Transportation Engineering Commons^™

Exploring Low-Carbon Bus Options For Urban Brt Systems: The Case Of Amman, Rana Imam, Seong-Cheol Kang, Diana Quezada

Journal of Public Transportation

Being able to provide high-quality, metro-like transit service at a fraction of the cost of other options, bus rapid transit (BRT) has been viewed as one of the most cost-effective public mass transport systems suitable for urban areas. Considering significant amounts of greenhouse gas (GHG) and air pollutant emissions are attributed to the transport sector, deploying low carbon buses for BRT systems should be of high priority. With a view to promoting low carbon buses instead of diesel buses for a BRT system currently being planned in Amman, Jordan, this paper evaluates several low carbon bus options – hybrid, plug-in …

Effect Of Socioeconomic And Demographic Factors Of Driver Residence On Crash Occurrence, Shraddha Sagar

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

In the U.S., road traffic crashes are a leading cause of death. Crash data from the state of Kentucky shows that the per capita crash rates and crash-related fatalities were higher than the national average for over a decade. In effort to explain why the U.S. Southeast experiences higher crash rates than other regions of the country, previous research has argued the region’s unique socioeconomic provide a compelling explanation. Taking this observation as a starting point, this study examines the relationship between highway safety and socioeconomic characteristics using an extensive crash dataset from Kentucky.

The primary goal of this research …

Modeling Of Incident Type And Incident Duration Using Data From Multiple Years, Sudipta Dey Tirtha

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

We develop a model system that recognizes the distinct traffic incident duration profiles based on incident type. Specifically, a copula-based joint framework with a scaled multinomial logit model (SMNL) system for incident type and a grouped generalized ordered logit (GGOL) model system for incident duration to accommodate for the impact of observed and unobserved effects on incident type and incident duration. The model system is estimated using traffic incident data from 2012 through 2017 for the Greater Orlando region, employing a comprehensive set of exogenous variables – incident characteristics, roadway characteristics, traffic condition, weather condition, built environment and socio-demographic characteristics. …

A Study Of The Competitiveness Of Autonomous Delivery Vehicles In Urban Areas, Miguel A. Figliozzi, Dylan Jennings

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The rapid growth of e-commerce and package deliveries across the globe is demanding new solutions to meet customers’ desire for more and faster deliveries. This research focuses on the cost competitiveness of autonomous air and ground delivery vehicles. Three types of autonomous vehicle are analyzed: drones, sidewalk autonomous delivery robots (SADRs), and road autonomous delivery robots (RADRs). Autonomous vehicles are compared against a typical delivery van. The impact of capacity, range and time constraints are analyzed. Results show that each type of autonomous delivery vehicle is suitable in different scenarios and can therefore complement each other to reduce costs or …

A Study Of Road Autonomous Delivery Robots And Their Potential Impacts On Freight Efficiency And Travel, Dylan Jennings, Miguel A. Figliozzi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Road autonomous mobile robots have attracted the attention of delivery companies and policy makers for their potential to reduce costs and increase urban freight efficiency. Established delivery companies and new startups are investing in technologies that reduce delivery times and/or increase delivery drivers’ productivity. In this context, the adoption of Road Automatic (or Autonomous) Delivery Robots (RADRs) has a growing appeal. Several RADRs are currently being tested in the United States. The key novel contributions of this research are: (a) an analysis of the characteristics and regulation of RADRs in the US and (b) a study of the relative travel, …

Understanding Roundabout Safety Through The Application Of Advanced Econometric Techniques, Hamsa Abbas Zubaidi, Jason C. Anderson, Salvador Hernandez

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Intersections present a significant safety concern, as such in an effort to reduce the more serious injuries occurring at or near intersections, many jurisdictions have turned to implementing roundabouts. Despite the advantages that roundabouts provide, crashes still occur, and less severe crashes are on the rise. The study presented in this paper investigates a crash-based analysis to better understand the factors that may influence less severe crashes to those of more severe crashes given various roundabout configurations and crash types. Using Oregon’s crash database from 2011 to 2015 a series of log likelihood ratio tests were conducted to validate that …

Factors Affecting Injury Severity In Vehicle-Pedestrian Crashes: A Day-Of-Week Analysis Using Random Parameter Ordered Response Models And Artificial Neural Networks, Seyedmirsajad Mokhtarimousavi, Jason C. Anderson, Atorod Azizinamini, Mohammed Hadi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

The high number of vehicle–pedestrian crashes in the United State has gained increased attention among transportation safety analysts in recent years. Being directly exposed to the collision force makes pedestrians more prone to becoming severely injured when in crash than other road users. Considering the fact that pedestrian-involved crashes is a serious public health problem, the current study’s aim is to investigate the contributing factors associated with injury severity of pedestrian crashes by time-of-week. Separate injury severity models for weekday and weekend crashes were developed, and the overall stability of the model estimates was examined through likelihood ratio tests. For …

Carbon Emissions Reductions In Last Mile And Grocery Deliveries Utilizing Autonomous Vehicles, Miguel A. Figliozzi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

New driverless air and ground vehicles are being launched and tested to deliver products or services in the areas of retail, groceries, and healthcare. This research focuses on the efficiency of autonomous (driverless) delivery vehicles in terms of vehicle-miles, energy consumption, and carbon emissions. Drones or UAVs, sidewalk autonomous delivery robots (SADRs), and road autonomous delivery robots (RADRs) vehicles carbon emissions are compared against emissions from an electric van (e-van), a conventional internal combustion engine van, and driving to a store utilizing electric and conventional vehicles. The impacts of vehicle capacity, range, and time constraints are analyzed as well as …

Accessibility And Equity Analysis Of Common Carrier Parcel Lockers At Transit Facilities In Portland, Oregon, Katherine Keeling, Jaclyn S. Schaefer, Miguel Figliozzi

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Transit goals have typically focused on commuter trips but facilitating urban last-mile freight logistics is a potential strategy to increase transit ridership and mitigate the demands of parcel distribution on the transportation network. Presently, most parcel lockers operate out of private businesses, but consumer surveys have found that transit users may be interested in locker facilities at transit connections. The implementation of an unmanned, secure, common carrier parcel locker system could have benefits for non-transit users as well. Consolidation of deliveries is expected to benefit courier companies by allowing operations at increasingly competitive rates, and retailers and consumers benefit from …

An Empirical Study Of The Impacts Of Bicycles On Passenger Car Speeds On Urban Roads Without Bicycle Lanes, Jaclyn S. Schaefer, Miguel Figliozzi, Avinash Unnikrishnan

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Higher bicycle mode share has been suggested as part of a solution to reduce the burden of congestion in urban areas. As strategies to promote bicycling are implemented, concerns have been raised by some road users and stakeholders citing simulation based traffic studies that indicate that an increase in the bicycle mode share generates major travel time delays via reduced vehicle speeds unless bicycle lanes are provided. The current research investigates the effects bicycles may have on motorized vehicle speeds on a variety of lower speed and volume urban roads without bicycle lanes. A detailed comparative analysis of passenger car …

Effects Of Cellulose Nano-Fiber As An Additive On Performance Of Asphalt Binders And Mixes, Marco Paulo Pereira Castro

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Findings of a study conducted on asphalt binders and mixes modified by addition of cellulose nanofiber (CNF) to evaluate the feasibility of them as an additive is presented in the current thesis. Cellulose Acetate (CA) is an ester of cellulose and is obtained by the reaction of cellulose with acetic anhydride and acetic acid in the presence of sulfuric acid. Due to its high temperature sensitivity, high ductility, large surface area, high strain resistance, and low electrical resistivity, cellulose acetate can be used for several application. The question is if CNF can be used as an additive in the asphalt, …

Covid-19 And Public Transportation: Current Assessment, Prospects, And Research Needs, Alejandro Tirachini, Oded Cats

Journal of Public Transportation

The COVID-19 pandemic poses a great challenge for contemporary public transportation worldwide, resulting from an unprecedented decline in demand and revenue. In this paper, we synthesize the state-of-the-art, up to early June 2020, on key developments regarding public transportation and the COVID-19 pandemic, including the different responses adopted by governments and public transportation agencies around the world, and the research needs pertaining to critical issues that minimize contagion risk in public transportation in the so-called post-lockdown phase. While attempts at adherence to physical distancing (which challenges the very concept of mass public transportation) are looming in several countries, the latest …

Extracting Bus Transit Boarding And Alighting Information Using Smart Card Transaction Data, Zhen Chen, Wei Fan

Journal of Public Transportation

The smart card–based automated fare collection (AFC) technologies provide new opportunities for transportation data collection since smart card data (SCD) contain a significant amount of archived information that can be gathered and leveraged to help estimate public transit origin-destination (OD) matrices. Both boarding and alighting location detection are important particularly when there is no automatic vehicle location (AVL) system or other information in the database. With the analysis of raw data using limited information in this paper, an algorithm for boarding stop identification is presented after the trip direction and boarding cluster identification. Alighting stops are then identified based on …

Mobility-As-A-Service: Assessing Performance And Sustainability Effects Of An Integrated Multi-Modal Simulated Transportation Network, Mohamed El-Agroudy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Advances in information technology services have seen profound impacts on the state of transport services in the urban traffic environment. Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) represents the digital consolidation of users, operators, and public-private managing entities to provide totally comprehensive, integrated trip-making services. Users now enjoy extra flexibility for trip-making with new modal alternatives such as micro-mobility (e.g Lime Bikes, Spin Scooters) and rideshare (e.g. Lyft, Uber). However, current knowledge on the performance and interactive effects of these newer alternative modes is vague if not inconsistent. As such, these effects were studied through micro-simulation analysis of a multi-modal urban corridor in Orlando, Florida. …

Evaluation Of Safety And Mobility Benefits Of Connected And Automated Vehicles By Considering V2x Technologies, Md Hasibur Rahman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

The recent development in communication technologies facilitates the deployment of connected and automated vehicles (CAV) which are expected to change the future transportation system. CAV technologies enable vehicles to communicate with other vehicles through vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications and the infrastructure through Vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications. Since the real-world CAV data is not currently available as of today, simulation is the most commonly used platform to evaluate the future V2X system. Although several studies evaluated the effectiveness of CAVs in a small roadway network, there is a lack of studies analyzing the impact of CAVs at the network level by considering both …

A Deep Learning Approach For Real-Time Crash Risk Prediction At Urban Arterials, Pei Li

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Real-time crash risk prediction aims to predict the crash probabilities within a short time period, it is expected to play a crucial role in the advanced traffic management system. However, most of the existing studies only focused on freeways rather than urban arterials because of the complicated traffic environment of the arterials. This thesis proposes a long short-term memory convolutional neural network (LSTM-CNN) to predict the real-time crash risk at arterials. The advantage of this model is it can benefit from both LSTM and CNN. Specifically, LSTM captures the long-term dependency of the data while CNN extracts the time-invariant features. …

A Case Study Of Drone Delivery Reliability For Time-Sensitive Medical Supplies With Stochastic Demand And Meteorological Conditions, Travis B. Glick, Miguel Figliozzi, Avinash Unnikrishnan

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Drones are increasingly being utilized to deliver medical supplies, and the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this trend. Drones arrive quickly by taking more direct paths and avoiding ground-based obstructions. However, drones are not completely reliable and may also experience failures and delays. For consumer products, delivery delays are an inconvenience, but for some medical supplies, delays may be fatal. This research focuses on the drone reliability of one particular type of supply and event: automatic defibrillators for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA). A modeling framework is developed to analyze drone delivery reliability with stochastic demands and meteorological conditions. Using probability distributions …

Corrigendum To “Heavy Metal Ion Detection On A Microspot Electrode Using An Optical Electrochemical Probe” [Electrochem. Commun. 86 (2018) 94–98], Santanu Roy, Abhijeet Prasad, Rahul Tevatia, Ravi Saraf

Mid-America Transportation Center: Final Reports and Technical Briefs

The authors regret to inform an error. Ravi F. Saraf of this pub- lication discloses financial interest in Vajra Instrument as its founder and President. In accordance with its Conflict of Interest policy, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Conflict of Interest in Research Committee has determined that this must be disclosed. The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Degrader Analysis For Diagnostic And Predictive Capabilities: A Demonstration Of Progress In Dod Cbm+ Initiatives, William Baker, Steven Nixon, Jeffrey Banks, Karl Reichard, Kaitlynn Castelle

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

This paper presents a modified reliability centered maintenance (RCM) methodology developed by The Applied Research Laboratory at The Pennsylvania State University (ARL Penn State) to meet challenges in decreasing life cycle sustainment costs for critical Naval assets. The focus of this paper is on the requirements for the development of the on-board Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) system with a discussion on the implementation progress for two systems: the high pressure air compressor (HPAC), and the advanced carbon dioxide removal unit (ACRU). Recent Department of Defense (DoD) guidance calls for implementing Condition Based Maintenance (CBM) as an alternative to traditional …

The Relationship Between Roadway Homogeneity And Network Coverage For Network Screening, Riana Tanzen

Theses and Dissertations--Civil Engineering

In the context of transportation safety engineering, network screening is a method of identifying and prioritizing high-risk locations for potential safety investment. Since its release, the Highway Safety Manual (HSM) has facilitated the adoption of Safety Performance Functions (SPF) to predict the number of crashes for the network screening of any facility type. The predictive model becomes more reliable when developed from crash data with homogeneous roadway segments and this homogeneity can be attained by applying specific geometric attributes to the dataset. The caveat to this method is the requirement of adjustment factors (AFs) to adjust the predicted estimate for …