1) conventional home-work-home commuters are a minority in Israel and constitute less than 15% of the riders; (2) at least 30% of the PT trips do not belong to any cluster and can be classified as occasional; (3) The vast majority of users make both recurrent and occasional trips. A linear regression model provides a good estimate (R2 = 0.85) of the number of occasional boardings at a stop as a function of the total number of boardings, time of day, and land use composition around the location of trip origin. We discuss the potential applications of our approach in the landscape of diverse flexible PT.

Willingness to pay for reduced travel time: Case study of Mumbai - Ahmedabad High Speed Railway

India is constructing its first High Speed Railway (HSR) corridor between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, which is expected to reduce inter-city travel times significantly. However, the affordability of these reductions in travel time is still questionable for a developing country like India. This study analyses the existing conventional train travellers’ Willingness to Pay (WTP) for reduced travel time due to HSR. A questionnaire-based combined RP-SP survey was conducted in Mumbai to capture respondents’ travel details, socioeconomic status and Stated Preference choices. The modified open-ended contingent valuation method and binary logistic regression modelling methods were used for data collection and modelling, respectively. Differential Utility Weighted Mean WTP was calculated for multiple socioeconomic cohorts. It was found that travellers are willing to pay an average INR 300 (as on March 2020) over and above their current travel cost for every hour of travel time saving. The ideal fare range that travellers are willing to pay is between INR 3.25/km to INR 5.25/km. Low-income travellers, occasional travellers, those travelling in a group, and those on social trips had the lowest WTP values in their cohorts. On the contrary, regular business travellers with high incomes had the highest WTP. Analysis showed that the WTP of individuals decreases with the increasing no. of co-passengers and with the increasing comfort of competing modes. The future HSR in India needs a group ticket discount of 10% and an average 25% subsidy on monthly passes to make HSR more attractive for commuters and those travelling with families. This research would help draft the HSR operational policies for subsidies, stronger inter-modal competition, loss minimisation for conventional trains and ridership forecasts.

Covid-19 lightening the load factor in railway transport: Performance analysis in the north-west area of Milan

Covid-19 has strongly influenced the mobility of people in several ways and the limitations of mobility in Europe and Italy have conditioned the flows of workers and travelers. Railways, which are one key transport sector, had a clear decrease in passengers all over the world. The analysis, based on six Lombard/Piedmont lines (North-West of Italy), was carried out in the periods immediately preceding and following the lockdown, in which it was possible to move without draconian restrictions, and with mostly regular railway traffic, but at the same time, the number of commuters and occasional travelers was reduced by 40–60%. Using official data from Trenitalia and Trenord, the role of load factor in the railway performance is analyzed, to verify the impact of a substantial reduction in passenger numbers on the overall performance of six railway lines with a special focus on peak hours. The results obtained are not univocal and provide interesting indications, in fact, for some lines, there is an improvement in performance while for others there are no statistically significant differences with the previous year that means a similar performance, which is a starting point for future developments of the work at the national or regional level.

Utazási célpontok kiválasztásának szempontjai a hazai borturizmusban

A TANULMÁNY CÉLJA
 Tanulmányunkban a borturizmusban résztvevők utazási szokásait, borrégiókkal és pincészetekkel kapcsolatos elvárásait és preferenciáit vizsgáltuk.
 ALKALMAZOTT MÓDSZERTAN
 A releváns szakirodalmi vonatkozások összefoglalását követően a Nagy Bor Teszt 2018-as adatai alapján elemeztük a borral kapcsolatos utazási hajlandóságot és preferenciákat. Az online kérdőíves felmérés keretében 8552 fő borturizmussal kapcsolatos válaszait vizsgáltuk, majd az utazási gyakoriság alapján három csoportot elemeztünk részletesen: a rendszeres utazókat, akik legalább évente vesznek részt borral kapcsolatos utazáson, a ritkábban utazókat, akik ennél ritkábban utaznak ilyen céllal, és a nyitottakat, akik még soha nem voltak ilyen úton, de szívesen részt vennének valamikor.
 LEGFONTOSABB EREDMÉNYEK
 Válaszadóink magas érdeklődést mutattak a borhoz köthető utazással kapcsolatban. Azt tapasztaltuk, hogy eltérések vannak az utazási gyakoriság alapján létrejött csoportok között a borvidék kiválasztása, és a konkrét borászat kiválasztása terén is. A rendszeres utazók nyitottabbak a kevésbé ismert borvidékek irányába, mint a ritkábban utazók. A borászattal kapcsolatos elvárásaik terén is igényesebbek, a borászat által nyújtott élmény (például hangulat, szolgáltatások, étkezés) erőteljesebben jelenik meg körükben, mint a többi csoportnál. A ritkábban utazók, illetve a nyitottak csoportja az ismert borvidékeket látogatná szívesen, és számukra a döntést erőteljesebben befolyásolja, hogy a környéken milyen egyéb látnivalók és programok érhetőek el.
 GYAKORLATI JAVASLATOK
 Kutatásunk rávilágított arra, hogy a látogatók számára a helyszín (hangulat, vendégtér, kiegészítő szolgáltatások stb.), étkezési lehetőségek, borász jelenléte is meghatározó szerepet játszik a pincészet kiválasztásánál, vagyis a borturisták komplex élményt keresnek. A borászatnak tehát érdemes szolgáltatáscsomagot kialakítani. Hasznos lehet más piaci szereplőkkel együttműködni (például az étkezési és szálláslehetőség tekintetében), és ezt eleve felkínálni az érdeklődőknek. A desztinációknak is figyelembe kell venniük, hogy az utazók nagy része (mintánk háromnegyede) egy hétvégét, 2-3 napot töltene borhoz kapcsolódó utazással, tehát programcsomagot érdemes ajánlani számukra. Miután a borvidék ismertsége és pincészetei mellett ugyanúgy fontosak a látnivalók, programlehetőségek, események, így utóbbiakat javasolt fejleszteni, illetve összehangolni.
 Köszönetnyilvánítás: A Nagy Bor Teszt kutatás 2018-ban a Winelovers, a Magyar Turisztikai Ügynökség, a Vinoport, a Borászportál, valamint a Borkollégium támogatásával készült.

Investigating the influence of latent lifestyles on productive travels: Insights into designing autonomous transit system

As a special case of multitasking, travel-based multitasking typically refers to conducting a set of in-vehicle activities while traveling. Travel-based multitasking has an indisputable influence on offering a pleasant travel experience to transit users during their rides, given that they can use their travel time to perform desirable activities and gain benefits in various form. For instance, the in-activities could help the rider free up time from his/her schedule for the day (i.e., a worthwhile use of travel time). In this study, we investigate how the worthwhileness of a travel-based multitasking could be under the influence of: (1) the transit user’s lifestyle, and (2) socio-demographics, and (3) the characteristics of the transit trip. Towards this, we conducted an intercept survey focusing on the transit trips in the Chicago metropolitan area and analyzed it using latent class modeling approach. Per the results, two classes of transit users could be identified: (1) worthwhileness seekers, productively travelers and (2) leisure seekers, occasional worthwhile travelers. The results also suggest travel time, waiting time and walking distance to the transit station, and the set of in-vehicle activities as significant predictors of worthwhile use of travel time. The findings provide insights to policymakers for improving public transit systems in the current form, as well as designing an autonomous mobility system as the future form of public transit.

Is It the Timing? Short-Term Mobility and Coital Frequency in Agbogbloshie, Ghana.

Short-term mobility is often associated with increased sexual risk behavior. Mobile individuals often have higher rates of sexual risk behavior compared to non-mobile individuals, but the reasons why are not clear. Using monthly retrospective panel data from 202 men and 282 women in Agbogbloshie, Ghana, we tested whether short-term mobility was associated with changes in coital frequency, and whether the association was due to the act of travel in the given month (e.g., enabling higher risk behavior), the reason for travel, or an individual's travel propensity at other times in the year. Overnight travel specifically to visit family or friends, or for education, health, or other reasons, was associated with increased coital frequency for men. However, men with higher travel propensities had lower overall coital frequency and the act of traveling enabled more sex only for the most frequent male travelers. Men who seldom traveled had much higher coital frequency, but the act of traveling was not associated with additional sex acts. For women, travel for education, health, or other reasons increased coital frequency. Occasional female travelers had slightly more sex acts compared to non-mobile women, and the act of traveling for these women was associated with slight increases in coital frequency, supporting the enabling hypothesis. Highly mobile women had fewer sex acts per month on average. Our findings suggest that mobility characteristics measured on a broad temporal scale, as well as the reason for mobility, are important to understand the relationship between short-term mobility and sexual behavior.

Air travel during pregnancy: an update review and practical recommendation

Objective: Nowadays it is easier for pregnant women to travel abroad. The purpose of this review is to insure that healthcare providers advise pregnant women of the risks to travel by airplane. Materials and Methods: The authors provide an overview of the risks of thrombosis in pregnancy to travel by airplane and the risks of miscarriage and preterm labor. This study is based on electronic literature using the best available evidence from PubMed, Medline, Google Scholar, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (RCOG), and the British Thoracic Society (BTS). Results: In the lack of evidence-based information, physicians and pregnant women should only rely on guidelines and experts’ opinions. Conclusions: In the absence of a reasonable expectation for obstetric or medical complications, occasional air travel is safe in pregnancy. The specific airline recommendations should be always kept in mind.

Virtual reality: A new method to investigate cognitive load during navigation

Cognitive load has for long been studied in relation with learning processes. In our study, we investigated the impact of cognitive load in real-life situations taking the example of train travelers looking for relevant information in a train station. For this purpose, we created a virtual reality model of the tested train station from which we conducted a real-life study. Our aim was to compare travelers’ cognitive load impact in real-life environmental condition versus virtual reality simulation of the same environment. Regular and occasional travelers were recruited and were assumed as experts and novices, respectively. Investigation of cognitive load was based on physiological, subjective and behavioral aspects. These were measured using electrodermal activity, NASA-Task Load Index and recognition of relevant factual and contextual information seen by travelers in the train station, respectively. These three indicators used in both real-life and virtual reality were expected to follow the same trend, irrespective of the environmental condition, but were expected to vary with respect to expertise level. A higher cognitive load was forecasted for novice travelers than for expert travelers. The findings revealed no difference on the three indicators between virtual and real-life conditions. However, novice travelers showed higher cognitive load responses than expert travelers, in both environmental conditions. Our results suggest virtual reality as a promising technique for cognitive load analysis during navigation, and an effective method for neurocognitive assessments in daily life situations.

ACOG Committee Opinion No. 746 Summary: Air Travel During Pregnancy.

In the absence of obstetric or medical complications, occasional air travel is safe for pregnant women. Pregnant women can fly safely, observing the same precautions for air travel as the general population. Because severe air turbulence cannot be predicted and the subsequent risk for trauma is significant should this occur, pregnant women should be instructed to use their seat belts continuously while seated. Despite a lack of evidence associating lower extremity edema and venous thrombotic events with air travel during pregnancy, certain preventive measures can be used to minimize these risks, including use of support stockings and periodic movement of the lower extremities, avoidance of restrictive clothing, occasional ambulation, and maintenance of adequate hydration. For most air travelers, the risks to the fetus from exposure to cosmic radiation are negligible. However, aircrew or frequent flyers may exceed these limits. The Federal Aviation Administration and the International Commission on Radiological Protection consider aircrew to be occupationally exposed to ionizing radiation and recommend that they be informed about radiation exposure and health risks.

Pan-genome Analysis of Ancient and Modern Salmonella enterica Demonstrates Genomic Stability of the Invasive Para C Lineage for Millennia

SummarySalmonella enterica serovar Paratyphi C causes enteric (paratyphoid) fever in humans. Its presentation can range from asymptomatic infections of the blood stream to gastrointestinal or urinary tract infection or even a fatal septicemia [1]. Paratyphi C is very rare in Europe and North America except for occasional travelers from South and East Asia or Africa, where the disease is more common [2, 3]. However, early 20th-century observations in Eastern Europe [3, 4] suggest that Paratyphi C enteric fever may once have had a wide-ranging impact on human societies. Here, we describe a draft Paratyphi C genome (Ragna) recovered from the 800-year-old skeleton (SK152) of a young woman in Trondheim, Norway. Paratyphi C sequences were recovered from her teeth and bones, suggesting that she died of enteric fever and demonstrating that these bacteria have long caused invasive salmonellosis in Europeans. Comparative analyses against modern Salmonella genome sequences revealed that Paratyphi C is a clade within the Para C lineage, which also includes serovars Choleraesuis, Typhisuis, and Lomita. Although Paratyphi C only infects humans, Choleraesuis causes septicemia in pigs and boar [5] (and occasionally humans), and Typhisuis causes epidemic swine salmonellosis (chronic paratyphoid) in domestic pigs [2, 3]. These different host specificities likely evolved in Europe over the last ∼4,000 years since the time of their most recent common ancestor (tMRCA) and are possibly associated with the differential acquisitions of two genomic islands, SPI-6 and SPI-7. The tMRCAs of these bacterial clades coincide with the timing of pig domestication in Europe [6].

Millennia of Genomic Stability within the Invasive Para C Lineage of <i>Salmonella enterica</i>

Salmonella enterica serovar Paratyphi C causes enteric (paratyphoid) fever in humans. Its presentation can range from asymptomatic infections of the blood stream to gastrointestinal or urinary tract infection or even a fatal septicemia. Paratyphi C is very rare in Europe and North America, except for occasional travelers from South and East Asia or Africa where the disease is more common. However, early 20th century observations in Eastern Europe suggest that Paratyphi C enteric fever may once have had a wide-ranging impact on human societies. Here we describe a draft Paratyphi C genome (Ragna) recovered from the 800- year-old skeleton (SK152) of a young woman in Trondheim, Norway. Paratyphi C sequences were recovered from her teeth and bones, suggesting that she died of enteric fever, and demonstrating that these bacteria have long caused invasive salmonellosis in Europeans. Comparative analyses against modern Salmonella genome sequences revealed that Paratyphi C is a clade within the Para C Lineage, which also includes serovars Choleraesuis, Typhisuis and Lomita. Although Paratyphi C only infects humans, Choleraesuis causes septicemia in pigs and boar (and occasionally humans), and Typhisuis causes epidemic, chronic paratyphoid/caseous lymphadenitis in domestic pigs. These different host specificities likely evolved in Europe over the last ~4,000 years, since the time of their most recent common ancestor (tMRCA), and are possibly associated with the differential acquisitions of two genomic islands, SPI-6 and SPI-7. The tMRCAs of these bacterial clades coincide with the timing of pig domestication in Europe.

Generadores y transversalidad del discurso sobre inmigración en el ámbito metropolitano de Sevilla

Problems related to immigrant integration reveal the importance of developing a holistic analysis of the underlying dynamics of residential mobility, segregation and integration. In this sense, aspects such as discourse analysis can represent an important contribution to both the analysis of causes and consequences of residential segregation, as to a proper design of inclusive immigration public policy. Through a qualitative analysis, this study focuses on the development of a social discourse, along with its expansion and effects on immigration in Seville´s Metropolitan Area. The results show that, despite the important role of the media in the diffusion of this speech, other factors such as the vision of residents and former residents, or occasional travel, should be taken into account to understand how immigration imaginary and the role it plays in the integration and residential segregation, is built.

Clustering Vehicle Temporal and Spatial Travel Behavior Using License Plate Recognition Data

Understanding travel patterns of vehicle can support the planning and design of better services. In addition, vehicle clustering can improve management efficiency through more targeted access to groups of interest and facilitate planning by more specific survey design. This paper clustered 854,712 vehicles in a week using K-means clustering algorithm based on license plate recognition (LPR) data obtained in Shenzhen, China. Firstly, several travel characteristics related to temporal and spatial variability and activity patterns are used to identify homogeneous clusters. Then, Davies-Bouldin index (DBI) and Silhouette Coefficient (SC) are applied to capture the optimal number of groups and, consequently, six groups are classified in weekdays and three groups are sorted in weekends, including commuting vehicles and some other occasional leisure travel vehicles. Moreover, a detailed analysis of the characteristics of each group in terms of spatial travel patterns and temporal changes are presented. This study highlights the possibility of applying LPR data for discovering the underlying factor in vehicle travel patterns and examining the characteristic of some groups specifically.

Writing in London: Home and Languaging in the Work of London Poets of Chinese Descent

ABSTRACTThis essay discusses literary works produced in London by poets of Chinese descent who are foreign-born or London native. Some of these works are written in English, and some in Chinese. The aim is to discuss poetry that has emphatically or reluctantly embraced the identity narrative, talking of home and belonging in substantially different ways from each other, according to each poet’s individual relationship with movement, migration, and stability. Therefore, through the use of the phrase ‘London poets of Chinese descent’, I do not aim at tracing a shared sense of identity, but instead I am interested in using London as a method for an oblique reading that recognises the variety of angles and approaches in these poets’ individual experience, history and circumstances that can range from occasional travel to political exile.

HAV & HBV vaccination among travellers participating in the National Health and Wellness Survey in five European countries.

A main cause of hepatitis A and B infections in European countries is travel to endemic countries. Most research on hepatitis vaccination among travellers from Europe has been conducted in airports or travel clinics, samples which potentially overrepresented frequent travellers. 2102 respondents across France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and UK completed an internet-based questionnaire. Vaccination status, travel to endemic countries, and other characteristics were compared across frequent, occasional, and non-travellers. Logistic regressions tested association between vaccination and travel adjusting for potential confounders. Most respondents were occasional travellers (61%) and 24% were frequent travellers. Frequent travellers had 2.3-2.4 times the odds of being vaccinated relative to non-travellers, and odds of vaccination were 2.5-3.1 times higher among travellers to endemic areas relative to others (all p<.05). Frequent travellers were more aware of their vaccination status (HAV: 80% vs. 72%; HBV: 82% vs. 74%), though many who were vaccinated could not identify the number of injections to complete the series (47% vs. 29%) (all p<.05). Travel frequency and destination endemicity are associated with increased hepatitis A and B vaccination. The number of unvaccinated travellers and the lack of recall for the dosing schedule suggest the need to improve travellers' awareness and adherence to recommendations.

Built environment characteristics and parent active transportation are associated with active travel to school in youth age 12–15

PurposeTo investigate the relation of factors from multiple levels of ecological models (ie, individual, interpersonal and environmental) to active travel to/from school in an observational study of young adolescents.MethodsParticipants were...

Influence of weather conditions on transit ridership: A statistical study using data from Smartcards

This paper analyses the influence of meteorological conditions on the number of public bus trips made for leisure, shopping and personal business in Gipuzkoa, Spain. The ridership transit data employed were obtained from the data generated by a CAD/AVL system (Computer-aided dispatch/Automatic Vehicle Location) that simultaneously manages the data coming from all o the bus operators in the region. So, the study analyses the trips actually made by the entire population without resorting to sample data or aggregate behavioural studies, confirming as an added value of smart technologies their potentialities as a source of information. To determine the reasons for travelling, only journeys made on Saturdays and Sundays were studied for all weekends in 2010 and 2011. Multiple linear regression results showed that wind and rain could result in a decrease in the number of trips, while a temperature rise caused an increase in the number of trips, in agreement with the results of previous survey-based studies. Finally, both regular and occasional travellers were found to share this behavioural pattern.