Showing papers in "European Transport Research Review in 2017"

Crowd logistics: an opportunity for more sustainable urban freight transport?

Abstract: Passenger car occupancy has been falling for years. Partly empty vehicles on our road networks decrease passenger transport sustainability but also contain an opportunity for freight transport. Within Crowd logistics (CL), delivery operations are carried out by using passengers’ excess capacity on journeys that are already taking place, resulting in economic, social and environmental benefits. Existing CL initiatives show, however, that there are important differences between concepts in terms of sustainability. The research aims to develop a suitable and comprehensive definition for CL and identify which factors determine the sustainability potential of CL. We systematically analysed a set of 42 papers and interviewed 11 logistics practitioners in order to capture the state of practice. Following the literature and interviews, we firstly define CL as ‘an information connectivity enabled marketplace concept that matches supply and demand for logistics services with an undefined and external crowd that has free capacity with regards to time and/or space, participates on a voluntary basis and is compensated accordingly’. Secondly, we identify a set of 18 characteristics that can describe the variety of CL concepts. Thirdly, we indicate whether the identified characteristics affect the economy, society and/or environment. The research shows that all characteristics influence economic sustainability while 11 characteristics also affect social and/or environmental sustainability. Our research helps local policy-makers to adapt laws and regulations to the sharing economy developments and provides insight for businesses which CL concept fits their company’s corporate social responsibility strategy.

Evaluating the impacts of using cargo cycles on urban logistics: integrating traffic, environmental and operational boundaries

Abstract: European Commission has promoted actions and policies with the aim of reducing the negative impacts on traffic and environment caused by city logistics. One increasingly popular measure is the use of cargo bikes in city logistics due to their improved energy efficiency, lower emissions and lower traffic disturbance. The paper assess the impacts of electric cargo bikes, from a public policy perspective and, simultaneously, taking into account variables that cover the urban logistics operators’ interests. Under a public policy perspective, the considered variables evaluate mobility, environmental impacts and indirectly, the quality of life. In terms of private interests, the studied variables cover costs levels (operation and driving) and efficiency. This evaluation aims at clarifying if electric cargo bikes can indeed represent a sustainable mobility policy under specific boundaries, by leading to better environmental and social impacts and not hindering the operational efficiency of urban logistics activities. For that purpose, the measurement of the traffic key performance indicators, as well as of Well-to-Wheel energy and CO2 emission savings is performed allowing to quantify mobility, reliability and operational efficiency indicators. Several scenarios related with the introduction of electric cargo bikes replacing conventional vans were assessed and evaluated in order to compare the effects of different market shares in the mobility of the studied area located in Porto (Portugal). Acknowledging the short distance range of cargo bikes, the simulation is carried out and an estimation of the total transportation cost is performed, which includes transport and emission cost when the vehicle is driving, emission cost while idling and labor cost. The main conclusion is that cargo bikes can replace up to 10% of the conventional vans in areas with maximum linear distances of about 2 km, without changing the overall network efficiency. Additionally, urban logistics WTW CO2 emission impacts can be reduced by up to 73%, which represents 746 kg of CO2 avoided emissions. Furthermore, the introduction of electric cargo bikes in urban logistics activities has positive effects for all the vehicle categories and all the scenarios, reaching up to 25% of reductions in external costs. As a result, cargo bikes implemented at the appropriate spatial scale within the city can be a sustainable solution for urban logistics, depending on a prior delimitation of the conditions and adequate implementation strategy, to guarantee that it actually leads to improvements in terms of mobility, environment, energy, running costs and externalities.

Electric vehicles charging infrastructure location: a genetic algorithm approach

Abstract: As part of the overall goal of carbon emissions reduction, European cities are expected to encourage the electrification of urban transport. In order to prepare themselves to welcome the increased number of electric vehicles circulating in the city networks in the near future, they are expected to deploy networks of public electric vehicle chargers. The Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Location Problem is an optimization problem that can be approached by linear programming, multi-objective optimization and genetic algorithms. In the present paper, a genetic algorithm approach is presented. Since data from electric vehicles usage are still scarce, origin - destination data of conventional vehicles are used and the necessary assumptions to predict electric vehicles’ penetration in the years to come are made. The algorithm and a user-friendly tool have been developed in R and tested for the city of Thessaloniki. The results indicate that 15 stations would be required to cover 80% of the estimated electric vehicles charging demand in 2020 in the city of Thessaloniki and their optimal locations to install them are identified. The tool that has been developed based on the genetic algorithm, is open source and freely available to interested users. The approach can be used to allocate charging stations at high-level, i.e. to zones, and the authors encourage its use by local authorities of other cities too, in Greece and worldwide, in order to deploy a plan for installing adequate charging infrastructure to cover future electric vehicles charging demand and reduce the electric vehicle “driver anxiety” (i.e. the driver’s concern of running out of battery) encouraging the widespread adoption of electromobility.

Fundamental diagrams of pedestrian flow characteristics: A review

Abstract: The dimensionality of pedestrian infrastructure facilities have a great influence on pedestrian movements and a considerable impact on natural environment of the facility. Understanding the pedestrian movements are crucial to estimate the capacity of the system accurately, especially in the transportation terminals such as railway stations, bus terminals, airports and so forth, where large crowd gathers and transfers. To have a safe and comfortable movement in normal situation and also a quick evacuation in emergency situation, pedestrian movement patterns should be analysed and modelled properly. Once the behaviour of pedestrians is established in terms of speed and density with respect to the environment, even for the colossal systems, the pedestrian flow characteristics can be modelled by applying extremely efficient simulations. The main modelling element in the context of flow models is the fundamental relationship among speed, flow and density. The objective of this study is to review the fundamental diagrams of pedestrian flow characteristics developed for various flow types and geometric elements. This paper also discusses the design values of flow parameters and walking speeds of pedestrians at various facilities. In order to achieve the goal of this paper, we presented a systematic review of fundamental diagrams of pedestrian flow characteristics developed by using various approaches such as field, experimental and simulation. After a thorough review of literature, this paper identifies certain research gaps which provides an opportunity to enhance the understanding of fundamental diagrams of pedestrian flow characteristics.

Towards a decision-support procedure to foster stakeholder involvement and acceptability of urban freight transport policies

Abstract: This paper addresses the complex problem of multi-stakeholder decisions in urban freight transport policy-making from a public authority perspective, by proposing a procedure based on a modelling approach to support stakeholder involvement in the decision-making process. The paper analyses the existing methods that can be used for participatory decision-support, with the intent of contextualizing and introducing the innovative modelling approach. The modelling approach consists of a well-thought integration of discrete choice models (DCM) with agent-based models (ABM) as an effective way to account for stakeholders’ opinions in the policy-making process, while mimicking their interaction to find a shared policy package. The integrated modelling approach is able to combine the advantages of the two methods while overcoming their respective weaknesses. Since it is well grounded on sound microeconomic theory, it provides a detailed (static) stakeholders’ behavioural knowledge, but it is also capable of reproducing agents’ (dynamic) interaction during the decision-making process. The integration allows performing an ex-ante behavioural analysis, with the aim of testing the potential acceptability of the solutions proposed. The methodology is applied in a real case study to prove its feasibility and usefulness for participatory decision-making. The integrated modelling approach can be used for participatory decision-support and it can be casted in the overall UFT policy-making process. The results of the behavioural analysis, in terms of ranking of potentially accepted policies, linked with the technical evaluations from transport network modelling tools, provide a sound basis for active participation and deliberation with stakeholders and policy-makers. The aim is to guide an effective participation process aimed at consensus building among stakeholders, by proposing them a subset of policies that, as a result of a preliminary analysis, are likely to be accepted while performing well in terms of technical results. This approach, integrating DCM and ABM, represents a promising way to tackle the complexity of multi-stakeholder involvement in UFT policy-making and to support an efficient and effective decision-making process. It produces an added value for UFT policy-making and it can be framed in the overall context of transport planning. In fact, together with technical and economic analyses, the stakeholder behavioural analysis proposed contributes to the ex-ante policy assessment needed to support decision-makers in taking well-thought decisions.

Smart urban freight planning process: integrating desk, living lab and modelling approaches in decision-making

Abstract: This paper proposes an innovative approach to decision-making processes for urban freight planning that could easily be transferred across cities while capable of jointly taking into account: (1) all the conceivable and updated urban freight transport (UFT) measures that should apply to the specific city culture, structure and evolution, (2) all the relevant stakeholders and successfully involve them from the beginning, (3) behavioural, technical, operational, organisational and financial issues. The methodology is organised and deployed in three phases, following three different approaches, i.e.: a “desk approach” for data acquisition and knowledge-based policy rankings; a “living lab approach” to foster stakeholders’ engagement in co-creating policies; a “modelling approach” to evaluate policies and find/define an optimised mix of shared applicable/effective policies. The three-phase methodology supports public authorities in: (a) increasing knowledge and understanding of the most innovative context-specific UFT policies; (b) integrating UFT policies in strategic urban planning via collaborative participation/governance processes; (c) developing an ex-ante behaviourally consistent, financially robust and technically compatible assessment of shared UFT policy mixes while providing appropriate instruments to facilitate policy adoption and deployment. The proposed methodology contributes to the identification and development of effective UFT solutions. Bringing together knowledge acquisition, policy co-creation, behaviour change analysis within a single methodological approach, aimed at identifying an optimised policy package, is both new and needed.

The local economic impacts of high-speed railways: Theories and facts

Abstract: Elected officials and practitioners generally believe that - along with gains in time, environment, and roadway safety - the local economic impacts brought by high-speed railways (HSR) could be a major ingredient in socioeconomic appraisals. However, academic studies have shown mixed results. This article reviews the various channels through which HSR may impact the local economies. We break down the economic effects by stages of the projects’ lifetime and we question the existence of these impacts with an eye towards empirical evidence from the abundant academic and “grey” literature. Outside the “construction effects”, that constitute a broad consensus, studies find both the existence and the absence of impacts of HSR, whether these are short-term effects on local productivity and the geography of consumption (through tourism or extended stays) or long-term effects on the relocation of businesses and households and ultimately local growth patterns. Results show great variability as economic effects are conditional upon a set of other factors such as city size, industry structures, amenities, and distance from the urban core. The main difficulty is being able to identify empirically to what extent new infrastructures have affected variations observed in the field, and not the opposite. We believe that making progress on these questions requires clarifying which model of local development is to be used and what kind of development is the goal of public policy.

An improved approach for association rule mining using a multi-criteria decision support system: a case study in road safety

Abstract: Road accidents have come to be considered a major public health problem worldwide. The aim of many studies is therefore to identify the main factors contributing to the severity of crashes. This paper examines a large-scale data mining technique known as association rule mining, which can predict future accidents in advance and allow drivers to avoid the dangers. However, this technique produces a very large number of decision rules, preventing decision makers from making their own selection of the most relevant rules. In this context, the integration of a multi-criteria decision analysis approach would be particularly useful for decision makers affected by the redundancy of the extracted rules. An analysis of road accidents in the province of Marrakech (Morocco) between 2004 and 2014 shows that the proposed approach serves this purpose; it may provide meaningful information that could help in developing suitable prevention policies to improve road safety.

Plan for sustainable urban logistics – comparing between Scandinavian and UK practices

Abstract: Common practices in current urban logistics planning in Scandinavia and the UK, and the degree to which SUTP (Sustainable Urban Transport Plan), SUMP (Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans) and SULP (Sustainable Urban Logistics Plans) guidelines are used, are examined in this paper. A systematic literature review identifies relevant studies based on predefined inclusion criteria: mobility, freight, urban, plan. It is found that urban freight plans are used more frequently in the UK than in the Scandinavian countries. SULPs (freight strategies, action plans or parts of a mobility plan) follow a structure that identifies the current situation and defines the strategic context, vision, targets and objectives using selected policy measures, measures that are dependent on geographical scope. Urban freight plans are designed with a sustainability perspective to define visions and policy measures for urban freight. SUTP, SUMP and SULP methodologies are used in existing Scandinavian and UK urban freight plans, especially when a collaborative planning approach is being practiced. The emphasis on urban freight is challenged by the regional perspective. Integrating urban freight in general planning procedures or transport planning is important. Government guidance and sustainable strategies can provide a planning methodology and, therefore, based on national guidelines further European structural standardisation could be beneficial. Identification of freight plans is crucial if the contributions they make are to be determined.

Appropriate national policy frameworks for sustainable urban mobility plans

Abstract: This paper develops recommendations which would enable national governments to support individual cities in their development of Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans. It draws on the work of an Advisory Group of the European Commission. National governments have the power to set the context in which cities develop their urban transport plans. However national governments often fail to provide the support needed by cities and differ widely in their approaches. An Advisory Group to the European Commission has looked specifically at the evidence, developed recommendations which the Commission might offer to national governments, and considered how national governments can be encouraged to adopt them. We consider the evidence on the barriers which result from inadequate policy support, propose a draft set of recommendations, test them against current practice in six European countries, and draw conclusions. Most of the data used in the paper draws on the earlier work of the ECMT and the EC. The paper summarises the analysis of this information by the Advisory Group and presents the resulting nine recommendations and 20 criteria. It assesses the current situation in the six countries against these 20 criteria, discusses the differences between countries, and highlights the ten criteria on which performance generally is weakest. It concludes by suggesting ways in which the Commission might focus its advice to national governments, and in which national governments might learn from one another.

Driver behaviour and driver experience of partial and fully automated truck platooning – a simulator study

Abstract: This paper builds our knowledge of truck driver behaviour in and experience of automated truck platooning, focusing on the effect of partially and fully automated truck platoons on driver workload, trust, acceptance, performance, and sleepiness. Twenty-four male drivers experienced three conditions in a truck driving simulator, i.e., baseline, partial automation, and full automation: the baseline condition was driving with standard cruise control; partial automation was automated longitudinal control ten metres behind the truck in front, with the driver having to steer; and full automation was automated longitudinal and lateral control. Each condition was simulated in three situations: light traffic, heavy traffic, and heavy traffic plus fog. The experiment demonstrated that automation affects workload. For all workload measures, partial automation produced higher workload than did the full-automation or baseline condition. The two measures capturing trust, i.e., the Human Trust in Automated Systems Scale (HTASS) and Cooper–Harper Scales of Workload, Temporal Load, Situation Awareness, and Trust, were consistent and indicated that trust was highest under the baseline condition, with little difference between partial and full automation. Driver acceptance of both levels of automation was lower than acceptance of baseline. Drivers rated their situation awareness higher for both partial and full automation than for baseline, although both levels of automation led to higher sleepiness. Workload was higher for partial than for full automation or the baseline condition. Trust and acceptance were generally highest in the baseline condition, and did not differ between partial and full automation. Drivers may believe that they have more situation awareness during automated driving than they actually do. Both levels of automation led to a higher degree of sleepiness than in the baseline condition. The challenge when implementing truck platooning is to develop a system, including human–machine interaction (HMI), that does not overburden the driver, properly addresses driver sleepiness, and satisfies current legislation. The system also must be trusted and accepted by drivers. To achieve this, the development of well-designed HMI will be crucial.

From the analysis of European accident data to safety assessment for planning: the role of good vehicles in urban area

Abstract: Within the field of goods vehicles mobility, the paper points out the road safety that has impacts on both social and economic sustainability spheres. The contribution of goods vehicles is investigated and the results obtained for the larger European countries are discussed. The used methodology is statistic-descriptive, extracting from a large available database successive and more in-depth information. Starting from aggregated (at national level) data for accidents involving goods vehicles in urban area, the paper evidences the urban junctions as the main critical situation for accidents. One of the main findings is that urban goods vehicle accidents received little attention, but being an important segment of urban mobility, much remains to do for reaching the zero-accident EU goal by 2050 in this segment. The paper, in the context of European urban planning, finalises the analysis results, reviewing the main methods to assess road accidents, and linking mobility simulation and safety simulation models. The findings of this study can represent the base for developing successful city plan. In fact, paper provides some indications to researchers and city planners for identifying which are the main factors to be investigated and monitored for improving urban road safety.

Severity analysis of powered two wheeler traffic accidents in Uttarakhand, India

Abstract: Powered Two Wheeler (PTW) vehicles are one of the preferred modes of transport used in India. Also, PTWs accidents are comparatively more frequent than other type of accidents on road. The influencing factors of PTW accidents are also differ from factors that affect other accident types. The objective of this study is to analyze newly available PTWs road accident data from Uttarakhand state in India and revealing the factors that affect the severity of these accidents in various districts of Uttarakhand.. To analyze the factors that affect the severity of road accidents in Uttarakhand, initially we have compared three popular classification algorithms i.e. decision tree (CART), Naive Bayes and Support vector machine on PTW accident data set. The decision tree algorithm’s (CART) classification accuracy was found better than other two techniques. Hence we have preferred CART algorithm to extract the factors that affect the severity of PTWVs accidents in whole Uttarakhand state and its 13 districts separately. The analysis of PTWVs accident data using CART for 13 districts of Uttarakhand and the whole state reveals that every districts have different factors associated with PTW accidents severity. There are some districts in Uttarakhand state which have similar PTW accident patterns, whereas few districts are found to have different PTW accident patterns. These results are very useful to understand the pattern of PTW accidents in Uttarakhand state. These results can certainly be helpful to overcome the PTWs accident rate in Uttarakhand state.

The effect of curb parking on road capacity and traffic safety

Abstract: In order to explore the effect of curb parking on dynamic traffic and formulate some reasonable and effective traffic management measures, the effects on capacity and traffic safety are studied. Four road segments with curb parking were selected as the investigation location. Several traffic characteristics and parameters were then investigated and counted, including traffic flow volume, speed, headway and traffic conflict. Based on a reduction of lane effective width and the Gap Acceptance Theory, two effect models describing curb parking and road capacity were constructed. Considering the factors involved in motor vehicle conflicts (such as non-motor vehicle lane distribution and stopping sight distance), the effects of curb parking on both motor vehicle and non-motor vehicle traffic safety was analyzed, as well as pedestrian crossing safety. This case study analyzes both the capacity and traffic safety of all four investigation segments. Results show that the lane effective width of road segment with curb parking significantly influences the road capacity and impacts the traffic flow volumes of the parking lane and its adjacent lane. Curb parking significantly effects traffic operation safety; however, it can be improved by implementing traffic safety management measures.

The use of freight apps in road freight transport for CO2 reduction

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate how a smart phone freight application service (Apps) could reduce CO2 emissions in road freight transport and to identify the core problems for improvements. This research uses a multiple-case-study approach to examine several existing freight apps in the Chinese market. The study was conducted using multiple data collection techniques, including interviews, production observation, firsthand experience, and online-search summaries. Inspired by a full analysis of case studies, a hierarchical conceptual framework was developed to provide an overarching view of how existing apps achieve environmental benefits, which deepens our understanding of the interrelationship between freight Apps utilization and CO2 reduction. Freight apps provide a mechanism that auto-match the consignor’s demand and the carrier’s supply based on mobile Internet. The efficient way to find the right truck and complete the delivery process enhances the decrease of truck’s empty travel distances and improvement of average vehicle loaded, then leading to an improvement of efficiency and a decline in carbon emission in freight industry. And then the identification of returning pick-up and route planning was conducted to further improve apps for CO2 reduction. The influences to freight movement system by apps focused on reconstructing the demand and supply with integration technology, and resulted in a more efficient transaction using matching technology and advanced fleet management with optimization technology. When with inter-urban Full Truck Load, freight apps enable carriers to search for demand for returning a pick-up with decreasing empty running mileages, which then has environmental benefits through reducing CO2 emissions. However, when in urban Less-than-Truck Load, by strengthening the average vehicle utilization on laden trips, another determinant of route planning of delivery & collection reduced CO2 emissions. In order to further promote development of apps, in inter-urban Full Truck Load of long-distance transport, sufficient number of users and suitable matching conditions ensured carriers schedule an order to guarantee the return pick-up at an appointed time or grab several orders to achieve a larger non-empty return trip. In this “always-laden” transport plan, consideration should be given to the carriers’ search and waiting costs before starting the next freight service. Meanwhile, route planning of delivery & collection based on real-time traffic information in Less-than-Truck Load required sharing high-level of data, complicated-adaptable models and the efficient computing power. These valuable aspects would be a great challenge for follow-up development of freight apps in aiding CO2 emission reduction.

Data stories from urban loading bays

Abstract: Freight vehicle parking facilities at large urban freight traffic generators, such as urban retail malls, are often characterized by a high volume of vehicle arrivals and a poor parking supply infrastructure. Recurrent congestion of freight parking facilities generates environmental (e.g. pollution), economic (e.g. delays in deliveries) and social (e.g. traffic) negative externalities. Solutions aimed at either improving or better managing the existing parking infrastructure rely heavily on data and data-driven models to predict their impact and guide their implementation. In the current work, we provide a quantitative study of the parking supply and freight vehicle drivers’ parking behaviour at urban retail malls. We use as case studies two typical urban retail malls located in Singapore, and collect detailed data on freight vehicles delivering or picking up goods at these malls. Insights from this data collection effort are relayed as data stories. We first describe the parking facility at a mall as a queueing system, where freight vehicles are the agents and their decisions are the parking location choice and the parking duration. Using the data collected, we analyse (i) the arrival rates of vehicles at the observed malls, (ii) the empirical distribution of parking durations at the loading bays, (iii) the factors that influence the parking duration, (iv) the empirical distribution of waiting times spent by freight vehicle queueing to access the loading bay, and (v) the driver parking location choices and how this choice is influenced by system congestion. This characterisation of freight driver behaviour and parking facility system performance enables one to understand current challenges, and begin to explore the feasibility of freight parking and loading bay management solutions.

An evaluation of train control information systems for sustainable railway using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) model

Abstract: In the process of nowadays efficiency evaluation of any mode of transportation, sustainability results are the most important factor. In regard to railway sustainability, Train Control Information Systems (TCIS) are such advanced systems with important positive impacts. The main purpose of this study was therefore the evaluation of these impacts as well as the evaluation of Key Performance Themes (KPT) for sustainable railways. Firstly a very detailed literature review of papers that have focused on TCIS and their improvements on railway sustainability, published in the scientific journal in the period from 2005 and 2016, was performed. The number of studies was then used as a main criteria in Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) evaluations or rankings of these systems and their impacts. The paper offers results from the first systematic review of papers which investigate the role of TCIS in terms of sustainability and, additionally, represents a refined approach to TCIS classification with a new classes descriptions. During review KPT for sustainable railways were also identified. Further, AHP evaluated the Train Management and Interlocking Systems and their subsystems as the most important TCIS, and safety and costs of equipment, installation, maintenance and operation as the most important themes. The results are important for both, scholars for their future research and for other railway stakeholders and decision makers, who must select different systems and technologies for implementation in their railway systems with emphasis on increasing performance and sustainability. The study offers also the opportunities for further research in regard to railway sustainability.

Equity in transport: learning from the policy domains of housing, health care and education

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to explore the equity principles in three main domains of government intervention (health, education and especially housing) and to draw lessons for the domain of transport. In line with the burgeoning literature, we consider equity in transport to be primarily – albeit not only – concerned with the level of accessibility conferred by the transport-land use system to persons. While some (recent) research has explored what requirements of fairness may imply for accessibility the issue has received scant attention in the practice of transport planning and policy. In contrast, equity principles are fairly well established in the domains of health care, education and housing. By analyzing the equity principles in each of the latter domains, and assessing their possible relevance for the domain of transport, we want to contribute to the rapidly growing literature addressing equity concerns in the domain of transport. The paper consists of two parts. In the first part, we conduct a thought experiment with the aim to provide a rough first estimate of the population at risk of what we call accessibility poverty. In the second part of the paper, we contrast the (lack of) equity principles in the transport domain with the type of equity principles underpinning three domains of government intervention: health care, education, and housing. We have selected these domains, because in contrast to transport, they are generally considered key anchors of developed welfare states; and in parallel to transport, they are each concerned with the delivery of a particular good to citizens. We estimate that in developed (Northern-European) countries about 9% to 11% of households is at risk of accessibility poverty. Of this group, 7% of all households is at risk because of a poor transport system (and sometimes also because of affordability problems), while another 2% to 4% is at risk of accessibility poverty because of disproportionally high motoring costs. We observe that most Western societies have well-established policies regarding the fair provision of health care, education and housing for all (income) groups. In contrast, decision-makers have not even started to define what fairness in the domain of transport could amount to. Given the importance of mobility in modern societies, we argue that there is an urgent need for societal and policy debates about fairness and for subsequent translation of the outcomes of these debates into adequate principles, standards, and policies for the transport domain.

Opening the door to social equity: local and participatory approaches to transportation planning in Montreal

Abstract: Transportation systems play a key role in providing individuals with a diversity of means to access their desired destinations and have significant impacts on their quality of life. The social perspective of mobility is, however, marginalized in the current model of transportation planning and significant changes are called for. This study aims to identify the barriers and opportunities of local participatory approaches to trigger changes in transportation planning in Montreal, drawing on the concept of social learning. A case study approach is selected and the participatory processes of two Local Transportation Plans (LTPs) are analysed. Data is collected through document analysis and semi-structured interviews with local transport planners and representatives of community groups. A qualitative content analysis is conducted to assess the outcomes of public participation, the quality of the processes and the perspectives of participants. The results highlight the narrow contribution of the participation of local communities and community groups in the development of LTPs. Furthermore, the participatory process assessed in this research allows for a limited integration of social aspects in the planning process. The main barriers lie in the broader planning context and the organizational structure at the borough level as well as the lack of expertise of the community groups. Nevertheless, LTPs provide a window of opportunity for addressing transport-related social aspects. In order to take advantage of this opportunity and foster social learning towards the desired changes, the process requires the inclusion of clear social equity goals at the metropolitan level. Furthermore, the presence of a skilled facilitator is key to support the integration of diverse perspectives on transportation planning. It is also essential to provide community groups with resources to meaningfully participate in the process, thereby promoting social equity. In sum, LTPs have the potential to further include the social dimension of transport, but further steps are required to foster an equitable and sustainable transportation system. This research is of relevance to researchers and planners wishing to better understand the challenges associated with participatory processes and social equity in transport planning.

Review of intermodal freight transportation in humanitarian logistics

Abstract: Using intermodal transportation is vital for the delivery of relief supplies when single mode alternative becomes unusable or infeasible. The objective of this paper is to investigate the use of intermodal freight transportation in humanitarian logistics. This paper first identifies the differences between multimodal and intermodal transportation. Then, we examine the use of each transportation mode for specific disaster types and phases. When combinations of transportation modes (i.e. air, road, rail and sea) for intermodal transportation are considered together with different disaster types (e.g. earthquake, flood and famine), the feasible decision space becomes rather large. To explore this decision space, we have reviewed the academic and practitioner studies as well as several non-governmental organizations (NGO)’ disaster archives. From this exploration, we developed a transportation mode/disaster-type combination matrix and a transportation mode/disaster-phase combination matrix. We then discuss examples of real life usage of intermodal transportation in humanitarian logistics and share our findings and analyses. Of 369 academic humanitarian logistics articles, only 20 have mentioned transportation mode changes. In practitioner studies, we found a decreasing percentage of the usage of slower modes (e.g. sea and rail) in the disaster response phase over time. We were not able to find a significant relationship between a specific transportation mode and a specific disaster-type or -phase. Road transportation seems to cover most of the disaster operations regardless of the disaster-type or -phase. We can conclude that intermodality and the transportation unit concept is not being studied extensively in humanitarian logistics. Most of the relief organizations do not share transported freight amounts in their reports and those that do share transported freight amounts in their reports do not explicitly mention mode changes. We discuss the enablers of and obstacles to the effective use of intermodal transportation in humanitarian logistics and propose future research directions. We anticipate that intermodal transportation in humanitarian logistics will garner greater research attention and increased utilization in coming years.

Integration of vulnerable road users in cooperative ITS systems

Abstract: This paper describes the development of an architecture for the integration of Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs), i.e. pedestrians, cyclists and powered two-wheelers (PTWs) in Cooperative ITS (C-ITS) systems, and the requirements for VRU devices. This paper starts with a literature overview on research related to safety applications using communication between vehicle and VRU, and an analysis of the different use cases for C-ITS for VRUs. An architecture is developed, starting from an architecture of C-ITS systems and incorporating the different alternative configuration for VRUs. Starting from the architecture and the use cases, the requirements for VRU devices are defined. Finally, a roadmap regarding C-ITS applications for VRUs is developed. C-ITS technologies allow to communicate with low latency in highly dynamic environments. C-ITS will be integrated in vehicles and can also become available for VRUs, either as an application on a smartphone or as a dedicated device, which can be integrated in the VRU’s vehicle. Two levels of use cases can be identified: awareness of the presence of VRUs near potentially dangerous situations, and collision risk warning, based on trajectories of the road users. A roadmap was developed aligned with the roadmap of the automotive industry. Awareness related use cases are relatively close to the market, as they do not put stringent requirements to the (localization) sensors at infrastructure or vehicles. For the collision risk warning use case, the technical requirements for VRU devices towards sensor accuracy and calculation capabilities are challenging. Other challenges are power consumption, context sensitivity, channel congestion, privacy and security of messages. Standardisation of the messages exchanged between VRUs and other road users and infrastructure is a key issue.

First aid as an important traffic safety factor–evaluation of the experience–based training

Abstract: First aid is a factor that reduces damage to health and loss of life in traffic accidents. It is therefore necessary to make even the lay population ready to give at least basic first aid. Czech driving schools offer only 4-h first-aid trainings that do not provide the appropriate level of competencies. Our team has designed a new conception of a 16-h experience-based first-aid course and compared its efficacy with the standard 4-h training. Thirty participants were randomly divided into two groups of 15 participants each. The first group went through the standard training; the second group went through the new experience-based training. Three levels of competencies were tested: 1. Knowledge; 2. Skills; 3. Performance in a simulated situation. The competencies were evaluated by a trained observer. A pilot test showed a remarkable difference in knowledge and skills, as well as the competency to act in a simulated situation between the group of people that had gone through the experience-based training and those that had gone through the standard first-aid course. Experience-based first-aid training, focused on knowledge and skills, as well as the psychological set-up, is an effective part of a driver’s education that can help to reduce the numbers of fatalities and serious damage to health caused by traffic accidents. It is an important factor of traffic safety – useful for all drivers – and should become an integral part of all driving (improvement) courses. Further research is still necessary.

The severity of driver fatigue in terms of line crossing: a pilot study comparing day- and night time driving in simulator

Abstract: The overall aim of this study is to compare day-time driving with night-time driving looking at line crossings during self-reported sleepiness and long blinks The hypothesis is that high levels of self-reported sleepiness (KSS 9) and long blink duration (>015 s) will be less associated with critical events during the day-time compared to night-time The study is based on data from a driving simulator experiment with 16 participants driving 150 km on a typical Swedish motorway scenario twice: once during daytime and once during night time In total data from 6 segments of 4 km each equally distributed along the drive was averaged and included in the analysis A Mixed Model Anova was used to test the effects on KSS, Blink Duration and Line Crossings with factors for Session (Day/Night) and Road segment (1–6), and participant as random In addition, a logistic regression was used to identify when there is a risk for line crossings Finally, the proportion of line crossings in relation to high KSS values and long blink durations was tested with Fisher’s exact test The results show no differences in the percentage of Line Crossings to the left during high levels of Karolinska Sleepiness Scale during daytime (33%) compare to night-time (40%) However, there was a significant difference between day and night time line crossings while the driver had long duration blinks (4% during daytime and 35% during night-time) Despite these results the most promising predictor of line crossings in each segment of 4 km/h was KSS with an Odds Ratio of 54 with a reference value at Karolinska Sleepiness Scale level 5 In conclusion, the results do not support the hypothesis that high levels of KSS will result in more frequent line crossings at night time compared to day time However, the result supports the hypothesis that long blink durations are associated with more line crossings when they appear during night time than during daytime

Stated preference survey for estimating passenger transfer penalties: design and application to Madrid

Abstract: Transfers in multimodal urban trips imply a disutility for travellers, who perceive them as a penalty when using public transport. It is therefore important to estimate the utility associated to transfers and the main factors affecting it, to allow policymakers to reduce users’ perceived disutility and enhance their intention to use public transport. The aim of this paper is to develop a Stated Preference experiment to estimate the penalty perceived by commuters (workers and students) when making transfers in multimodal urban trips. A web-based survey combining a Revealed Preferences and Stated Preferences survey was created using Ngene software, and an efficient design was applied to estimate multinomial logit models. We present here the first stage of the research: the design and results of the pilot survey of commuters travelling by metro or urban bus in the city of Madrid, Spain. The findings reveal a pure transfer penalty, independent of in-vehicle time, walking and waiting time and crowding. This pure penalty increases with the number of transfers. Crowded transfers cause a high disutility for commuters, which rises with the number of transfers in the total trip. This paper highlights the importance of conducting a pilot survey when designing the final survey. Transfer penalties vary between cities, so pilot studies are encouraged to obtain more accurate results. Further research is needed to consolidate the pilot results with those of a final survey.

A generic discrete choice model of automobile purchase

Abstract: The introduction of novel fuel and propulsion technologies, such as battery, (plug-in) hybrid and fuel cell electric vehicles, and the need to combat the exhaust emission of local and global pollutants from the passenger car fleet have enhanced the political interest in the vehicle purchase choices made by private households and firms, and in how these choices can be influenced through fiscal and regulatory penalties and incentives. As a tool to understand and analyse such questions, we have developed a generic nested logit model of automobile choice, based on complete disaggregate vehicle sales data for Norway for the period ranging from January 1996 until July 2011. The data set contains 1.6 million vehicle transactions. Being sensitive to changes in the vehicle purchase tax and the fuel tax, the model discriminates well between various fiscal policy scenarios. In using the model for such purposes, one is greatly helped by the fact that the model distinguishes between price changes due to taxation and those originating from the manufacturing or marketing side. The strongly CO2 graduated vehicle purchase tax, with exemptions granted for battery electric vehicles, is shown to have a major impact on the average type approval rate of CO2 emissions from new passenger cars registered in Norway. The fuel tax also helps induce car customers to buy low emission vehicles.

The complexity of planning for goods delivery in a shared urban space: a case study involving cyclists and trucks

Abstract: Growth in urban areas has resulted in conflicts between road users as they share the roadway. Such conflicts are only exacerbated by failings in the planning process. The purpose of this study is to examine, through a case study in Trondheim, Norway, issues related to freight delivery on a street section with a high volume of cyclists in order to identify how and where urban freight should be addressed within the urban planning process. The study consists of two parts: (1) a safety evaluation of the location through video recordings which identifies the risk areas associated with freight delivery and encounters with cyclists, and (2) a mapping of the planning process through semi-structured interviews in order to understand the development decisions involving a facility requiring deliveries and the surrounding streetscape. The safety analysis identified several risk areas mainly associated with the turning manoeuvres of trucks undertaken either before or after deliveries. The mapping of the planning process indicated that there were few to no discussions of freight deliveries during the planning, design and construction of the building; neither were there any for the streetscape projects taking place within the same time frame. The absence of a dedicated freight policy and/or personnel at the governing authority, as well as lack of coordination amongst different plans (construction, street, thematic), are likely to lead to continued problematic and potentially dangerous environments such as that in the case study. Improvements to the Norwegian planning process, namely earlier integration of freight considerations, are required to ensure sustainable freight systems in the urban environment.

Transport policy planning in Germany - An analysis of political programs and investment masterplans

Abstract: In Germany, the most recent comprehensive transport policy program of the federal government was published in the year 2000, followed by several sector specific programs Aims, strategies, and priorities specified in the different governmental transport policy documents are discussed in the paper, with a particular focus on the modal split between road and rail Apart from the fiscal and the regulatory framework, the most important policy area for the federal government is the provision of transport infrastructure In 2016, the federal government enacted a new investment masterplan Therefore, the experience with the former plan is described and key elements of the new masterplan are presented The overall investment into transport infrastructure as well as the share of the different modes of transport are analyzed in more detail Germany’s transport policy is analyzed based on the aims, strategies, and priorities which are expressed in the published programs (text analysis) Data on modal split and user costs is used to assess transport policy developments The infrastructure masterplans are analyzed based on the planned allocation of investment for different modes of transport and types of investment Moreover, for the past masterplan actual budget data is used for the analysis With respect to transport policy programs, a shift in the priorities can be observed, closely linked to the changing political majorities Whereas the comprehensive program published in 2000 stresses the importance of a sustainable development and calls for a modal shift, more recent programs focus on the competitive situation of German transport service providers Moreover, more emphasis is put on the implementation of specific measures With respect to infrastructure provision, in particular investment into road infrastructure was below the planned values The recently enacted plan allocates more funds to the maintenance and replacement of infrastructure, and to inland waterways Although the priorities set by the government in published transport policy programs have changed, the effects on the overall traffic development remain rather limited With respect to the federal transport infrastructure masterplan, an overestimation of the number of projects which might be completed within the given timeframe has been criticized several times Although the political progress is providing some incentives to include a high number of projects in the masterplan, a more realistic approach appears to be suitable, also signaling the need for a larger budget In the past, budget increases have been the result of macroeconomic considerations rather than of transport policy requirements It remains to be seen whether these deficits will be at least partially eliminated during the lifespan of the recently enacted masterplan

Target detection distances under different road lighting intensities

Abstract: Road lighting illuminates road surface and surrounding areas of objects on a road, while car headlights illuminate vertical objects on a road. The goal of the study was to investigate the interaction between road lighting and car headlights at target detection distance. Target detection distances under different road lighting intensities and car headlights were studied with and without glare from an oncoming car. Dimmable high-pressure sodium lamps with three lighting levels 49, 71 and 100% (3557, 5179 and 7252 lm) were used. Test drivers had to detect a small uniform standard target standing vertically on the straight road. In the absence of glare (low beam car headlights), road lighting intensity levels of 100 and 49% provided comparable detection distances, while at 71% of road lighting intensity visibility was the lowest. The target was seen in negative or positive contrast in 100% of road lighting. In 71% of road lighting, the target was detected in positive contrast. While, in 49% of road lighting target was seen in negative contrast. There was a significant difference in detection distances under different road lighting intensities when there was no glare from the oncoming car. The significance main effect was between 49 and 71% of road lighting intensities. In addition, no significant differences in the effect of road lighting intensities could be found under glare from the oncoming car. In the presence of glare from the oncoming car, targets were always in negative contrast. Both road lighting and car headlights are associated with detection distances. The results of these experiments can give new insight to the development of intelligent road lighting considering the combined effect of road lighting and car headlights. The results provide useful insight to dim the lighting in order to save energy without impairing the detection of objects.

Transport policies in Hungary - historical background and current practice for national and regional level

Abstract: This paper presents an overview of the current and past evolution of the Hungarian Transport Policies and investigates how and what kind of results could be used in the future transport concepts and strategies. It also examines the practice of coordination between the different territorial and administrative levels of transport planning. It aims to identify the applied policy instruments and the monitoring processes installed. By using literature and legal background review from the past and current plans and policies the paper will also share the author’s own empirical work experience while participating in the elaboration of the New National Transport Strategy (NKS) as well as an insight from the Transport Policy for Budapest (Balazs Mor Plan). It gives an overview about the recent changes in the Transport Policy of Hungary and its implication for the project priority lists. The expected results are the clear identification of synergies and gaps among the ongoing policies together with the divulgation of good and bad practices for the wider professional audience. The need for a sustainable transport system, which assumes a sustainable economy as well is a huge challenge for policy makers. In order to avoid parallel policy making (especially when making policies for different areas) and minimize the economic and social cost of transport, we need a coordinated, multimodal approach, which includes the necessary organizations and public private bodies (with secure and sustainable financial background) with exact tasks and responsibility on all territorial levels.

National transport policy in Austria – from its beginning till today

Abstract: The objective of the paper is to research the historic development of the Austrian transport policy. It explores when a transport strategy was made for the first time, from whom, and which purpose was pursuit. It shows how the objectives of the transport strategy changed over time and when passenger and freight transport took over to become the main focus of the planning process. Furthermore it is researched when, and if, there was a change from a solely sectorial mono-modal transport strategy (road, rail separated) towards an integrated transport planning process and when, and if, there was a development away from a demand-fulfillment-driven transport planning paradigm towards a transport-demand-management driven transport planning strategy. The information used stemmed from an analysis of existing transport master plans and other political documents and reports published in Austria within the last decades. In a subsequent step the results of this analysis are assessed against the so called “Ideal Decision Making Process” (IDMP) developed in former research activities, and shows in a clear way how the transport strategy in Austria evolved and improved over time. Comprehensive overview of the development of Austria’s transport strategy over time including all means of transport. The Austrian transport strategy evolved over the last 40 years from a sectorial, demand-fulfillment-driven transport strategy towards an integrated multi-modal, demand-management-driven transport strategy including some environmental issues. Further, an outlook is provided in which direction the national transport planning strategies should be developed to be able to tackle future challenges such economic, social and ecologic sustainability.