Transportation Commons^™

Cost Estimate Modeling Of Transportation Management Plans For Highway Projects, Research Report 11-24, Jae-Ho Pyeon, Eul-Bum Lee, Ralph D. Ellis, Taeho Park

Mineta Transportation Institute

Highway rehabilitation and reconstruction projects frequently cause road congestion and increase safety concerns while limiting access for road users. State Transportation Agencies (STAs) are challenged to find safer and more efficient ways to renew deteriorating roadways in urban areas. To better address the work zone issues, the Federal Highway Administration published updates to the Work Zone Safety and Mobility Rule. All state and local governments receiving federal aid funding were required to comply with the provisions of the rule no later than October 12, 2007. One of the rule’s major elements is to develop and implement Transportation Management Plans (TMPs). …

A Decision-Support Framework For Using Value Capture To Fund Public Transit: Lessons From Project-Specific Analyses, Research Report 11-14, Shishir Mathur, Adam Smith

Mineta Transportation Institute

Local and state governments provide 75 percent of transit funds in the United States. With all levels of governments under significant fiscal stress, any new transit funding mechanism is welcome. Value capture (VC) is one such mechanism. Based on the “benefits received” principle, VC involves the identification and capture of public infrastructure-led increase in land value. While the literature has extensively demonstrated the property-value impacts of transit investments and has empirically simulated the potential magnitude of VC revenues for financing transit facilities, very little research has examined the suitability of VC mechanisms for specific transit projects. This report aims to …

Low-Stress Bicycling And Network Connectivity, Maaza C. Mekuria, Peter G. Furth, Hilary Nixon

Mineta Transportation Institute

For a bicycling network to attract the widest possible segment of the population, its most fundamental attribute should be low-stress connectivity, that is, providing routes between people’s origins and destinations that do not require cyclists to use links that exceed their tolerance for traffic stress, and that do not involve an undue level of detour. The objective of this study is to develop measures of low-stress connectivity that can be used to evaluate and guide bicycle network planning. We propose a set of criteria by which road segments can be classified into four levels of traffic stress (LTS). LTS 1 …

A Framework For Developing And Integrating Effective Routing Strategies Within The Emergency Management Decision-Support System, Research Report 11-12, Anurag Pande, Frances Edwards, Joseph Yu

Mineta Transportation Institute

This report describes the modeling, calibration, and validation of a VISSIM traffic-flow simulation of the San José, California, downtown network and examines various evacuation scenarios and first-responder routings to assess strategies that would be effective in the event of a no-notice disaster. The modeled network required a large amount of data on network geometry, signal timings, signal coordination schemes, and turning-movement volumes. Turning-movement counts at intersections were used to validate the network with the empirical formula-based measure known as the GEH statistic. Once the base network was tested and validated, various scenarios were modeled to estimate evacuation and emergency vehicle …

Proactive Assessment Of Accident Risk To Improve Safety On A System Of Freeways, Research Report 11-15, Anurag Pande, Cornelius Nuworsoo, Cameron Shew

Mineta Transportation Institute

This report describes the development and evaluation of real-time crash risk-assessment models for four freeway corridors: U.S. Route 101 NB (northbound) and SB (southbound) and Interstate 880 NB and SB. Crash data for these freeway segments for the 16-month period from January 2010 through April 2011 are used to link historical crash occurrences with real-time traffic patterns observed through loop-detector data. 'The crash risk-assessment models are based on a binary classification approach (crash and non-crash outcomes), with traffic parameters measured at surrounding vehicle detection station (VDS) locations as the independent variables. The analysis techniques used in this study are logistic …

Study Of Driver’S Behavior Using Physiological Signals, Atul Sancheti, Pushkin Kachroo

College of Engineering: Graduate Celebration Programs

Introduction

According to National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) 58% of roadway crashes are safety related.

Factors such as fatigue and drowsiness causes significance decline in driver’s abilities of perception, recognition and vehicle control.

Exposes driver’s to a higher level of risk while driving with these conditions.

Being awake for 18 hours is equivalent to a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of 0.08%.

Architecture For An Interactive Motion-Based Traffic Simulation Environment, Romesh Khaddar, Naveen Veeramisti, Alexander Paz, Pushkin Kachroo

College of Engineering: Graduate Celebration Programs

In simple words, the objective of this research is to identify the effect of human behavior on traffic To enhance the traffic simulation modeling realism by involving actual human beings navigating the system along with simulated entities in an immersive environment

Estimation Of Performance Indices For The Planning Of Sustainable Transportation Systems, Pankaj Maheshwari, Alexander Paz, Pushkin Kachroo

College of Engineering: Graduate Celebration Programs

In simple words, the objective of this research is the estimation of performance indices for the planning of sustainable transportation systems Sustainability is achieved when the Transportation system, Activity system and Environmental system have all reached minimum and stable levels of quality so that they can continue operating in perpetuity at less than these levels

Statistical Modeling Of A Vehicle Miles Traveled Fee For Nevada, Andrew Nordland, Alexander Paz

College of Engineering: Graduate Celebration Programs

Objective:

• Develop a model to estimate the effects of a change in road pricing for Nevada, specifically when adopting a Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Fee to replace the current fuel tax

• Analyze the model with:

• Current State Fuel Tax

• Two ‘Revenue Neutral’ VMT Fees (Includes all State and Federal Taxes)

Training The Next Generation Of Transportation Professionals In Geographic Data Collection, Spatial Analysis And Customer Information, Uma Shama, Lawrence J. Harman

Mathematics Faculty Publications

Applying advanced technology for transportation research and management has been the focus of Bridgewater State’s GeoGraphics Laboratory since 1994. The laboratory has attracted a broad range of students from many academic disciplines and walks of life to engage in leading edge applications of innovative hardware and software to meet the needs of our transportation systems. The GeoGraphics Lab has provided a laboratory experience for nearly two decades. Geographic technology has changed dramatically over this time. The availability of global positioning systems (GPS) on cell phones is nearly ubiquitous. The increased power and reduced cost of desktop geographic information systems (GIS) …

The Physical Distribution Security System: Who Is Affecting The Vulnerability Of Goods Transprtation?, Luca Urciuoli

Journal of Transportation Management

The purpose of this study is to explore the vulnerability of physical distribution networks to antago- nistic threats. Previous research identifies globalization and Just in Time (JIT) as the main causes of vulnerability. However, cargo crime has always existed, even before the identification of these trends. In this explorative study new factors are brought to light. In particular, it appears that stake- holders’ dynamics are influencing the level of security.

The Long And Winding Road: An Experiential Study Of Mongolian Transit, Tommy Holmberg

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of my ISP was to partake in an experiential study of the Mongolian transit system. In order to do this, I opted to travel the countryside by bus for two weeks. Portions of this paper provide a narrative account of my travels and details the intricacies of countryside transit. While on the road, I also tracked the prices of various items throughout the country and here provide information as to their transport-related fluctuations. In one chapter, I provide projected data about an improved road system to replace Mongolia’s current setup, using the specifics of an American highway to …

Case Study: University At Albany Develops A Guide To Examine Commuting Behavior And Patterns, Catherine T. Lawson, Mary Ellen Mallia, Chris Franklin, Benjamin Fischer, David Hogenkamp, Matt Ryan

Publications

The University at Albany conducted an examination of campus commuting patterns and behaviors over an eighteen month period. The components included a review of existing options, the development of GIS maps indicating origin points of commutes, a survey of campus perceptions of barriers to using alternative transportation and on-time tracking of mass transit offerings. The study revealed that the success of alternative transportation is hindered by limitations in bus routes and frequency in scheduling, the need for commuters to make additional trips outside their commute route and a distrust of bus reliability.

Evaluating Network Analysis And Agent Based Modeling For Investigating The Stability Of Commercial Air Carrier Schedules, Sheila Ruth Conway

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

For a number of years, the United States Federal Government has been formulating the Next Generation Air Transportation System plans for National Airspace System improvement. These improvements attempt to address air transportation holistically, but often address individual improvements in one arena such as ground or in-flight equipment.

In fact, air transportation system designers have had only limited success using traditional Operations Research and parametric modeling approaches in their analyses of innovative operations. They need a systemic methodology for modeling of safety-critical infrastructure that is comprehensive, objective, and sufficiently concrete, yet simple enough to be deployed with reasonable investment. The methodology …

A Comparison Of Logistics Strategies And Integration In The U.S. And Ghana, Michael A. Mcginnis, John E. Spillan, Ali Kara, King Obed Domfeh (Dok)

Journal of Transportation Management

This manuscript empirically compares logistics strategies and outcomes in Ghanaian and U.S. firms to test the underlying factor structure and measurement equivalences of the Bowersox/Daugherty model and its relationship with critical success factors. A structured questionnaire was used to gather data from Ghanaian and American logistics managers. Using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), we compared the three dimensions of Overall Logistics Strategy (OLS) - Process Strategy, Market Strategy, and Information Strategy – in the two countries. A structural equation model (SEM) was then used to assess the impact of OLS on perceived organizational competitiveness in the two countries. Although the economic, …

Assessing The Strategic Evolution Of U.S. Low Cost Airlines In The Post-9/11 Environment, Carl A. Scheraga, Paul Caster

Journal of Transportation Management

It has been suggested in the literature that low-cost airlines have, in varying degrees, departed from the original low-cost model introduced by Southwest Airlines. This study provides a multi-year analysis in the post-9/11 time period, for the years 2004-2009, of the demonstrated strategic positioning choices of U. S. low-cost airlines. The sample utilized is restricted to U. S. low-cost carriers so as not to conflate operating environments. Furthermore, a quantitative methodology is employed to measure effectively these choices and to facilitate inter-airline comparisons. Airlines, as part of their strategic planning process, articulate positions with regard to cost leadership, product differentiation, …

Understanding Supply Chain Security Strategy, Zachary Williams, Jason E. Lueg, Sean P. Goffnett, Stephen A. Lemay, Robert L. Cook

Journal of Transportation Management

In the post-9/11 environment, organizations are acutely aware of the need to secure their supply chains from risks of being a target of, or an unwilling participant in, a terror attack. However, supply chain security (SCS) comes at a cost and increasing levels of protection have increasing levels of costs to the firm. So some firms engage in strategic initiatives to secure the supply chain (SC) while others do not; and each firm engages in varying degrees of activities to ensure SCS. Therefore, in this study, the researchers sought to explore what types of SCS strategies exist. The researchers analyze …

The Role Of Returns Management Orientation, Internal Collaboration, And Information Support In Reverse Logistics, Enping (Shirley) Mai, Haozhe Chen, Kenneth Anselmi

Journal of Transportation Management

While reverse logistics has gained significant interest in recent years, the research on its antecedents is still far from comprehensive. The current study utilizes data collected from China to empirically test a conceptual model that is developed based on the resource based view of the firm. It is proposed that returns management orientation, internal collaboration, and information support are important predictors of reverse logistics performance. The structural equation modeling analysis supports these proposed relationships. Furthermore, the current study also confirms the positive relationship between a firm’s reverse logistics performance and market performance.

Tls Newsletter Volume 6, Edition 7 April, 2012, Unf Transportation And Logistics Society

Transportation & Logistics Society Newsletter

Inside the Newsletter: TLS General Meeting and elections for 2012-2013. T&L Flagship Spring Banquet held on April 26, 2012. Upcoming Events for March and April. TLS President's Corner welcoming TLS members. In the know on Summer Internships and photos from 2011-2012

Shared-Use Bus Priority Lanes On City Streets: Case Studies In Design And Management, Mti Report 11-10, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Todd Goldman, Nancy Hannaford

Mineta Transportation Institute

This report examines the policies and strategies governing the design and, especially, operations of bus lanes in major congested urban centers. It focuses on bus lanes that operate in mixed traffic conditions; the study does not examine practices concerning bus priority lanes on urban highways or freeways. Four key questions addressed in the paper are: How do the many public agencies within any city region that share authority over different aspects of the bus lanes coordinate their work in designing, operating, and enforcing the lanes? What is the physical design of the lanes? What is the scope of the priority …