Transportation Commons^™

Ua1c11/127 Stephen Flora Photo Collection, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Photographs donated by WKU alumnus Stephen Flora, taken for class and College Heights Herald.

Segac: Sample Efficient Generalized Actor Critic For The Stochastic On-Time Arrival Problem, Honglian Guo, Zhi He, Wenda Sheng, Zhiguang Cao, Yingjie Zhou, Weinan Gao

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper studies the problem in transportation networks and introduces a novel reinforcement learning-based algorithm, namely. Different from almost all canonical sota solutions, which are usually computationally expensive and lack generalizability to unforeseen destination nodes, segac offers the following appealing characteristics. segac updates the ego vehicle’s navigation policy in a sample efficient manner, reduces the variance of both value network and policy network during training, and is automatically adaptive to new destinations. Furthermore, the pre-trained segac policy network enables its real-time decision-making ability within seconds, outperforming state-of-the-art sota algorithms in simulations across various transportation networks. We also successfully deploy segac …

Policy Brief: Evaluation Of The Safety Of Pedestrian Crossing Treatments In Small And Rural Communities, Parsa Pezeshknejad, Dana Rowangould, James Sullivan

University of Vermont Transportation Research Center

TRC Policy Brief: Rural areas often lack adequate pedestrian infrastructure, resulting in elevated safety risks for pedestrians. The combination of higher speed limits and reduced driver awareness amplifies the potential for pedestrian collisions when crossing the roadway.

This study addresses uncertainty about the effectiveness of rectangular rapid flashing beacons (RRFBs) and LED-embedded signs (LESs) as potential safety interventions. RRFBs and LESs are both pedestrian crossing treatments that allow pedestrians to activate lights to alert drivers of their intent to cross. RRFBs include horizontal LED lights mounted to the sign pole, while LESs include LEDs embedded in the edge of the …

Trust: The Feature That Vending Machines And Atms Share, But Simplygo Lacks, Sun Sun Lim

Research Collection College of Integrative Studies

The article discussed the intricacies of trust in the SimplyGo debacle and highlighted how the design of physical interfaces like vending machines and ATMs and digital interfaces from apps like Grab, Parking.sg and ShopBack have critical features to instil trust. People need to be reassured that their transactions have proceeded as they should, and thay have not been short-changed.

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

Decoding Usage And Adoption Behavior Of The Low-Carbon Transportation Market: An Ai-Driven Exploration, Vuban Chowdhury

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The transportation sector stands as a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, with its environmental impact steadily escalating over the past few decades. This has prompted government agencies to facilitate the adoption and usage of low-carbon transportation (LCT) options as alternatives to fossil-fuel-powered transportation. LCTs include modes of transportation that minimize the overall carbon footprint of the transportation sector by relying on energy sources that are environmentally sustainable. These sustainable transportation options have also garnered significant interest in the transportation research community. For government agencies and researchers alike, a comprehensive understanding of the adoption and usage …

Autonomous Shuttle Implementation And Best Practices, Dil Samina Diba, Ninad Gore, Srinivas S. Pulugurtha

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

When, where, and how autonomous shuttles are deployed can have significant safety, economic, and policy impacts on their operation and performance. This research analyzes data related to 120 existing deployments of autonomous shuttles, looking at safety, operational, economic, and policy-related issues. Analysis shows that autonomous shuttles would be an excellent supplement to public transportation. However, improvements to the vehicle and the infrastructure are needed before any permanent deployment. The study also analyzes the perceptions of practitioners, industry experts, and transportation system users toward autonomous shuttles. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Multiple Input Multiple Cause Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approaches were …

Understanding The Effect Of Pervasive Events On Vehicle Travel Time Patterns, Chirag Akbari, Ninad Gore, Srinivas S. Pulugurtha

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted daily activities and travel patterns, affecting personal and commercial trips. This study investigates the effect of different stages of the pandemic on travel time patterns. Eighty-six geographically distributed links (sections of road) in Mecklenburg County and Buncombe County, North Carolina, were selected for analysis. The selected links accounted for the variation in road geometry, land use, and speed limit. Travel time data for three years (i.e., 2019, 2020, and 2021) were extracted from a private data source at 5-min intervals. Travel time reliability (TTR) and travel time variability (TTV) are estimated for different phases of …

Evaluating Benefits From Transportation Investments Aligned With The Climate Action Plan For Transportation Infrastructure (Capti), Serena Alexander, Shams Tanvir, T. William Lester

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

Building upon two executive orders targeting the mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in California, the Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure (CAPTI) offers a comprehensive plan to work toward a more unified vision for transportation that prioritizes climate, health, and social equity. The purpose of this project was to help evaluate the benefits from transportation investments across the State of California. With support from Caltrans, the research team provided a holistic evaluation framework that involved an analysis of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and emissions impacts, an economic impact analysis, and an equity analysis of transportation investments in California. Findings …

Analysis Of Travel Behavior At International Border Crossings: Application Of Travel Surveys, Jennifer Areli Moreno Escamilla

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Transportation planning provides an insight into the demand and traffic distribution of existingconditions of a region and helps identify future transportation needs. The results generated from forecasting models influence many decisions on the selection of transportation projects and funding allocations. Thus, forecasting models require up-to-date trip information to represent trip patterns and generate representative traffic demand analysis in a such complex areas as binational regions. The purpose of this study is to provide an analysis on travel survey methodology applied to collect trip information at international border crossings. Based on the results of the survey, an analysis on trip pattern …

Learning About Street Harassment On Transit: A Survey Instrument For Transit Agencies, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Jon Canapary, Carol Anne Caroll, Tam J. Guy, Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

This study was conducted in accordance with California Senate Bill 1161 (2022), legislation that directed the Mineta Transportation Institute to develop a reliable, easy-to-use survey instrument for collecting information from public transit passengers about the extent, location, and characteristics of any street harassment they experience. Although the legislation is focused on large California transit agencies, the study findings are equally relevant to smaller agencies and agencies outside the state. To develop the recommended questionnaire, we reviewed literature about street harassment, analyzed transit passenger surveys to explore the questions asked about safety and harassment, received feedback on iterative drafts of the …

Exploring Traffic Speed Patterns For The Implementation Of Variable Speed Limit (Vsl) Signs, Panick Kalambay, Srinivas Pulugurtha

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

Traffic congestion is a prevalent issue during peak travel hours on roads in the United States. This study focuses on identifying suitable road links in Charlotte, North Carolina, for implementing variable speed limit (VSL) signs. Real-world traffic speed data collected over one year was analyzed to identify specific road links with favorable characteristics for VSL sign installations. The analysis considered weekdays, weekends, and specific times of the day to capture variations in speed patterns. The results revealed that roads with lower speed limits consistently experienced speeds exceeding the posted speed limits, suggesting additional enforcement or safety measures. For roads with …

Cycling Past 50: A Closer Look Into The World Of Older Cyclists, Year 4 Survey, Carol Kachadoorian

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

This document reports on approximately 5,000 responses to a North American survey of older adults who cycle. The survey, open from August 2021 through March 2022, included questions that captured a person’s cycling over their life course, as well as their current cycling styles, habits, and preferences. Responses reflect the impact of various factors on an older adult’s cycling habits with respect to their ability and agility and their expectation to continue cycling. The survey asked about falls and near misses in the past-year coding fall descriptions into six categories and sorting them by the respondent’s gender and age. The …

Scooting To A Brighter Tomorrow: Shared E-Scooters And Their Use In Lincoln, Nebraska, Tanner J. Hiemer

Community and Regional Planning Program: Theses and Student Projects

As a recent addition to our transportation systems, shared e-scooters have the potential to improve how people travel in the urban environment. While there is a lot to be hopeful about, the relative novelty of e-scooters calls for closer examination of how they interact with the built environment and other modes of transportation. Additionally, the equity of shared e-scooters must be at the forefront of discussion when considering their utility in the future. Given their flexibility in use, e-scooters could fill spatial gaps in transportation systems and provide improved mobility to those who are most transportation disadvantaged. This research aims …

Influence Of Pavement Conditions On Commercial Motor Vehicle Crashes, Stephen Arhin, Babin Manandhar, Adam Gatiba

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

Commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety is a major concern in the United States, including the District of Columbia (DC), where CMVs make up 15% of traffic. This research uses a comprehensive approach, combining statistical analysis and machine learning techniques, to investigate the impact of road pavement conditions on CMV accidents. The study integrates traffic crash data from the Traffic Accident Reporting and Analysis Systems Version 2.0 (TARAS2) database with pavement condition data provided by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT). Data spanning from 2016 to 2020 was collected and analyzed, focusing on CMV routes in DC. The analysis employs binary …

Deep Learning, Machine Learning, Or Statistical Models For Weather-Related Crash Severity Prediction, Abimbola Ogungbire, Panick Kalambay, Hardik Gajera, Srinivas S. Pulugurtha

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

Nearly 5,000 people are killed and more than 418,000 are injured in weather-related traffic incidents each year. Assessments of the effectiveness of statistical models applied to crash severity prediction compared to machine learning (ML) and deep learning techniques (DL) help researchers and practitioners know what models are most effective under specific conditions. Given the class imbalance in crash data, the synthetic minority over-sampling technique for nominal (SMOTE-N) data was employed to generate synthetic samples for the minority class. The ordered logit model (OLM) and the ordered probit model (OPM) were evaluated as statistical models, while random forest (RF) and XGBoost …

Sc-Fuse: A Feature Fusion Approach For Unpaved Road Detection From Remotely Sensed Images, Aniruddh Saxena

Department of Computer Science and Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Road network extraction from remote sensing imagery is crucial for numerous applications, ranging from autonomous navigation to urban and rural planning. A particularly challenging aspect is the detection of unpaved roads, often underrepresented in research and data. These roads display variability in texture, width, shape, and surroundings, making their detection quite complex. This thesis addresses these challenges by creating a specialized dataset and introducing the SC-Fuse model.

Our custom dataset comprises high resolution remote sensing imagery which primarily targets unpaved roads of the American Midwest. To capture the diverse seasonal variation and their impact, the dataset includes images from different …

Transportation Needs Of Older Adults In Suburban And Rural Areas, Dahai Han

Theses and Dissertations

The fact that the average age of the world's population is increasing, which is more pronounced in developed countries, necessitates the understanding of the challenges faced by older adults in accessing transportation services. With advancing age, individuals may experience age-related changes that can notably affect their driving capabilities, emphasizing the importance of alternative transportation alternatives. This challenge is more evident in suburban and rural settings, where transportation choices are limited, and older adults often find themselves without access to suitable transportation alternatives. Given that mobility plays an essential role in maintaining social connections, accessing healthcare services, and fulfilling daily needs, …

Neural Airport Ground Handling, Yaoxin Wu, Jianan Zhou, Yunwen Xia, Xianli Zhang, Zhiguang Cao, Jie Zhang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Airport ground handling (AGH) offers necessary operations to flights during their turnarounds and is of great importance to the efficiency of airport management and the economics of aviation. Such a problem involves the interplay among the operations that leads to NP-hard problems with complex constraints. Hence, existing methods for AGH are usually designed with massive domain knowledge but still fail to yield high-quality solutions efficiently. In this paper, we aim to enhance the solution quality and computation efficiency for solving AGH. Particularly, we first model AGH as a multiple-fleet vehicle routing problem (VRP) with miscellaneous constraints including precedence, time windows, …

Misconduct On Public Transit: An Exploratory Analysis Using The Comments Formerly Known As Tweets, Egbe Etu Etu, Asha Weinstein Agrawal, Imokhai Tenebe, Jordan Larot, Dang Minh Nhu Nguyen

Mineta Transportation Institute Publications

This project developed a simple methodology for using Twitter data to explore public perceptions about misconduct on public transit in California. The methodology allows future researchers to analyze tweets to answer questions such as: How frequent are tweets related to assault, abuse, or other misconduct on public transit? What concerns arise most frequently? What are the types of behaviors discussed? We collected and analyzed data from Twitter posts in California about various types of public transit misconduct from January 2020 to March 2023 to identify the nature and frequency of reported misconduct. Our findings reveal that harassment, uncivil behavior, and …