The extent to which member states transpose EU directives in a timely fashion is often argued to be strongly associated with the general effectiveness of national bureaucracies. But what kind of institutional solutions ensure better performance? This paper examines the patterns and effects of departmental oversight across 28 ministries in Estonia, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia. In mapping the strength of oversight, it relies on around 90 structured interviews regarding the rules-in-use on transposition planning, legal review and monitoring of deadlines. The analysis of the impact of departmental oversight is based on an original dataset of over 300 directives with transposition deadlines between January 2005 and December 2008.

On the european union

This paper presents applications of the Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual (TCQSM) methodologies to fixed-route transit systems in Mexico. The applications are focused on the quality of service part of the manual. The TCQSM provides a simple and clear way to analyze transit systems in other countries such as Mexico as there are no significant differences with transit systems in the US. However, several factors and thresholds such as walking distance, passenger load factors, transit supportive areas and the difference between transit and auto travel times should be further researched and adapted to local conditions since these values have a significant effect on the determination of the appropriate level-of-service (LOS). Furthermore, there are other performance measures such as on-time reliability, safety and security, and headway adherence that are not commonly reported by transit systems in Mexico and therefore, the TCQSM methodologies are not applicable. The paper describes the applications and the adjustments necessary to apply such methodologies and highlights its advantages and limitations for applications in Mexico.

Transit Capacity and Quality-of-Service Manual: Applications to Mexican Transit Systems

The series "Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing" contains publications on theory, applications, and design methods of Intelligent Systems and Intelligent Computing. Virtually all disciplines such as engineering, natural sciences, computer and information science, ICT, economics, business, e-commerce, environment, healthcare, life science are covered. The list of topics spans all the areas of modern intelligent systems and computing such as: computational intelligence, soft computing including neural networks, fuzzy systems, evolutionary computing and the fusion of these paradigms, social intelligence, ambient intelligence, computational neuroscience, artificial life, virtual worlds and society, cognitive science and systems, Perception and Vision, DNA and immune based systems, self-organizing and adaptive systems, e-Learning and teaching, human-centered and human-centric computing, recommender systems, intelligent control, robotics and mechatronics including human-machine teaming, knowledge-based paradigms, learning paradigms, machine ethics, intelligent data analysis, knowledge management, intelligent agents, intelligent decision making and support, intelligent network security, trust management, interactive entertainment, Web intelligence and multimedia.    The publications within "Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing" are primarily proceedings of important conferences, symposia and congresses. They cover significant recent developments in the field, both of a foundational and applicable character. An important characteristic feature of the series is the short publication time and world-wide distribution. This permits a rapid and broad dissemination of research results.   Indexed by DBLP, EI Compendex, INSPEC, WTI Frankfurt eG, zbMATH, Japanese Science and Technology Agency (JST), SCImago.  All books published in the series are submitted for consideration in Web of Science.

Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing

The rapid pace of developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) is providing unprecedented opportunities to enhance the performance of different industries and businesses, including the transport sector. The innovations introduced by AI include highly advanced computational methods that mimic the way the human brain works. The application of AI in the transport field is aimed at overcoming the challenges of an increasing travel demand, CO2 emissions, safety concerns, and environmental degradation. In light of the availability of a huge amount of quantitative and qualitative data and AI in this digital age, addressing these concerns in a more efficient and effective fashion has become more plausible. Examples of AI methods that are finding their way to the transport field include Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), Genetic algorithms (GA), Simulated Annealing (SA), Artificial Immune system (AIS), Ant Colony Optimiser (ACO) and Bee Colony Optimization (BCO) and Fuzzy Logic Model (FLM) The successful application of AI requires a good understanding of the relationships between AI and data on one hand, and transportation system characteristics and variables on the other hand. Moreover, it is promising for transport authorities to determine the way to use these technologies to create a rapid improvement in relieving congestion, making travel time more reliable to their customers and improve the economics and productivity of their vital assets. This paper provides an overview of the AI techniques applied worldwide to address transportation problems mainly in traffic management, traffic safety, public transportation, and urban mobility. The overview concludes by addressing the challenges and limitations of AI applications in transport.

/pdf/applications-of-artificial-intelligence-in-transport-an-33fywpz1p9.pdf

Applications of artificial intelligence in transport: an overview

A simplified method for the determination of the rate of synthesis of albumin after the i. v. injection of 14C-carbonate is described. A number of experiments to check the accuracy of the 14CO2 measurements is reported. Good agreement is obtained between the specific activity of urinary urea, measured by means of our method and by the manometric method. Recoveries of 101.9 and 101.1% respectively are found for 14C-urea added to plasma or urine. Endogenously formed 14C-urea shows a maximal specific activity 2—3 h after the i. v. injection of 14C-carbonate. Thereafter the specific activity of 14C-urea gradually decreases. Enzymic conversion with arginase and urease and analysis with an amino-acid analyser give the same values for the arginine content of an albumin hydrolysate. Good agreement between the rates ot synthesis and catabolism of albumin, determined respectively with 14C-carbonate and 131I-albumin, was obtained in individual patients. In a group of 6 patients an average rate of synthesis of 10.6 mg/kg · h and an average catabolic rate of 9.5 mg/kg · h were measured. The difference between this simplified method and the manometric technique lies in a direct measurement of the concentration of urea and arginine in the method described here in contrast to the conversion of urea and arginine to CO 2 in the manometric method. Advantages of the simplified method for the determination of the rate of synthesis of albumin are discussed. Es wird eine einfache Methode zur Bestimmung der Synthesegeschwindigkeit von Albumin nach i. v. Injektion von 14C-Carbonat beschrieben. Dazu wurden verschiedene Untersuchungen zur Prufung der Genauigkeit der 14CO2-Messungen durchgefuhrt. Wir fanden eine gute Ubereinstimmung zwischen unserer und der manometrischen Methode bei der Bestimmung der spezifischen Aktivitat des UrinharnstofFs. Es wurden Wiederfindungswerte von 101,9 und 101,1% erzielt, falls 14C-Harnstoff entweder Plasma oder Urin zugefugt wurde. Endogen gebildeter 14C-HarnstofF zeigte 2—3 h nach der i. v. Injektion von 14C-Carbonat eine maximale spezifische Aktivitat. Danach nahm die spezifische Aktivitat des 14C-HarnstofFs langsam ab. Sowohl die enzymatische Umwandlung durch Arginase und Urease als auch die Analyse mittels Aminosaure-Analysator ergaben gleiche Werte fur den Arginingehalt eines Albuminhydrolysats. Bei den einzelnen Patienten wurde eine gute Ubereinstimmung zwischen der Synthese- und Abbaurate von Albumin, bestimmt durch die Untersuchung mittels 14C-Carbonat bzw. 131J-Albumin,

A Simplified Method

Purpose – The paper adapts and applies a modified SERVQUAL approach compliant with the EN 13816, a European standard on service quality in public transport. The purpose of the study is to provide a quality evaluation tool readily usable by transport operators willing to certify the service offered.Design/methodology/approach – Correspondence between the SERVQUAL and the standard is ensured by guaranteeing that the 15 attributes investigated encompass the eight macro‐areas of the norm. Primary data were collected by means of an on‐board survey conducted in Cagliari over a two week period.Findings – The study shows the possibility to implement a SERVQUAL approach abiding by the requirements set by the EN 13816. The results illustrate a high degree of importance placed on attributes such as on‐board security, bus reliability, cleanliness and frequency, with these latter three characterized by the widest negative gaps between perceptions and expectations. The sole quantitative supply of transport does not see...

Measuring service quality in urban bus transport: a modified SERVQUAL approach

Nowadays, the diffusion of electric-powered micro Personal Mobility Vehicles (e-PMVs) worldwide—i.e., e-bikes, e-scooters, and self-balancing vehicles—has disrupted the urban transport sector. Furthermore, this topic has captured many scholars and practitioners’ interest due to multiple issues related to their use. Over the past five years, there has been strong growth in the publication of e-PMV studies. This paper reviews the existing literature by identifying several issues on the impact that e-PMVs produce from different perspectives. More precisely, by using the PRIMA’s methodological approach and well-known scientific repositories (i.e., Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar), 90 studies between 2014 and 2020 were retrieved and analyzed. An overview and classification into endogenous issues (e.g., impact on transport and urban planning) and exogenous issues (e.g., impact on safety and the environment) are provided. While several issues are deeply investigated, the findings suggest that some others need many improvements. Therefore, the status quo of these studies is being assessed to support possible future developments.

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/7/3692/pdf

Survey on e-Powered Micro Personal Mobility Vehicles: Exploring Current Issues towards Future Developments

In proof-of-payment systems, fare evasion represents a crucial topic for public transport companies (PTCs) due to lost fare revenues, damaged corporate image, and increased levels of violence on public transport, which might also have negative economic repercussions on PTCs. Therefore, there is a need to establish the level of inspection (i.e. the number of inspectors) to tackle fare dodgers as a possible option. By building on previous models, this paper develops a formal economic framework to derive the optimum inspection level in a long time window, based on system-wide profit maximization when fare evasion exists. The framework takes into account: (i) the refined segmentation of passengers and potential fare evaders, (ii) the variability of perceived inspection level by passengers, and (iii) the fact that an inspector cannot fine every passenger caught evading. Its implementation is illustrated by using three years of real data from an Italian PTC. Based on 27,514 stop-level inspections and 10,586 on-board personal interviews, the results show that the optimum inspection level is 3.8%. Put differently, it is sufficient to check 38 passengers out of every 1000 to maximize profit in the presence of fare evasion. This outcome is very useful, because it improves the one obtained in previous formulations. Indeed, profit maximization is achieved with a lower number of inspectors, thus reducing inspection costs, which are relevant determinants in proficient PTCs. Finally, the framework is flexible and may be applied to public transport modes other than buses as long as proof-of-payment systems are in use.

Fare evasion in proof-of-payment transit systems: Deriving the optimum inspection level

Fare evasion has become an important issue for public transport companies, especially for those that have adopted proof-of-payment ticketing systems. Recent years have seen strong growth in the publication of studies on fare evasion. This paper reviews 113 studies to identify the characteristics of the research on fare evasion. An overview and classification in five main areas, i.e., fare evader-oriented, criminological, economic, technological, and operational is provided. Next, the status quo of these studies is assessed to support possible unifying research development.

Fare evasion in public transport systems: a review of the literature

Since the early stages of the Internet-of-Things (IoT), one of the application scenarios that have been affected the most by this new paradigm is mobility. Smart Cities have greatly benefited from the awareness of some people’s habits to develop efficient mobility services. In particular, knowing how people use public transportation services and move throughout urban infrastructure is crucial in several areas, among which the most prominent are tourism and transportation. Indeed, especially for Public Transportation Companies (PTCs), long- and short-term planning of the transit network requires having a thorough knowledge of the flows of passengers in and out vehicles. Thanks to the ubiquitous presence of Internet connections, this knowledge can be easily enabled by sensors deployed on board of public transport vehicles. In this paper, a Wi-Fi-based Automatic Bus pAssenger CoUnting System, named iABACUS, is presented. The objective of iABACUS is to observe and analyze urban mobility by tracking passengers throughout their journey on public transportation vehicles, without the need for them to take any action. Test results proves that iABACUS efficiently detects the number of devices with an active Wi-Fi interface, with an accuracy of 100% in the static case and almost 94% in the dynamic case. In the latter case, there is a random error that only appears when two bus stops are very close to each other.

/pdf/iabacus-a-wi-fi-based-automatic-bus-passenger-counting-5gi6rr6ksv.pdf

Benedetto Barabino

Papers

Measuring service quality in urban bus transport: a modified SERVQUAL approach

Survey on e-Powered Micro Personal Mobility Vehicles: Exploring Current Issues towards Future Developments

Fare evasion in proof-of-payment transit systems: Deriving the optimum inspection level

Fare evasion in public transport systems: a review of the literature

iABACUS: A Wi-Fi-Based Automatic Bus Passenger Counting System