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A Method For Modeling Low-Probability, High- Consequence Risk Events: Vessel Traffic On The Lower Mississippi River, George Wooddell, Robert Gramling, Craig J. Forsyth

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] "A variety of commodities, from chlorine to corn and petroleum to passengers, are transported on the lower Mississippi River regularly. Corn, wheat and coal are the most commonly carried commodities. From a human health and safety perspective, these are relatively benign products in that a vessel accident and spill of these are not directly hazardous to people, whatever other ecological disturbances may ensue. However, over eighty million tons of petroleum products are transported on the river annually. Over a million tons of liquid natural gas traverse the river through the center of New Orleans. Additionally, over 400,000 tons of …

Building And Maintaining A Statewide Transportation Framework, Kenneth Dueker, Paul Bender

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Creating and maintaining up-to-date sharable Geographic Information SystemsTransportation (GIS-T) data is challenging. Many states are working on Transportation Framework efforts to build a complete, consistent, and current transportation data layer in conjunction with the NSDI and Geospatial One-Stop efforts. This paper summarizes an effort that systematically re-examined transportation data sharing issues as part of the development of a Transportation Framework for the State of Washington. Business needs were assessed in terms of spatial and temporal accuracy needs of stakeholders and users of a state-wide Transportation Framework. A conceptual model was developed for a Transportation Framework with emphasis on data flows …

Seat Belt Use Compliance In Kansas, Deogratias Eustace, Teresa M. C. Bartel

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Faculty Publications

Passenger vehicle occupant restraints are regarded as the easiest and the most effective way of reducing the number of highway fatalities. Strong vehicle occupant protection enforcement laws are regarded as the most effective way to increase seat belt use. The increase in restraint use in the United States and other countries has been largely attributed to mandatory seat belt use legislation. Many fatalities and injuries in motor vehicle crashes could be avoided if more passengers used their seat belts. Studies have shown that primary laws have been more effective in seat belt use compliance than secondary laws. Also, legislation has …

Trends In The Transportation Of Goods In The U.S., James S. Keebler

Journal of Transportation Management

This article describes the development and growth of various modes of transportation in the United States and recent trends in the length, size and value of domestic shipments. Changes in the transportation of goods in the United States are being driven largely by four factors—the shift toward a digital economy, the growth of third-party logistics providers, globalism, and the application of new technologies. Finally, this paper looks at emerging forms of supply chain integration and operation.

Developing The Buyer-Friendly Transportation Salesperson: An Empirical Analysis Of The Most Important Seller Traits And Behaviors From The Transportation Buyer’S Perspective, Charles E. Pettijohn, R Stephen Parker, John L. Kent

Journal of Transportation Management

The research reported in this manuscript provides several insights regarding the specific behaviors and traits of transportation salespersons as sought by a sample of shippers. Shippers in both manufacturing and non-manufacturing industries were asked to evaluate the importance of 30 potential salesperson characteristics. Overall, dependability, ethical conduct, honesty, provision of regular service, and solution selling were ranked as the most important (“must have”) characteristics. In addition to the overall rankings, t-tests were used to compare the manufacturing and non-manufacturing groups and ANOVA tests were used to compare the responses of shippers which were grouped by number of contacts from salespersons.

Short-Line Railroad Managers Discuss Class I Railroads, James C. Johnson, Diane J. Mcclure, Kenneth C. Schneider, Donald F. Wood

Journal of Transportation Management

Managers/owners of short-line railroads were queried about three issues: (1) How would you describe your company’s business relationship with the Class I railroad(s) with which you interchange traffic; (2) Do you believe that mergers between Class I railroads have been good or bad for short-line railroads; and (3) Besides merger activity, what do you believe will be the most important trend for Class I railroads in the next 10 years?

Examining Sources Of Driver Turnover From A Managerial Perspective, Hokey Min

Journal of Transportation Management

There is growing concern about the declining profitability of the U. S. trucking industry. Such concerns often stem from the increased difficulty of recruiting and retaining qualified drivers. In fact, the trucking industry has been hit hard by shortages of qualified truck drivers over the last two decades. To cope with this chronic problem, trucking firms have attempted to formulate various driver recruitment and retention strategies that include pay raises, bonuses, equipment improvement, and adjustments in working hours. This article provides trucking firms with the means to implement a more effective driver recruitment and retention strategy by examining sources of …

Liberalization Of International Air Transportation Markets: The Effect Of Terrorism On Market Trends, Dawna L. Rhoades

Journal of Transportation Management

Since the United States deregulated its airline industry with the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, the international air transport industry has been on a path toward market liberalization. Market changes have included entry, capacity, and pricing freedom as well as increased levels of foreign ownership. The recent terrorist acts of September 11, 2001 have the potential to alter, if not reverse this course. This paper examines the forces fueling the trend toward liberalization and analyzes the impact of recent events on the future prospects of open aviation markets.

Tri-Met's Experience With Automatic Passenger Counter And Automatic Vehicle Location Systems, James G. Strathman

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (Tri-Met) is one of about 30 metropolitan transit agencies that have deployed both automatic vehicle location (AVL) and automatic passenger counter (APC) systems (Casey, 1999). These technologies are important components of the agency’s new automated bus dispatching system (BDS). The AVL and APC systems at Tri-Met recover comprehensive operations and passenger activity data at the bus stop level that is archived for later analysis. The agency has gained a reputation as an industry leader in the areas of data archiving and the application of archived data to performance monitoring and analysis.

Prior to …

Impact Of Public Transit Investment On Travel Pattern And Land Use, Jaturapat Bhiromkaew

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Transportation and land use are believed to be highly correlated and therefore indivisible from each other. Transportation improvement shapes pattern of land use. In tum, land use pattern causes changes in ways of how people travel. Because of relative lower transportation cost with easy access to automobiles, many firms and households have relocated in low-density areas. The number of automobile and the demand to travel have also increasingly dominated transportation system. This fact results in traffic congestion and environmental concerns. Due to the increasing congestion level and environmental concerns, many public transportation agencies have paid a considerable attention on the …

Increasing Transit Ridership: Lessons From The Most Successful Transit Systems In The 1990s, Mti Report-01-22, Brian D. Taylor, Peter J. Haas, Brent Boyd, Daniel Baldwin Hess, Hiroyuki Iseki, Allison Yoh

Mineta Transportation Institute

This study systematically examines recent trends in public transit ridership in the U.S. during the 1990s. Specifically, this analysis focuses on agencies that increased ridership during the latter half of the decade. While transit ridership increased steadily by 13 percent nationwide between 1995 and 1999, not all systems experienced ridership growth equally. While some agencies increased ridership dramatically, some did so only minimally, and still others lost riders. What sets these agencies apart from each other? What explains the uneven growth in ridership?

The California General Plan Process And Sustainable Transportation Planning, Mti Report 01-18, Richard W. Lee

Mineta Transportation Institute

This study reviewed the current and potential utility of California’s General Plan process as a tool for promoting more sustainable local transportation systems The study used multiple methods to investigate this issue, including: An extensive literature review on California’s General Plan process, the nature of sustainability and sustainable transportation, and criteria and evaluation methods for plans. Detailed analysis and scoring of policies from 26 exemplary General Plans against criteria designed to measure both transport sustainability and plan quality. In-depth case studies of the General Plan process in seven diverse California communities. Key informant interviews. The results of these several lines …

Developer-Planner Interaction In Transportation And Land Use Sustainability, Mti Report 01-21, Aseem Inam

Mineta Transportation Institute

This study argues that significant unmet demand exists for alternatives to conventional auto-oriented development; and further that planning interventions that restrict densities and land use mixing in developed areas are a major reason that this demand remains unmet. In order to explore these hypotheses, this study carried out two principal investigations. The first is a national survey of developers, randomly selected from the database of the Urban Land Institute in Washington, DC, the premiere national organization of land developers. Overall, the survey reveals considerable interest on the part of the private development community in developing in a fashion that is …

Using The Internet To Envision Neighborhoods With Transit Oriented Development Potential, Mti Report 01-24, Earl G. Bossard

Mineta Transportation Institute

The Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) at San José State University conducted this study to review the issues and implications involved in Using the Internet to Envision Neighborhoods with Transit-Oriented Development Potential. SUMMARY OF PROBLEM: The Using the Internet to Envision Neighborhoods with Transit-Oriented Development Potential project seeks to provide guidelines and examples to facilitate use of the Internet to envision places with TOD potential, building on the envisioning techniques developed and presented in MTI Report 01-15, Envisioning Neighborhoods with Transit-Oriented Development Potential. RECOMMENDATIONS: These recommendations are made in terms of general style and approach, because the Internet is evolving so …

Transportation: A Crucial Issue For Adult Day Care In Vermont, Francis G. Caro, Regula H. Robnett, Jennifer Higgins

Gerontology Institute Publications

Transportation arrangements are an integral but fragile element in the effectiveness of adult day care services in Vermont and nationwide. Almost by definition, adult day center participants generally cannot drive due to cognitive and/or physical limitations. Since adult day care services are congregate in nature and serve community-residing elders, this long-term care option is feasible only when there are arrangements to transport elders to and from service centers. Transportation is therefore a major issue for adult day care services.

The aim of this report is to call attention to transportation issues in adult day care services in Vermont. The report …

Land Use And Transportation Alternatives: Constraint Or Expansion Of Household Choice, Mti Report 01-19, Jonathan Levine

Mineta Transportation Institute

Transportation and land use research that considers such alternatives as New Urbanist development, jobs-housing balance, transit villages, or “smart growth” most typically tests the capacity of such physical forms to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) or bring about other desired outcomes in the modification of travel behavior. Establishing such causality is broadly seen as a precondition for the urban planning interventions that are presumed to be necessary to bring these forms about. But such a view neglects the extent to which current interventions—notably zoning and transportation regulations—tend to preclude the development of such innovations in areas of high accessibility where …

Strategic Development Of Airport And Rail Infrastructure: The Case Of Singapore, Sock-Yong Phang

Research Collection School Of Economics

This article recounts how a number of strategic infrastructure investment decisions in airport and rail development taken by the Singapore government were at variance with recommendations emerging from Cost-Benefit Analysis, but were considered necessary to support external competitiveness. This link between infrastructure provision and economic development may require decision makers to assess the trade-off between prudent macro-economic planning and efficient micro-economic management for major projects. In the case of airport hubs, the most difficult assessment might be the game consideration of how much, and how far ahead, excess capacity is needed to ensure the dominance of the hub.

The Travel Behavior And Needs Of The Poor: A Study Of Welfare Recipients In Fresno County, California, Mti Report 01-23, Evelyn Blumenberg, Peter J. Haas

Mineta Transportation Institute

The passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 fundamentally transformed the provision of social assistance in the United States. Gone is Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), a program that entitled needy families with children to an array of benefits and public services. In its place is Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), a program that abolishes federal entitlements, provides flexible block grants to the states, mandates tough new work requirements, and imposes a five-year lifetime limit on the receipt of public assistance. Current welfare programs mandate employment for most recipients and offer temporary …

Envisioning Neighborhoods With Tod Potential (Includes Demonstration Cd), Mti Report 01-15, Earl G. Bossard

Mineta Transportation Institute

The Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) at San José State University conducted this study to review the issues and implications involved when seeking to Envision Neighborhoods with Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Potential. The Envisioning Neighborhoods with Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Potential project seeks to introduce planners, developers, and urban analysts to information design techniques and digital computer tools that can be used to undertake and study TOD. A basic premise is that effective TOD requires thoughtful planning to be successfully integrated into the metropolitan fabric. The primary focus of this project is intra-regional comparisons, focusing on information pertaining to the relative …

Addressing Helicopter Noise Impacts In Las Vegas, Nevada Within The Confines Of The Airport Noise And Capacity Act, Jeffrey M. Jacquart

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This professional paper will evaluate the impact of the Airport Noise and Capacity Act on Clark County's ability to reduce aircraft noise associated to helicopter sightseeing tours originating from McCarran International Airport. The paper will first provide the reader a brief introduction to aircraft operations in Las Vegas, and summarize local helicopter 1 noise activities. The paper will then present the legislative requirements and history concerning the curtailment of aircraft operations. The paper will also examine court cases addressing curtailment of aircraft operations at public-use airports. Next, a review of how other federally funded airports have sought solutions to resolve …

The Impact Of Lumper Costs, Empty Miles, And Shipment Size On The Profitability Of Motor Carriers: A Case Study, Hokey Min

Journal of Transportation Management

The passage of landmark deregulatory reforms in the Motor Carrier of Act of 1980 has constantly pressured the U.S. trucking industry to reduce transportation costs. Thanks to such pressure, total logistics costs have declined from 16.5% in 1980 to 10.1% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2000. In particular, transportation costs have fallen from 7.6% to 5.9% of GDP in 2000. Transportation cost savings definitely benefit shippers, while jeopardizing the viability of carriers. To help transportation carriers cope with enormous cost pressure, this paper examines the impact that “lumper” costs, empty miles, and shipment size have on the very competitive …

Where Have All The On-Line Grocers Gone? Lessons Learned From The Demise Of On-Line Grocers, M Theodore Farris Ii, Phil Wilson

Journal of Transportation Management

The grocery concept has evolved over many years to drive cost out of the process. Grocery margins are very thin, typically ranging from 1% to 1 1/2 % such that the grocery business continues to look for innovative ways to take cost out of the process. Ordering groceries on the Internet was initially thought to be a very promising new opportunity. So what happened to on-line grocers? This paper considers what went right and what went wrong for the on-line grocers and uncovers a few logistics lessons along the way.

The Case For U.S. High Speed Rail, Drew Stapleton, Melissa Cooley, Darlene Goehner, Daoud Jandal

Journal of Transportation Management

High-speed rail is a form of self-guided ground transportation, which utilizes steel-wheels or magnetic levitation (i.e., Maglev) and can travel in excess of 200 miles per hour. High-speed ground transportation (i.e., HSGT) has been widely used in Europe and Asia, but the debate continues over the usefulness of high-speed rail in the United States. Several metropolitan areas in the United States have been identified as corridors that would benefit from HSGT. High speed rail can offer an alternative or a compliment to over-the-road and air transportation. Initial investment cost for this mode of transportation are high, but other factors such …

An Analysis Of Intermodal Transport Carrier Selection Criteria For Pacific-Rim Imports To New England, Shashi N. Kumar, Vijay Rajan

Journal of Transportation Management

The introduction of double stack rail services opened up a variety of transportation options for shippers located in the North Eastern parts of the U.S. The availability of transcontinental double stack service from the Canadian West Coast has increased this option even further particularly because of a recent new service introduced by a small U.S. railroad company. The paper uses Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) methodology to provide a decision-making framework for the intermodal choices of shippers located in the region suitable for duplication elsewhere where similar options exist.

An Examination Of The Impacts Of Transportation Management Systems, Stephen M. Rutner, Brian J. Gibson

Journal of Transportation Management

There is a great deal of research regarding Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Logistics Information Systems (LIS). However, there has not been a recent examination of the current state ofTransportation Management Systems (TMS). This article provides an overview of the previous research and examines the current state of TMS and the relationships between these systems and other information systems in general. The results of over twenty years of LIS and TMS data are presented to highlight potential information gaps and significant relationships between TMS and other functions.

White Paper On Issues And Strategies For Building A State Transportation Framework, Kenneth Dueker, Paul Bender

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

The purpose of this white paper is to systematically re-examine transportation data sharing issues that have been discussed at length, but in a manner to foster final decisions and closure. In some cases, choices among alternatives may require more detailed analysis or pilot studies. The development of this document has benefited from discussion at the Interorganizational Resource Information Coordinating Council (IRICC) Roads Committee, which has led to this consensus document. This sixth and final version serves to draw the process to a close and recommends a twofold approach to the development of a Transportation Framework. It also recommends six pilot …

The Airline Quality Rating 2002, Brent D. Bowen, Dean Headley, Uno Aviation Institute

Faculty Books and Monographs

UNOAI Report 02-2

The Airline Quality Rating (AQR) was developed and first announced in early 1991 as an objective method of comparing airline quality on combined multiple performance criteria. This current report, Airline Quality Rating 2002, reflects monthly Airline Quality Rating scores for 2001. AQR scores for the calendar year 2001 are based on 15 elements that focus on airline performance areas important to air travel consumers.

The Airline Quality Rating 2002 is a summary of month-by-month quality ratings for the 11 largest U.S. airlines operating during 2001. Using the Airline Quality Rating system of weighted averages and monthly performance …

The Policies Of Implementing Traffic Calming In The Las Vegas Valley, David A. Guerra

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This paper illustrates how policies that relate to traffic calming devices are implemented in the Las Vegas Valley. Traffic calming is the attempt to achieve calm, safe, environmentally improved conditions on streets, and the lowering of speeds. Traffic calming measures reduce the negative effects of motor vehicle use, alter driver behavior and improve conditions for non-motorized street users. An analysis of The Nevada Revised Statutes was conducted to understand state directives pertaining to the implementation of policies at municipal levels of government. The study investigated how four governments (Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Clark County, and Henderson) implement traffic calming …

The Paradox Of Public Authorities In Massachusetts: Massport And Masspike, Richard A. Hogarty

New England Journal of Public Policy

This case study provides historical context and fresh perspectives for those seeking to understand the ways in which independent authorities operate in Massachusetts. More specifically, it examines the controversial performances of two separate authorities that deal with transportation problems. One involves a failure to detect terrorists breaching security at Logan Airport; the other entails a bitter dispute that arose over the delay in raising tolls on the turnpike to pay for the Big Dig project. With both in mind, this study describes the countervailing pressures that converge on the executive branch of state government as it confronts the prospect of …

Review Of: Peter Hoffman, Tomorrow's Energy: Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, And The Prospects For A Cleaner Planet, William H. Shaw Iii

RISK: Health, Safety & Environment (1990-2002)

Review of the book: Peter Hoffman, Tomorrow's Energy: Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and the Prospects for a Cleaner Planet (MIT Press 2001). Illustrations, Foreword, Acknowledgments, Notes, Index. ISBN 0-262-08295-0 [289 pp. $32.95. Cloth, 5 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142- 1493].