Vol 20 No 4 (2020)
2020-12-21
Vol 20 No 4 (2020)
2020-12-21
Articles
-
Nowadays, mobility modelling at individual level is receiving significant attention. Moreover, the technological advances in the field of travel behaviour analysis have supported and promoted the modelling paradigm shift to disaggregate methods such as agent/activity-based modelling Nonetheless, such approaches usually require significant amounts of detailed and fine-grained data which are not always easily accessible. The methodology presented in this paper aims to generate individual home-based trip-chains (i.e. tours) utilising aggregated sources of information, primarily, typical Origin-Destination matrices (ODs) and secondarily travel surveys. A suitable framework able to optimally identify ‘hidden’ tours in typical ODs is proposed and evaluated through its application on a set of multi-period OD matrices, covering an urban area of realistic size. This novel methodological framework synthesises the individual tours by combining and elevating advanced graph theory and integer programming concepts. The performance of the proposed methodology proves particularly encouraging since high estimation accuracy (greater than 85%) was achieved even for the most challenging examined test-case. The presented results provide positive evidence that information regarding travel behaviour on an individual level can be produced based on aggregated data sources such as OD matrices. This element is particularly valuable towards the analysis of mobility at the person-level, especially within the framework of agent-based modelling.
Nowadays, mobility modelling at individual level is receiving significant attention. Moreover, the technological advances in the field of travel behaviour analysis have supported and promoted the modelling paradigm shift to disaggregate methods such as agent/activity-based modelling Nonetheless, such approaches usually require significant amounts of detailed and fine-grained data which are not always easily accessible. The methodology presented in this paper aims to generate individual home-based trip-chains (i.e. tours) utilising aggregated sources of information, primarily, typical Origin-Destination matrices (ODs) and secondarily travel surveys. A suitable framework able to optimally identify ‘hidden’ tours in typical ODs is proposed and evaluated through its application on a set of multi-period OD matrices, covering an urban area of realistic size. This novel methodological framework synthesises the individual tours by combining and elevating advanced graph theory and...
Nowadays, mobility modelling at individual level is receiving significant attention. Moreover, the technological advances in the field of travel behaviour analysis have supported and promoted the modelling paradigm shift to disaggregate methods such as agent/activity-based modelling...
Haris Ballis, Loukas Dimitriou1-21 -
This paper explores the usability of floating car data (FCD) of mixed quality in congestion analysis on motorways. The specific data quality aspects that we are investigating are the number and density of trajectories, the GPS interval, and the fleet representativeness. We use a dataset provided by the German Automobile Club ADAC covering the Tyrolean road network in 2016. From this dataset, trajectories along the A12 motorway were extracted for congestion analysis. These data are characterized by high GPS time interval, low number of trajectories, and are not representative for total traffic due to overrepresentation of trucks. The influence of these quality parameters on congestion identification is explored by analyzing the parameter distribution among different congestion types. In addition, we validate the results by comparing them with congestion incidents obtained from the stationary detector data (SDD) and examining the impact of quality parameters on the validation results. We find that the given data set does not allow short-term congestion patterns to be identified due to quality flaws. Especially the low number of trajectories proved problematic, whereas the influence of other parameters was less distinct. Despite these flaws, for large-scale congestion incidents, floating car data provide outcomes similar to those derived from stationary detectors.
This paper explores the usability of floating car data (FCD) of mixed quality in congestion analysis on motorways. The specific data quality aspects that we are investigating are the number and density of trajectories, the GPS interval, and the fleet representativeness. We use a dataset provided by the German Automobile Club ADAC covering the Tyrolean road network in 2016. From this dataset, trajectories along the A12 motorway were extracted for congestion analysis. These data are characterized by high GPS time interval, low number of trajectories, and are not representative for total traffic due to overrepresentation of trucks. The influence of these quality parameters on congestion identification is explored by analyzing the parameter distribution among different congestion types. In addition, we validate the results by comparing them with congestion incidents obtained from the stationary detector data (SDD) and examining the impact of quality parameters on the validation...
This paper explores the usability of floating car data (FCD) of mixed quality in congestion analysis on motorways. The specific data quality aspects that we are investigating are the number and density of trajectories, the GPS interval, and the fleet representativeness. We use a dataset...
Wolfgang Blumthaler, Bartosz Bursa, Markus Mailer22-37 -
Due to the dilemma of bike-sharing concerning its benefits and drawbacks, and its unclear future, we focused on a mixed-methods approach to analyze this public discussion through posts or “tweets” from the social media channel Twitter. We collected around 12,000 tweets in English around the world related to bike-sharing for a period of about six months. We considered two approaches, including topic clustering and sentiment analysis in tweets including: a) bike-sharing related terms and b) “future” and bike-sharing related terms. Strongly positive tweets promote bike-sharing and its benefits such as being convenient, well-performing, and sustainable. Additionally, there is a tendency to write that public, electric, and dockless are better, together with scooters. In contrast, the complaints on bike-sharing focused on inequity, rentals and safety issues, critique on authorities and laws, and poor performance especially of dockless Asian bike-sharing start-ups with low-quality bikes. Around 50% of the tweets that included the terms “future” and “bike–sharing” stated that bike-sharing is going to be part of the future of mobility as an electric dockless version together with other shared modes. The hesitant statements towards bike-sharing being part of the future referred mainly to the systems with poor bikes’ quality. Politicians and stakeholders can use this information to enhance bike-sharing or consider the implementation of certain types of bike-sharing in their cities. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study would be one of the first that analysis the public discussion on social media about a transportation system and its future using a mixed-methods approach. Future studies should aim at identifying and comparing the public opinion of different emerging transportation technologies.
Due to the dilemma of bike-sharing concerning its benefits and drawbacks, and its unclear future, we focused on a mixed-methods approach to analyze this public discussion through posts or “tweets” from the social media channel Twitter. We collected around 12,000 tweets in English around the world related to bike-sharing for a period of about six months. We considered two approaches, including topic clustering and sentiment analysis in tweets including: a) bike-sharing related terms and b) “future” and bike-sharing related terms. Strongly positive tweets promote bike-sharing and its benefits such as being convenient, well-performing, and sustainable. Additionally, there is a tendency to write that public, electric, and dockless are better, together with scooters. In contrast, the complaints on bike-sharing focused on inequity, rentals and safety issues, critique on authorities and laws, and poor performance especially of dockless Asian bike-sharing start-ups with...
Due to the dilemma of bike-sharing concerning its benefits and drawbacks, and its unclear future, we focused on a mixed-methods approach to analyze this public discussion through posts or “tweets” from the social media channel Twitter. We collected around 12,000 tweets in English...
David Duran-Rodas, Dominic Villeneuve, Gebhard Wulfhorst38-58 -
The numbers of electric vehicles (EV) will increase as many countries perceive EVs as a solution to reduce the emissions of transportation and therefore incentivize their adoption. However, the deployment of public charging infrastructure is lagging behind that of EVs, which represents a potential barrier to their wide-scale adoption. The objective of this paper is to develop a comprehensive overview of potential EV charging solutions to be deployed in urban areas. Using a micro-Delphi approach, experts from transport, energy and urban planning were consulted and identified 15 realistic options for charging electric vehicles in urban environments by 2035. The solutions range from purely technical to more service oriented. Most of these solutions already exist today, although some remain at a very early stage of deployment. The five most likely options were on-street public charging points, charging at work, fast-charging stations, using building domestic plugs and semi-fast charging in public areas. When combined with the typical mobility and residential profiles, our results show that EV drivers will most likely rely on a mix of solutions, when they have no home chargers. As such, no breakthrough or major shift is expected in charging infrastructures, rather a scale-up of existing solutions. Our analysis concludes that urban charging options will be numerous and no single solution is expected to dominate as users with different EV user profiles will charge at different times and locations.
The numbers of electric vehicles (EV) will increase as many countries perceive EVs as a solution to reduce the emissions of transportation and therefore incentivize their adoption. However, the deployment of public charging infrastructure is lagging behind that of EVs, which represents a potential barrier to their wide-scale adoption. The objective of this paper is to develop a comprehensive overview of potential EV charging solutions to be deployed in urban areas. Using a micro-Delphi approach, experts from transport, energy and urban planning were consulted and identified 15 realistic options for charging electric vehicles in urban environments by 2035. The solutions range from purely technical to more service oriented. Most of these solutions already exist today, although some remain at a very early stage of deployment. The five most likely options were on-street public charging points, charging at work, fast-charging stations, using building domestic plugs and semi-fast...
The numbers of electric vehicles (EV) will increase as many countries perceive EVs as a solution to reduce the emissions of transportation and therefore incentivize their adoption. However, the deployment of public charging infrastructure is lagging behind that of EVs, which represents a...
Dominic Villeneuve, Yann Füllemann, Guillaume Drevon, Vincent Moreau, François Vuille, Vincent Kaufmann78-102 -
Serious games as research instruments – Do’s and don’ts from a cross-case-analysis in transportation
Serious games as research instruments are seen as a special type of participatory modelling, allowing a researcher to observe the behaviour and decisions taken by players. Yet, games have their own dynamics and come with certain challenges when used as a research instrument. This article reports on specific challenges in using games as research instruments in the domain of transportation. Therefore, three digital games from the transportation sub-systems freight transport, airport management and public transport are presented. The cases are analysed according to the challenges faced during the phases of requirements analysis, design, implementation, usage as research instrument, and evaluation. Based on this cross-case analysis of the research games, Do’s and Don’ts as well as practical recommendations are derived to support researchers and practitioners in applying serious games as research instruments in transportation. The new ReDIRE-framework to analyse serious games for research purposes is presented for this aim. Design guidelines resulting from our contribution can be helpful for game designers and researchers alike.
Serious games as research instruments are seen as a special type of participatory modelling, allowing a researcher to observe the behaviour and decisions taken by players. Yet, games have their own dynamics and come with certain challenges when used as a research instrument. This article reports on specific challenges in using games as research instruments in the domain of transportation. Therefore, three digital games from the transportation sub-systems freight transport, airport management and public transport are presented. The cases are analysed according to the challenges faced during the phases of requirements analysis, design, implementation, usage as research instrument, and evaluation. Based on this cross-case analysis of the research games, Do’s and Don’ts as well as practical recommendations are derived to support researchers and practitioners in applying serious games as research instruments in transportation. The new ReDIRE-framework to analyse serious games for...
Serious games as research instruments are seen as a special type of participatory modelling, allowing a researcher to observe the behaviour and decisions taken by players. Yet, games have their own dynamics and come with certain challenges when used as a research instrument. This article...
Maria Freese103-126 -
Cycling is an important pillar of the global endeavor to have a more sustainable transportation system. Many papers have studied how trip and person characteristics affect selecting the bike as a transport mode but unlike other researchers, we model the probability of cycling using a binary item response model where the choice is modelled as a trade-off between the individuals' tendency to cycle and the threshold related to each cycling situation.
We distinguish between frequent and occasional cyclists. The results show that occasional cyclists are more affected by adverse weather situations, darkness, and uphill slopes. Contrary to the previous studies, a separate bike path turned out a stronger motivator for the group of frequent cyclists.
The model fit can substantially be improved by accounting for attribute non-attendance. The results show that weather and wind speed have the highest probability to be taken into account, and the bike path had the lowest probability of being considered by the respondents.
Employing the attribute non-attendance model made it possible to make accurate and trustworthy conclusions about the attributes by focusing on the people who take into account the attributes. More specifically, it was found that the presence of a separate bike path and a 100% asphalt route can increase the average probability of taking the bike by up to 55 and 40 percentage points, respectively.
Cycling is an important pillar of the global endeavor to have a more sustainable transportation system. Many papers have studied how trip and person characteristics affect selecting the bike as a transport mode but unlike other researchers, we model the probability of cycling using a binary item response model where the choice is modelled as a trade-off between the individuals' tendency to cycle and the threshold related to each cycling situation.
We distinguish between frequent and occasional cyclists. The results show that occasional cyclists are more affected by adverse weather situations, darkness, and uphill slopes. Contrary to the previous studies, a separate bike path turned out a stronger motivator for the group of frequent cyclists.
The model fit can substantially be improved by accounting for attribute non-attendance. The results show that weather and wind speed have the highest probability to be taken into account, and the bike path had the lowest...
Cycling is an important pillar of the global endeavor to have a more sustainable transportation system. Many papers have studied how trip and person characteristics affect selecting the bike as a transport mode but unlike other researchers, we model the probability of cycling using a binary...
Abolghassem Jandari, Michel Meulders, Saskia Desplenter, Martina Vandebroek127-151 -
This article presents an agent-based travel demand model, where agents react to transport supply across all mobility choices. Long-term choices include mobility tool ownership and work locations. Daily travel patterns are simulated at the individual level by sequentially combining activity frequency, activity durations and destinations as well as a rule-based time-of-day scheduling. A key to success in this novel approach is balancing individual preferences of travelers with system constraints. The model incorporates two types of constraints: 1) capacity constraints of the transport infrastructure. 2) natural time and space constraints during the execution of individual 24-hour day plans. Model results are validated against empirical observations of travel demand in Switzerland. The article concludes with a perspective for further research and development in the field of applied agent-based modeling.
This article presents an agent-based travel demand model, where agents react to transport supply across all mobility choices. Long-term choices include mobility tool ownership and work locations. Daily travel patterns are simulated at the individual level by sequentially combining activity frequency, activity durations and destinations as well as a rule-based time-of-day scheduling. A key to success in this novel approach is balancing individual preferences of travelers with system constraints. The model incorporates two types of constraints: 1) capacity constraints of the transport infrastructure. 2) natural time and space constraints during the execution of individual 24-hour day plans. Model results are validated against empirical observations of travel demand in Switzerland. The article concludes with a perspective for further research and development in the field of applied agent-based modeling.
This article presents an agent-based travel demand model, where agents react to transport supply across all mobility choices. Long-term choices include mobility tool ownership and work locations. Daily travel patterns are simulated at the individual level by sequentially combining activity...
Wolfgang Scherr, Patrick Manser, Chetan Joshi, Nathalie Frischknecht, Denis Métrailler152-172 -
In an era of sustained budget cuts, England’s local authorities are increasingly forced to ‘apply’ for infrastructure funding via competitive bidding processes. However, we currently know little about how this method of funding impacts implementation. Accordingly, we consider the consequences of competitive funding by exploring the constraints associated with implementing infrastructure under the state-funded Cycling Demonstration Towns programme. This was achieved via a case study in Chester, a city that was unable to deliver the ambitions of their bid. This study was informed by figurational sociology in order to focus on relational processes. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with personnel involved in the planning and implementation of the project. The key findings were: (1) participants considered the bidding process to be akin to a ‘beauty contest’ where authorities were consciously making fantasy-laden promises in order to ‘impress’ the awards panel; (2) those involved in the bid did not consult key delivery parties, many of whom held car-centric predispositions, until funding was secured, and this led to complications in the delivery process; (3) during project implementation as the chains of interdependency of those involved widened, several unintended outcomes emerged which contributed to the two ‘flagship’ infrastructure proposals being halted; (4) this led to an intervention package that was heavily weighted towards promotional, or ‘soft’, interventions. Theoretical insight from this study suggests that competitive funding is likely to encourage authorities to present bids that are largely detached from the realities of implementing infrastructure, thus leading to difficulties once funding has been awarded.
In an era of sustained budget cuts, England’s local authorities are increasingly forced to ‘apply’ for infrastructure funding via competitive bidding processes. However, we currently know little about how this method of funding impacts implementation. Accordingly, we consider the consequences of competitive funding by exploring the constraints associated with implementing infrastructure under the state-funded Cycling Demonstration Towns programme. This was achieved via a case study in Chester, a city that was unable to deliver the ambitions of their bid. This study was informed by figurational sociology in order to focus on relational processes. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with personnel involved in the planning and implementation of the project. The key findings were: (1) participants considered the bidding process to be akin to a ‘beauty contest’ where authorities were consciously making fantasy-laden promises in order...
In an era of sustained budget cuts, England’s local authorities are increasingly forced to ‘apply’ for infrastructure funding via competitive bidding processes. However, we currently know little about how this method of funding impacts...
Chris White, Daniel Bloyce, Miranda Thurston173-193 -
This paper examines spatial-temporal inter- and intrapersonal variation in destination choice, based on longitudinal smartphone data for the Netherlands. Mixed logit destination choice models were estimated using two years of data (2014 and 2015) from the Dutch Mobile Mobility Panel, in which over 68,000 trips for 442 respondents were recorded with a smartphone app during an annual four-week measurement period. A distinction was made between trips to compulsory activities (such as work) and trips for discretionary purposes (such as recreation) as they are associated with different trip characteristics. Discrete destination alternatives were defined based on individuals’ behaviour in terms of repeatedly visited destinations and the statistical distribution of a spatial repetition index. The model results show that intrapersonal variation in destination choice, departure time and mode choice was relatively high for less frequently visited locations, which indicates novelty-seeking behaviour in destination choice. Furthermore, we found a strong connection between activity, departure time, and destination choice. And, mode choice and departure time choice were highly repetitive for destinations visited repetitively (e.g. work), but not for discretionary activities.
This paper examines spatial-temporal inter- and intrapersonal variation in destination choice, based on longitudinal smartphone data for the Netherlands. Mixed logit destination choice models were estimated using two years of data (2014 and 2015) from the Dutch Mobile Mobility Panel, in which over 68,000 trips for 442 respondents were recorded with a smartphone app during an annual four-week measurement period. A distinction was made between trips to compulsory activities (such as work) and trips for discretionary purposes (such as recreation) as they are associated with different trip characteristics. Discrete destination alternatives were defined based on individuals’ behaviour in terms of repeatedly visited destinations and the statistical distribution of a spatial repetition index. The model results show that intrapersonal variation in destination choice, departure time and mode choice was relatively high for less frequently visited locations, which indicates...
This paper examines spatial-temporal inter- and intrapersonal variation in destination choice, based on longitudinal smartphone data for the Netherlands. Mixed logit destination choice models were estimated using two years of data (2014 and 2015) from the Dutch Mobile Mobility Panel, in which...
Saidul Chowdhury, Lissy La Paix, Karst Geurs194-213 -
Technological advances are disrupting mobility patterns and transport technologies, both on the ground and in the air. The latter has been recently observed in the research community of urban air mobility (UAM). Research in this area has studied several areas of its implementation, such as vehicle concepts, infrastructure, transport modeling, or operational constraints. Few studies however have focused on evaluating this service as an alternative among existing transportation systems. This research presents an approach for the selection of indicators for a multi-criteria analysis for the assessment of UAM, in a case study of Upper Bavaria, Germany. A 5-stage approach is showcased including an expert assessment for the relevance and feasibility of indicators, based on two rating scales. A threshold for selection is presented, applied and validated for both scales. The results included a list of indicators for assessing the potentials of UAM integration to existing public transportation systems; the chosen indicators were then compared against existing ones for sustainable urban mobility. A high match between resulting indicators and previous ones further validate the results, and suggest that there is a need for an iterative approach in the assessment of disruptive transport technologies.
Technological advances are disrupting mobility patterns and transport technologies, both on the ground and in the air. The latter has been recently observed in the research community of urban air mobility (UAM). Research in this area has studied several areas of its implementation, such as vehicle concepts, infrastructure, transport modeling, or operational constraints. Few studies however have focused on evaluating this service as an alternative among existing transportation systems. This research presents an approach for the selection of indicators for a multi-criteria analysis for the assessment of UAM, in a case study of Upper Bavaria, Germany. A 5-stage approach is showcased including an expert assessment for the relevance and feasibility of indicators, based on two rating scales. A threshold for selection is presented, applied and validated for both scales. The results included a list of indicators for assessing the potentials of UAM integration to existing public...
Technological advances are disrupting mobility patterns and transport technologies, both on the ground and in the air. The latter has been recently observed in the research community of urban air mobility (UAM). Research in this area has studied several areas of its implementation, such as...
Christelle Al Haddad, Mengying Fu, Anna Straubinger, Kay Plötner, Constantinos Antoniou214-232 -
In Germany, mobility is currently in a state of flux. Since June 2019, electric kick scooters
(e-scooters) have been permitted on the roads, and this market is booming. This study employs a user survey to generate new data, supplemented by expert interviews to determine whether such e-scooters are a climate-friendly means of transport. The environmental impacts are quantified using a life cycle assessment. This results in a very accurate picture of e-scooters in Germany. The global warming potential of an e-scooter calculated in this study is 165 g CO2-eq./km, mostly due to material and production (that together account for 73% of the impact). By switching to e-scooters where the battery is swapped, the global warming potential can be reduced by 12%. The lowest value of 46 g CO2-eq./km is reached if all possibilities are exploited and the life span of e-scooters is increased to 15 months. Comparing these emissions with those of the replaced modal split, e-scooters are at best 8% above the modal split value of 39 g CO2-eq./km.In Germany, mobility is currently in a state of flux. Since June 2019, electric kick scooters
(e-scooters) have been permitted on the roads, and this market is booming. This study employs a user survey to generate new data, supplemented by expert interviews to determine whether such e-scooters are a climate-friendly means of transport. The environmental impacts are quantified using a life cycle assessment. This results in a very accurate picture of e-scooters in Germany. The global warming potential of an e-scooter calculated in this study is 165 g CO2-eq./km, mostly due to material and production (that together account for 73% of the impact). By switching to e-scooters where the battery is swapped, the global warming potential can be reduced by 12%. The lowest value of 46 g CO2-eq./km is reached if all possibilities are exploited and the life span of e-scooters is increased to 15 months. Comparing these emissions with those of the replaced modal split,...In Germany, mobility is currently in a state of flux. Since June 2019, electric kick scooters
(e-scooters) have been permitted on the roads, and this market is booming. This study employs a user survey to generate new data, supplemented by expert interviews to determine whether such...Markus Kazmaier, Tessa T. Taefi, Tim Hettesheimer233-251 -
Like other transportation data, lane-mean speeds are also best modeled by a system of structural equations. Several studies omit the interrelation between adjacent lane speeds, which may produce biased and inconsistent results if models are solved by ordinary least squares. The uncorrelatedness of regressors and disturbances assumption of ordinary least squares is violated since one or more independent variables are endogenous in the system. This study attempts to propose a structural equations approach to model the lane-mean speeds in multi-lane traffic, in which the endogeneity of adjacent lane speeds and the downstream speeds are being considered. Additionally, the equations system can serve as a prediction model for lane-mean speeds. Several empirical analyses using the data collected from multi-lane freeways with different lengths and different numbers of lanes are conducted to observe the performance of the equations system in different conditions. The study further compares the prediction accuracy between the underlying approach and the model established by Shankar and Mannering (1998) for assessing the impact of introducing downstream speeds within the model. The findings show that more precise results are obtained generally after downstream speeds are included, emphasizing the improvements and superiority of this approach.
Like other transportation data, lane-mean speeds are also best modeled by a system of structural equations. Several studies omit the interrelation between adjacent lane speeds, which may produce biased and inconsistent results if models are solved by ordinary least squares. The uncorrelatedness of regressors and disturbances assumption of ordinary least squares is violated since one or more independent variables are endogenous in the system. This study attempts to propose a structural equations approach to model the lane-mean speeds in multi-lane traffic, in which the endogeneity of adjacent lane speeds and the downstream speeds are being considered. Additionally, the equations system can serve as a prediction model for lane-mean speeds. Several empirical analyses using the data collected from multi-lane freeways with different lengths and different numbers of lanes are conducted to observe the performance of the equations system in different conditions. The study further...
Like other transportation data, lane-mean speeds are also best modeled by a system of structural equations. Several studies omit the interrelation between adjacent lane speeds, which may produce biased and inconsistent results if models are solved by ordinary least squares. The...
Qing-Long Lu252-265 -
The first/last mile is a long known deterrent to public transportation use, yet difficult to solve with fixed route transit. Many transit agencies are exploring partnerships with ridesourcing companies to offer subsidized feeder services. Ridership, however, has been surprisingly low. We explore two conceptual explanations. First, ridesourcing fares are found to exceed travel time savings for all distances below 1 mile and annual household incomes below USD 30,000 (i.e., the majority of US bus-using households). Subsidies are thus necessary, yet common schemes (flat fees, flat value or percentage discounts) are inequitable as they particularly benefit high-income households (thus miss their main target group). Second, the disutility of the additional transfer (‘transfer penalty’) and wait times exceed travel time savings assuming modest values for all distances below 0.45 miles. Subsidized ridesourcing for the first/last mile is thus not the panacea often portrayed, particularly not for short first/last miles. Where first/last miles are longer, investments in first/last mile services only might miss their purpose as the private car often remains the faster, more convenient and cheaper option. A much more holistic set of policy changes is hence required. Where transit agencies decide to proceed with first/last mile subsidies, they are advised to integrate them into existing fares (offering first/last mile rides for free) as this is the most equitable approach.
The first/last mile is a long known deterrent to public transportation use, yet difficult to solve with fixed route transit. Many transit agencies are exploring partnerships with ridesourcing companies to offer subsidized feeder services. Ridership, however, has been surprisingly low. We explore two conceptual explanations. First, ridesourcing fares are found to exceed travel time savings for all distances below 1 mile and annual household incomes below USD 30,000 (i.e., the majority of US bus-using households). Subsidies are thus necessary, yet common schemes (flat fees, flat value or percentage discounts) are inequitable as they particularly benefit high-income households (thus miss their main target group). Second, the disutility of the additional transfer (‘transfer penalty’) and wait times exceed travel time savings assuming modest values for all distances below 0.45 miles. Subsidized ridesourcing for the first/last mile is thus not the panacea often portrayed,...
The first/last mile is a long known deterrent to public transportation use, yet difficult to solve with fixed route transit. Many transit agencies are exploring partnerships with ridesourcing companies to offer subsidized feeder services. Ridership, however, has been surprisingly low. We...
Daniel J. Reck, Kay W. Axhausen59-77 -
On May 23-24 2019 the Transport Research Days (TRDs) of BIVEC-GIBET, the Benelux Interuniversity Association of Transport Researchers, took place in Ghent (Belgium). What then was common practice -- going to a conference, present your paper, and interact with people face-to-face on campus – is now, due to COVID-19, something we all again look very much forward to.
The TRDs are organized biannually and offer young and established scholars from the three Benelux Countries an opportunity to present their research findings to an informed audience of transport, mobility, and logistics researchers. It is already the 8th time that the TRDs have been organized. Previous editions were held in Hasselt (2005), Rotterdam (2007), Brussels (2009), Namur (2011), Luxembourg (2013), Eindhoven (2015), Liège (2017), and Ghent (2019). And also the venue for the 9th TRD has been decided: Delft (2021).
In May 2019 the TRDs were organized by the Social and Economic Geography (SEG) Research Group of the Geography Department of Ghent University. The conference theme, although general enough to welcome various mobility- and transport-related disciplines, centred around moving forward towards more sustainability mobility and transport through smart systems. In 12 different sessions devoted to Safety, Travel behaviour, Traffic flows, Freight, Climate, Accessibility, Route choice, Pricing, Cars, Ports/airports, and Travel data, the best of current transport, mobility and logistics research in the Benelux-countries was presented. The set of full papers can be found in Witlox (2019). Yes, BIVEC-GIBET keeps its tradition and still publishes (in paper form) its proceedings… Another tradition is to go for a special issue of a journal, and we are very happy that European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research (EJTIR) agreed to host such a SI. In total we received eight papers, three of which, after review, have been accepted. By coincidence, all three accepted papers stem from Dutch researchers. And all three are of high relevance in today’s ongoing pandemic of the coronavirus disease, although neither of the three papers refers to COVID-19 because the research was conducted prior to the pandemic.
On May 23-24 2019 the Transport Research Days (TRDs) of BIVEC-GIBET, the Benelux Interuniversity Association of Transport Researchers, took place in Ghent (Belgium). What then was common practice -- going to a conference, present your paper, and interact with people face-to-face on campus – is now, due to COVID-19, something we all again look very much forward to.
The TRDs are organized biannually and offer young and established scholars from the three Benelux Countries an opportunity to present their research findings to an informed audience of transport, mobility, and logistics researchers. It is already the 8th time that the TRDs have been organized. Previous editions were held in Hasselt (2005), Rotterdam (2007), Brussels (2009), Namur (2011), Luxembourg (2013), Eindhoven (2015), Liège (2017), and Ghent (2019). And also the venue for the 9th TRD has been decided: Delft (2021).
In May 2019 the TRDs were organized by the Social and Economic Geography (SEG)...
On May 23-24 2019 the Transport Research Days (TRDs) of BIVEC-GIBET, the Benelux Interuniversity Association of Transport Researchers, took place in Ghent (Belgium). What then was common practice -- going to a conference, present your paper, and interact with people face-to-face on campus –...
Frank Witlox266-268 -
This study proposes a framework to impute travel mode for trips identified from cellphone traces by developing a deep neural network model. In our framework, we use the trips from a home interview survey and transit smartcard data, for which the travel mode is known, to create a set of artificial pseudo-cellphone traces. The generated artificial pseudo-cellphone traces with known mode are then used to train a deep neural network classifier. We further apply the trained model to infer travel modes for the cellphone traces from cellular network data. The empirical case study region is Montevideo, Uruguay, where high-quality data are available for all three types of data used in the analysis: a large dataset of cellphone traces, a large dataset of public transit smartcard transactions, and a small household travel survey. The results can be used to create an enhanced representation of origin-destination trip-making in the region by time of day and travel mode.
This study proposes a framework to impute travel mode for trips identified from cellphone traces by developing a deep neural network model. In our framework, we use the trips from a home interview survey and transit smartcard data, for which the travel mode is known, to create a set of artificial pseudo-cellphone traces. The generated artificial pseudo-cellphone traces with known mode are then used to train a deep neural network classifier. We further apply the trained model to infer travel modes for the cellphone traces from cellular network data. The empirical case study region is Montevideo, Uruguay, where high-quality data are available for all three types of data used in the analysis: a large dataset of cellphone traces, a large dataset of public transit smartcard transactions, and a small household travel survey. The results can be used to create an enhanced representation of origin-destination trip-making in the region by time of day and travel mode.
This study proposes a framework to impute travel mode for trips identified from cellphone traces by developing a deep neural network model. In our framework, we use the trips from a home interview survey and transit smartcard data, for which the travel mode is known, to create a set of...
James Vaughan, Ahmadreza Faghih Imani, Bilal Yusuf, Eric J. Miller269-285 -
Significant shares of regional passenger railway still rely on pollutive diesel vehicles. Alstom, Bombardier, Siemens, and Stadler have reacted and recently announced Battery Electric and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (BEVs and FCEVs). In this paper, we analyze to what extent these new vehicles can replace diesel technology on a large variety of regional railway lines in Bavaria, Germany. Our approach is based on two databases that we build: One for the announced emission-free vehicles and one for existing lines. We compare the lines and vehicles in terms of range, axle load, velocity, and specific power. The study reveals that 72 out of the 73 lines can be operated with an emission-free vehicle. The main driver for BEVs is their range and maximum velocity. Depending on these characteristics, they can operate between 53% and 82% of all lines. The main driver for FCEVs is their specific power and maximum velocity. One vehicle, the Alstom iLint, can only operate 18% of all lines due to its limited performance. The Siemens Mireo Plus H series has higher performance and can operate 97% of the lines.
Significant shares of regional passenger railway still rely on pollutive diesel vehicles. Alstom, Bombardier, Siemens, and Stadler have reacted and recently announced Battery Electric and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (BEVs and FCEVs). In this paper, we analyze to what extent these new vehicles can replace diesel technology on a large variety of regional railway lines in Bavaria, Germany. Our approach is based on two databases that we build: One for the announced emission-free vehicles and one for existing lines. We compare the lines and vehicles in terms of range, axle load, velocity, and specific power. The study reveals that 72 out of the 73 lines can be operated with an emission-free vehicle. The main driver for BEVs is their range and maximum velocity. Depending on these characteristics, they can operate between 53% and 82% of all lines. The main driver for FCEVs is their specific power and maximum velocity. One vehicle, the Alstom iLint, can only operate 18% of all lines due...
Significant shares of regional passenger railway still rely on pollutive diesel vehicles. Alstom, Bombardier, Siemens, and Stadler have reacted and recently announced Battery Electric and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (BEVs and FCEVs). In this paper, we analyze to what extent these new vehicles...
Florian Mueller, Markus Guerster, Nikola Obrenović, Michel Bierlaire286-305 -
Departure Time Choice and Bottleneck Congestion with Automated Vehicles: Role of On-board Activities
It is widely expected that automated vehicles (AVs) will revolutionise travel experience by better facilitating various on-board activities. While these activities could make travel more pleasant, as is often supposed, they could also affect daily schedules, the related travel choices, and finally, the aggregate travel patterns – possible influences that are still insufficiently studied. For example, a morning commuter deciding to perform some home or work activities during travel, instead of at home or work, could also reconsider his departure time to work. More such travellers together could reshape traffic congestion. This paper models exactly this scenario. It formulates new scheduling preferences, which account for home and/or work activities during morning commute, and uses these (1) to analyse the optimal departure times when there is no congestion, and (2) to obtain the equilibrium congestion patterns in a bottleneck setting. If there is no congestion, it is predicted that AV users would depart earlier (later), if the on-board environment supports their home (work) activities. If there is congestion, AV users that perform home (work) activities during travel skew the congestion to earlier (later) times, and AV users that perform both activities increase both early and late congestion. Engaging in any activity during travel worsens congestion, at least when assuming that AVs do not increase bottleneck capacity. If future AVs would be specialised to support only home, only work, or both home and work activities, and would do so to a similar extent, then ‘Work AVs’ would increase the congestion the least.
It is widely expected that automated vehicles (AVs) will revolutionise travel experience by better facilitating various on-board activities. While these activities could make travel more pleasant, as is often supposed, they could also affect daily schedules, the related travel choices, and finally, the aggregate travel patterns – possible influences that are still insufficiently studied. For example, a morning commuter deciding to perform some home or work activities during travel, instead of at home or work, could also reconsider his departure time to work. More such travellers together could reshape traffic congestion. This paper models exactly this scenario. It formulates new scheduling preferences, which account for home and/or work activities during morning commute, and uses these (1) to analyse the optimal departure times when there is no congestion, and (2) to obtain the equilibrium congestion patterns in a bottleneck setting. If there is no congestion, it is predicted...
It is widely expected that automated vehicles (AVs) will revolutionise travel experience by better facilitating various on-board activities. While these activities could make travel more pleasant, as is often supposed, they could also affect daily schedules, the related travel choices, and...
Baiba Pudāne306-334 -
The north-south metro line in Amsterdam became operational in summer 2018, accompanied by changes to the existing bus, metro, and tram network in the city. In this paper we undertake an ex-post analysis of the transportation impacts of the network change. Using two sets of smart card transactions, of 5-6 weeks each, and corresponding Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) data, a before-after comparison is made, concerning ridership, travel times, number of transfers, and travel time reliability. The results show a 4% increase in network wide working day ridership and a strong shift from tram and bus to metro. On an average working day, more than 6,000 hours of travel time is saved. 21% of travellers have more than 1 minute shorter travel time and 13% of travellers have more than 1 minute travel time increase. Furthermore, slightly fewer transfers are made, and the aggregated effect on travel time reliability is marginally positive. For an average working day (7am to 7pm), the resulting daily societal benefits of the new public transport network are approximately €54,200. On a yearly basis the transport related societal benefits are approximately 22 million euros. Doing an ex-post analysis is not common in the literature and in practice, and therefore in a lot of cases the realized benefits of large infrastructural investments remain unknown. This study provides an example of scientific methodology development using multiple data sources, that enables such ex-post evaluations, leading to improvements in public transport assessment and planning.
The north-south metro line in Amsterdam became operational in summer 2018, accompanied by changes to the existing bus, metro, and tram network in the city. In this paper we undertake an ex-post analysis of the transportation impacts of the network change. Using two sets of smart card transactions, of 5-6 weeks each, and corresponding Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) data, a before-after comparison is made, concerning ridership, travel times, number of transfers, and travel time reliability. The results show a 4% increase in network wide working day ridership and a strong shift from tram and bus to metro. On an average working day, more than 6,000 hours of travel time is saved. 21% of travellers have more than 1 minute shorter travel time and 13% of travellers have more than 1 minute travel time increase. Furthermore, slightly fewer transfers are made, and the aggregated effect on travel time reliability is marginally positive. For an average working day (7am to 7pm), the...
The north-south metro line in Amsterdam became operational in summer 2018, accompanied by changes to the existing bus, metro, and tram network in the city. In this paper we undertake an ex-post analysis of the transportation impacts of the network change. Using two sets of smart card...
Ties Brands, Malvika Dixit, Niels van Oort335-353 -
In a rapidly changing world, transportation is a big determinant of quality of life, financial growth and progress. New challenges (such as the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic) and opportunities (such as the three revolutions of shared, electric and automated mobility) are expected to drastically change the future mobility landscape. Researchers, policy makers and practitioners are working hard to prepare for and shape the future of mobility that will maximize benefits. Adopting a human perspective as a guiding principle in this endeavor is expected to help prioritize the “right” needs as requirements. In this special issue, eight research papers outline ways in which transportation research can contribute to a better tomorrow. In this editorial, we position the research within the state-of-the-art, identify the needs for future research, and then outline how the included contributions fit in this puzzle. Naturally, the problem of sustainable future transportation systems is way too complicated to be covered with a single special issue. We thus conclude this editorial with a discussion about open questions and future research topics.
In a rapidly changing world, transportation is a big determinant of quality of life, financial growth and progress. New challenges (such as the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic) and opportunities (such as the three revolutions of shared, electric and automated mobility) are expected to drastically change the future mobility landscape. Researchers, policy makers and practitioners are working hard to prepare for and shape the future of mobility that will maximize benefits. Adopting a human perspective as a guiding principle in this endeavor is expected to help prioritize the “right” needs as requirements. In this special issue, eight research papers outline ways in which transportation research can contribute to a better tomorrow. In this editorial, we position the research within the state-of-the-art, identify the needs for future research, and then outline how the included contributions fit in this puzzle. Naturally, the problem of sustainable future transportation...
In a rapidly changing world, transportation is a big determinant of quality of life, financial growth and progress. New challenges (such as the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic) and opportunities (such as the three revolutions of shared, electric and automated mobility) are expected to...
Constantinos Antoniou, Emmanouil Chaniotakis, Christos Katrakazas, Alejandro Tirachini354-361