Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Essays On Urban Transportation And Health Economics, Alexander P. Tsiukes

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The first chapter analyzes how Premier League games in London impact demand for the city’s bike-sharing system. Bike-sharing systems affect mode choice for within-city transportation. Using bike rental data from Transport for London, this chapter exploits the plausibly-exogenous timing of Premier League games to identify how proximity to stadiums affects demand for London’s bike-sharing system. Results indicate games at Stamford Bridge (stadium) cause a 24.36% increase in the number of bike trips arriving within 0.5km of the stadium, with effects diminishing as distance increases. In contrast, games at London Stadium decrease nearby bike-sharing use and may actually crowd out would-be …

A Gridded Co2 Emissions Inventory For Portland, Or, James Eckhardt Powell

Dissertations and Theses

Here we develop a new high resolution inventory of CO₂ emissions for the three Oregon counties which comprise the bulk of the City of Portland, Oregon, USA. Locally curated and long-running data collection efforts for on-road traffic activity and emission rates are used to model on-road emissions, and a new survey of the area's natural gas network informs the building energy model. The inventory estimates total emissions of CO₂ for each hour of the year 2018 in the on-road, residential, and commercial building sectors at 1 km² resolution. The onroad inventory compares to within 3% with an …

Sex In The Cities: A Comparative Analysis Of Vienna And The United States’ Efforts In Gender Mainstreaming Transportation, Sarah Miller

Student Research Submissions

The paper focuses on the differences in transportation systems between the United States and Vienna, Austria. Research shows that women have been an overlooked group of people within cities. Due to this, cities have not been designed for them and an example of this is transportation. Some cities like Vienna, Austria have made it their mission to create gender-equitable cities. To better understand this problem women were interviewed who had experience in the Viennese and American systems to analyze the differences. Also, certain government agencies were contacted to understand this problem from a governance standpoint. All of the interviews supported …

Air Cargo: Carriers, Cost, And Competition, Zoe Laulederkind

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the cost structure of U.S. air carriers participating in the freight transport sector. From 1991 to 2021, events such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the global financial crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic have coincided with various events directly impacting the air freight transport industry. During this 30-year period, air transport has developed and implemented global tracking systems, engaged in labor negotiations, and weathered supply-chain shocks all of which warrant comprehensive evaluation of the U.S. air freight transport industry from the cost perspective. Chapter 1 of this thesis explores existence of natural monopoly and economies of scope among …

Transportation Asset Management For The Electric Road System, Kamalen Maria Santos Diaz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Electric road systems (ERS) have been presented as a new solution towards a sustainable transportation future, fueling the widespread adoption of electric vehicles by eliminating range anxiety, reducing battery size, and being regional friendly. These systems consist of four components: electric power supply, roads, vehicles, and operations. Much of the early research conducted on ERS has been on how to initially construct these systems by focusing on the first three components, however, there is limited knowledge on how ERS will impact traditional road operations after the systems are in place. Transportation Asset Management (TAM), a major focus within the transportation …

Our Streets: Increasing Equity In Active Transportation Planning Through Community Outreach, Jordan Hoy

Master's Projects and Capstones

ABSTRACT Significant research has demonstrated that active transportation infrastructure is essential for the growth and livability of San Francisco: it increases access to economic opportunities, promotes overall improved public health, encourages mobility without contributing to roadway congestion, prevents traffic injuries and fatalities, and supports the sustainability goals of the city. Despite the fact that communities of color will benefit the most from active transportation infrastructure development, historical disenfranchisement in tandem with a lack of diverse representation within public participation contributes to an inequitable distribution of walking and biking investments throughout the city of San Francisco. While research shows that Black …

An Assessment Of The Transit System Connecting Low-Income Households To The International Airport: A Case Study Of Southwest Alief, Texas, Abayomi Mololuwa Bakare

Theses (2016-Present)

Public transportation is part of the economic and social fabric of metropolitan areas, especially to low-income individuals who are often totally dependent on these services for their daily activities. In Houston Texas, this is made possible through the region's system of highway transit centers and other transportation options such as MetroBus and MetroRail. The role that transits plays in the connection between residential locations and employment opportunities is crucial in creating and implementing programs that will improve and maintain transit and ownership options available to vulnerable segments of Metropolitan residents. This study proposes the use of qualitative research methodology to …

Strategies To Reduce Flight Attendant Voluntary Turnover, Jorge Tobar

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Flight attendant voluntary turnover can lead to staffing shortages that can cause severe disruptions to flight schedules, damage the airlines’ reputations, and negatively affect revenues, which are significant challenges for airline leaders. Grounded in Herzberg’s two-factor theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore strategies airline leaders use to reduce flight attendant voluntary turnover. Data were collected from four leaders from four U.S. airlines in the southwestern United States using semistructured interviews and reviews of organizational documents. Five themes emerged from thematic analysis: improving compensation and benefits packages, implementing rewards and recognition programs, increasing supervisory support, expanding …

Public Transportation In Central Florida: Setting The Tone For Public Rail Use, Zoe Johnson

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The purpose of this research is to analyze the use of the public train usage in Central Florida to determine the feasibility of high-speed rail usage in the future. This study will be split into parts and expanded upon. The first part will observe rider perspective, values, and issues regarding rail transportation as is available in Central Florida. In further installations, which will be conducted separately from this thesis, there will be an analysis of the providers of rail transportation. It is hypothesized that there will be a moderate demand for rail transportation used by the public.

Original: The main …

Disenfranchised Residents’ Perceptions Of The Public Transportation Accessibility-Job Opportunity Mismatch In San Bernardino, California, Maggi Elgeziry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractPeople access employment opportunities at a more affordable rate by using public transportation. In San Bernardino, California, poverty, minority populations, and low-skilled individuals all exceed national rates. This research explored how a cheap and reliable means of transportation would facilitate access to job opportunities that would otherwise be relatively expensive for this disadvantaged population to access. Research has documented the benefit of public transportation in communities where public transportation is pivotal in helping disadvantaged populations access job opportunities. Common good theory (CGT) was used to explain the shared benefit that communities reap when working together for a common socioeconomic purpose. …

Perceived Social And Environmental Impacts Of The Maya Train Project On The Yucatan Peninsula Of Mexico: A Case Study Of Puerto Morelos, Emely Hernandez Yac

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

The Maya Train Project (MTP) is a new national megaproject in Mexico, meant to connect the perimeter of the Yucatan Peninsula, and facilitate easier transportation for tourism, industry, and agriculture. Given the region’s dependence on tourism, the train will accelerate the growth, as well as the social and environmental impacts of tourism in the region. Globally, the tourism industry has resulted in inequitable social and environmental impacts for the local communities and there is concern that this new Maya Train Project will serve to accelerate uneven development in the region. This project focused on the coastal tourist city of Puerto …

Rail Fixed Guideway Systems In Western U.S. Regions, Kelly A. Beavers

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This research explores the policy factors influencing the intraregional development of rail transit. For the purpose of this research, policy factors include: institutional arrangements, factors associated with governance, and factors in the policymaking process. The research questions are studied in five case study MSAs within the Pacific West and Mountain West regions of the United States: Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ; Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO; Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA; and Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR. The foundational problems that frame this research are the challenges of urban planning at a regional scale, specifically for transportation. The more specific challenge of transportation planning is situated within …

The Impact Of Select Buses On Taxi Ridership In Nyc, Sara Ahmed

Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this research is to measure the impact of select buses on taxi ridership in NYC. Due to the phased implementation of select buses in NYC, a difference-in-differences model was used. Taxi ridership on the M14A/M14D, M34, M79, and M15 bus routes was examined as the treatment group. The control group is the M100/M101 non-select bus route that runs along Lexington and Amsterdam Avenue. The results from this model show that the M14A/M14D, M34, and M79 select buses had a negative statistically significant impact on taxi ridership. The M15 select bus had a positive statistically insignificant impact on …

Assessing The Impact Of Health Benefits And Carbon Footprint In Student Parking Decisions At A University Campus, Emiliano Ruiz

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In the student parking location problem, traditionally, the parking permit cost, the last-mile travel time, and the ease of finding an available parking stall are the only decision criteria driving permit purchases. However, a studentâ??s choice of parking location has associated walking health benefits and sustainability impacts. These impacts are related to the walking distance from the parked vehicle to the final destination on campus, in addition to the location effect on the carbon footprint of a vehicle-trip taken to campus. As such, this Thesis examined a multi-criteria decision approach to a university studentâ??s choice of parking location. This approach …

Going Green: A Comparative Analysis Of Green Urbanism In Paris And Shanghai, Jeanne Torp

Honors Theses

As climate change becomes more pressing with each day and as we scramble to slow down the challenges it poses, adapting the means of operation within our cities will become an invaluable tool for reducing humanity’s carbon footprint. This paper seeks to study the ways in which green infrastructure in global cities can be used to do just that—adapting to and mitigating the effects of challenges resulting from climate change. In order to provide a broad overview of the effectiveness of such green infrastructure systems across the globe, this research will focus on two cities that vary greatly in their …

The Legacy Of Car-Share And Light-Rail Transit For Mobility And Accessibility Improvements In Economically Marginalized Neighborhoods In The New York Metro Area, Kyeongsu Kim

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation explores the value of the car-share program and a new light rail system with respect to their impact on mobility and accessibility improvements in economically and transportation access-wise marginalized neighborhoods in NYC and its adjacent communities. It consists of three main essays that took deep dives into how each new service or system altered mobility or accessibility for those in need. The first essay (Chapter 2) investigates car-share vehicle utilization rates of the Zipcar across NYC. It assesses the utilization rates by vehicle type, service location, time period, and weekday usage compared to weekend activity. With a multivariate …

Estimating Aviation And Passenger Vehicle Emissions For Surveyed Long-Distance, Intercity Trips, Elizabeth Duffy

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

Transportation in the United States is the largest sector contributor to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) (EPA, 2020). The proportion of passenger miles for long-distance, intercity travel is estimated to be 30% of the total for air, on-road passenger vehicle, and other modes. Methods for estimating and mitigating these emissions have received limited focus and there is a need to evaluate if a reduction in long-distance travel emissions is feasible through behavior change including modal shift, vehicle occupancy, or destination choice. The focus of this research is the design and implementation of a carbon calculator that estimates the CO2 emissions of …

Social Exclusion And Community Severance In Impoverished Neighborhoods, Melissa Kerry Stickel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Transportation infrastructure, such as highways and interstates, creates a barrier that can physically limit access to those living in adjacent neighborhoods, a phenomenon known as community severance. In addition to creating a physical disconnect, these infrastructures can leave residents feeling socially isolated and excluded from the rest of the community. This qualitative single-case study focused on social exclusion and community severance and problems arising from the U.S. transportation network, addressing the development of the interstate system and its possible impacts on communities. The exclusionary effects of transportation-related severance were well supported in the literature. However, most of research had been …

Data And Information As Our New Transport Infrastructure: An Exploration Into How The Modern Transport System Is Being Shaped By Information Communication Technology, Adam Davidson

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation is focuses on the role that data and information has in creating and altering behavior related to transportation. To do so, it lays out a theoretical model of technological transition and then follows it up with three case studies. The theoretical model provides a structure to consider how different actors in our transportation ecosystem – users, firms, policy actors – mix with technological evolution to uphold or incrementally recreate our transportation landscape. The case studies stand on their own to highlight important findings about how data and information are impacting transportation scenarios, but collectively reinforce the theoretical models. …

Curb-Sided: How Technology Disrupts The American Transportation Planning Process, Mary Angelica Painter

Dissertations

The disruptive arrival of Uber, Lyft, and other transportation network companies (TNCs) into American cities ignited arguments on how policy-makers should regulate such entities. Policy debates started among policymakers, companies, and existing industries and interests. In attempts to persuade policy, actors adopted a variety of language and used different levels of government to achieve policy goals. In almost all cases, TNCs were able to gain favorable policy through image framing and venue shopping – the key components to Punctuated Equilibrium Theory (PET). This analysis looks at the policy process of three American cities: Chicago, IL, St. Louis, MO, and Austin, …

Copenhagenization: The Spread Of The Copenhagen Cycling Gospel; A Case Study In Urban Policy Mobility, Rozaliya Momot

Senior Theses and Projects

Copenhagen is synonymous with biking culture, and is one of the first things people think about in relation to the Danish capital. It has become constructed as a policy model for urban planning, especially for cycling policy, and cities around the world look to it as a "best practice" example. As American cities attempt to change their transportation dynamics and encourage alternate forms of transportation, they increasingly look to cycling as a solution, and refer to Copenhagen as a model. In this thesis, I examine how this model has been packaged and exported by influential Danish consultants and public figures …

Beyond The Elevators: How The New York City Subway System Can Better Serve Blind, Deaf And Cognitively Disabled People, Ethan B. Stark-Miller

Capstones

Many blind and visually impaired, deaf and cognitively disabled New Yorkers face challenges when using the subway. A large portion of the system is still missing key accessibility features that would make the subway usable for these groups. And while this problem is on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) radar – the MTA has launched a pilot program to address it – the agency still has no clear plan or timeline for quickly expanding these features to the entire system. Link to full project: https://medium.com/@tough_coquelicot_muskrat_287/beyond-the-elevators-132c31e3ef48

Latent Choice Models To Account For Misclassification Errors In Discrete Transportation Data, Lacramioara Elena Balan

Civil & Environmental Engineering Theses & Dissertations

One of the most fundamental tasks when it comes to analyzing data using statistical methods is to understand the relationship between the explanatory variables and the outcome. Misclassification of explanatory variables is a common risk when using statistical modeling techniques. In this dissertation, we define ‘misclassification,’ as a response that is reported or recorded in the wrong category; for example, a variable is registered as a one when it should have the value zero. Misclassification can easily happen in any data; for example, in an interview setting where the respondent misunderstands the question or the interviewer checks the wrong box. …

Supply Chain Managers' Reverse Logistics Strategies To Control Cost Through Risk Mitigation, Lawrence A. Reeves

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Supply chain managers in the food and beverage industry face significant challenges regarding the use of effective reverse logistics strategies to reduce supply chain disruptions, control risk, and reduce costs. Through the lens of resource dependence theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to explore reverse logistics strategies used by supply chain managers in the United States to control cost through risk mitigation. Participants in this study included 5 supply chain managers in the food and beverage distribution industry in the state of Georgia who implemented successful reverse logistics strategies to control cost through risk mitigation. Data were …

The Impact Of Transportation Network Companies On Public Transit: A Case Study At The San Francisco International Airport, Lianne Renee Sturgeon

Scripps Senior Theses

The emergence and rapid growth of Transportation Network Companies (TNCs), such as Uber and Lyft, has challenged the transportation industry by offering a new mode of transportation to consumers. It is imperative that transit agencies and cities understand the effect of TNCs on public transit usage to make informed decisions. This study analyzes the impact of TNCs on Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) ridership at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to measure the effect of TNCs on public transit. Using a fixed effects model to analyze hourly BART and TNC ridership data from 2011 to 2018, these findings suggest …

The Changing Role Of Public-Private Partnerships In Urban Transportation: A Case Study Of The Rise Of P3s In Denver, Co, Sylvia Arriaga Brady

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research examines the expanding role of public-private partnerships (PPPs or P3s) in Denver metro transportation projects in three areas: (1) innovative funding and financing of transit infrastructure projects, (2) the partnerships between freight and passenger rail services, and (3) emerging collaborations of local governments, transit agencies, and transportation network companies (TNCs).

The purpose of the first study was to examine the recent use of P3s in the Denver Regional Transportation District's (RTD) FasTracks program, a 2004 voter-approved $4.7 billion transit expansion program. After a shortfall in funding, RTD partnered with several private consortia to enable the FasTracks program to …

Pedal To The Metal: Accelerating The Transition To Electric Vehicles, Nicole Larson

Pomona Senior Theses

This thesis explores barriers to widespread adoption of electric vehicles and proposes possible policy solutions. It analyzes main barriers including awareness, upfront cost, and range anxiety, as well as existing policy solutions, and a detailed case study examining policy differences in high adopting versus low adopting states. Awareness and eduction surrounding electric vehicles and their capabilities, financial incentives and market mechanisms for reducing costs, and charging infrastructure and efficiency improvements are examined. Conclusions were formed through interviews with various experts as a method of data collection. It was found that many existing state and local level policies could be scaled …

Recruiting Strategies For Increasing The Number Of Emergency Medical Technician Personnel, Carolyn Denise Mack

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Demand for the emergency medical technician (EMT) is 2 times greater than that of all other occupations. Sustainability of ambulance services (AS) personnel is dependent upon the recruitment of EMTs into the industry. The purpose of this multiple case study was the exploration of the recruiting strategies that AS administrators used to increase the number of EMTs. Herzberg's 2 factor theory of motivation was the conceptual framework for this study. The data collection instrument included semistructured interviews with 6 AS company executives in southeastern New Mexico and southwestern Texas. Secondary data and document from each state's emergency medical services personnel …

Transit Access Equity In Richmond, Va, Rachel Jordan

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the extent of public transit access equity issues in Richmond, VA. The City of Richmond has an established public transportation network system, and the thesis explores the level of access for urban residents to use existing public transportation services. Technologies and programs have begun to emerge across the United States to help solve transit accessibility challenges. The thesis assesses the level of transit access equity that exists in Richmond and introduces technologies and services that could help improve accessibility and equity. The thesis uses a mixed methods approach that will consist of …

Can Uber And Lyft Save Public Transit?, Emily Zheng

Pomona Senior Theses

I examine whether Uber and Lyft are currently complements or substitutes of public transit, and how partnerships between cities and ride sharing companies can increase their complementary relationship and solve parking and mobility issues. The results suggest that transportation network companies (TNCs) like Uber and Lyft do not have a statistically significant effect on public transit ridership overall, but are complements of public transit for certain populations. Policies that give discounts for TNC rides taken to and from transit stops help solve the first mile / last mile problem, which consequently help increase transit ridership.