Showing papers in "Transportation research procedia in 2014"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compare the alternatives to home delivery that have been developed by French and German parcel delivery operators which developed pick-up points in stores and automated lockers networks, with reference to the strategies of service providers and e-commerce firms as well as consumer preferences.
Abstract: In Europe, shopping habits have changed fast during the last decade and a high percentage of consumers now shop online. E-commerce for physical goods generates a significant demand for dedicated delivery services, and results in increasingly difficult last mile logistics. In particular home delivery services, which are usually the preferred option by the online consumers, contribute to the atomization of parcel flows thus causing particular problems within the urban areas. However, alternative delivery solutions are growing fast, especially in metropolitan areas The purpose of this article is to compare the alternatives to home delivery that have been developed by French and German parcel delivery operators which developed pick-up points in stores and automated lockers networks. The paper includes an analysis of the key drivers of the development of the two emblematic delivery services (pick-up points and lockers), with reference to the strategies of service providers and e-commerce firms as well as consumer preferences.
230 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the first stage of the MCDM/A-based two-stage procedure resulting in the selection of the most desirable location of the logistics center.
Abstract: The paper presents the first stage of the MCDM/A-based two-stage procedure resulting in the selection of the most desirable location of the logistics centre. In the first stage, the macro-analysis of the regions is carried out and multiple criteria evaluation of their technological, infrastructural, economic, social and environmental potential is performed. The decision problem is formulated as a multiple criteria ranking problem. The considered variants – regions are ranked from the best to the worst – in terms of their suitability for locating the logistics centre within their boundaries – with the application of the MCDM/A method, called Electre III/IV. The variants and a consistent family of criteria are defined, the decision maker's preferences are modelled and the results of computational experiments are demonstrated.
104 citations
TL;DR: A Mobile Depot (MD) is a trailer fitted with a loading dock, warehousing facilities and an office, which is used as a mobile inner city base from where last-mile deliveries and first-mile pick-ups are done with electrically supported cyclocargos as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: A Mobile Depot (MD) is a trailer fitted with a loading dock, warehousing facilities and an office. The trailer is used as a mobile inner city base from where last-mile deliveries and first-mile pick-ups are done with electrically supported cyclocargos. In the morning and evening it is used to transport shipments from and to a peripheral depot. The MD was developed by TNT Express as a response to the challenging urban working conditions: narrow streets, mixed traffic, traffic congestion, congestion charging, environmental zones, etc. TNT Express tested this innovative concept in Brussels for a period of three months in 2013 as part of the European FP7 project STRAIGHTSOL. Regular TNT Express deliveries and pick-ups in Brussels are carried out from the TNT depot at the Brussels freight airport using diesel trucks for pallets and using diesel vans for parcels and documents. During the trial period, the parcels and documents destined for a part of the inner city were delivered and picked up through the MD. This new way of working resulted in a decrease of the number of diesel kilometres from 1.34 km per stop in the Business-As-Usual scenario to 0.52 km per stop in the Mobile-Depot scenario. This decrease can be linked to a positive environmental impact with, for example, 24% less emission of CO2 and up to 59% less emission of PM2.5. TNT Express was able to successfully integrate the MD in their operations. Service levels dropped slightly mainly due to the additional time needed to load the cyclocargos. However, none of the TNT customers complained about the quality of service. For TNT, delivering through the MD was twice as expensive as before. However, they feel it is possible to further decrease the operational costs by using the MD at its full capacity (the MD was only used at 40% of its full capacity) and by further refining the handling. A multi-actor multi-criteria analysis (MAMCA) of the MD concept revealed under which conditions it would become a more profitable concept to TNT Express: internalised external costs, higher capacity use and higher drop density. The MAMCA also revealed that the benefits are mostly for the other stakeholders, especially society.
100 citations
TL;DR: A linear dependency is found between the flow and bottleneck width (up to 5 m) by comparing results with the data from literature, however, differences appear only if theData from steady states are used, indicating the effects of other factors like bottleneck length et al. on the flow.
Abstract: A series of well-controlled laboratory experiments with up to 350 test persons were performed to investigate the pedestrian flow through wide bottlenecks. The density and velocity inside the bottleneck do not depend on the bottleneck width, while those in front of the bottleneck change with the width. A linear dependency is found between the flow and bottleneck width (up to 5 m) by comparing our results with the data from literature. However, differences appear only if the data from steady states are used. These differences indicate the effects of other factors like bottleneck length et al. on the flow.
96 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a comprehensive mathematical formulation is developed in order to model the one-to-many vehicle routing and scheduling problem with electric vehicles and the multiple constraints appeared due to capacity limitations, time window restrictions and the predefined charging level of the vehicles.
Abstract: This paper presents and analyzes the one-to-many vehicle routing and scheduling problem with electric vehicles. Initially, focus is given on the problem formulation and the restrictions imposed in practice are examined. EVRP is NP-hard in the strong sense since it is natural extension of the well-known Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem and requires substantial computational effort for determining optimal or near optimal solutions for medium and large scale problem instances. A comprehensive mathematical formulation is developed in order to model the EVRP and the multiple constraints appeared due to capacity limitations, time window restrictions and the predefined charging level of the vehicles. In addition, recent trends for the EVRP are analyzed producing valuable insights for future research regarding extra operational constraints, real-life data sets and solution frameworks that embody approximation algorithms for an efficient and effective search of the solution space.
91 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors presented the idea of travel demand management and basic concepts of urban public transport integration, and the possibility of applying it to assess variants of ISUPT.
Abstract: This article presents the idea of travel demand management and basic concepts of urban public transport integration The process of striving for integration of urban transport requires detailed analysis of tools to assess the activities The cities often offer different variants of the integration, but it is difficult to determine which option is the best This choice can be easier by making an assessment of variants of the integrated system of urban public transport (ISUPT) by using multi-criteria decision aid methods (MCDA) The aim of the article is to present the main elements of the methodology of MCDA, and then the possibility of applying it to assess variants of ISUPT To assess variants of ISUPT, one of the MCDA methods – the AHP ranking method was used Special attention was paid to the complexity of the considered problem, where it is necessary to take into account many aspects of it, such as: economic, technical, environmental and social In order to show the practical application of the proposed methodology, the example of Cracow was used
88 citations
TL;DR: This method displays clearly the Faster Is Slower effect, and also allows to assess the impact of several tactics that can be put in place to alleviate the problem.
Abstract: The Faster-Is-Slower effect (Helbing et al (2000)) is an important instance of self-organized phenomenon in pedestrian dynamics. Despite this, an experimental demonstration is still lacking. We present controlled tests where a group of students are asked to exit a room through a door. Instead of just measuring the evacuation times, we have analyzed the probability distribution of the time lapses between consecutive individuals. We show how it displays a power-law tail. This method displays clearly the Faster Is Slower effect, and also allows to assess the impact of several tactics that can be put in place to alleviate the problem.
88 citations
TL;DR: A classification of Smart City Projects has not been created yet is introduced, highlighting success factors and analyzing new trends in Smart City, and a classification of freight transportation systems within urban area is introduced.
Abstract: City logistics proposes an integrated vision of freight transportation systems within urban area and it aims at the optimization of them as a whole in terms of efficiency, security, safety, viability and environmental sustainability. Recently, this perspective has been extended by the Smart City concept in order to include other aspects of city management: building, energy, environment, government, living, mobility, education, health and so on. At the best of our knowledge, a classification of Smart City Projects has not been created yet. This paper introduces such a classification, highlighting success factors and analyzing new trends in Smart City.
84 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors look at academic research on participation in sustainable urban mobility planning, citizen and stakeholder engagement practices in European cities, as well as the challenges of collaborative planning and how to overcome these.
Abstract: Sustainable urban mobility planning, a strategic planning concept promoted by the European Commission, considers the engagement of citizens and stakeholders throughout the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) development process as one of the key elements. Involving communities in planning is a fundamental duty of local authorities to improve decision-making and is also a requirement stipulated by EU directives and international conventions. This paper looks at academic research on participation in sustainable urban mobility planning, citizen and stakeholder engagement practices in European cities, as well as the challenges of collaborative planning and how to overcome these. The authors make the case that although some participation questions remain unsolved to date, citizen and stakeholder engagement are a precondition for sustainable urban mobility planning.
82 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focused on sensitivity analysis for the total cost of ownership (TCO) to reduce uncertainty by identifying which factors of interest that most likely cause the estimated cost values for the electric bus.
Abstract: To reach Swedish national climate change reduction targets, organizations collaborate for a sustainable development to improve energy efficiency, reducing pollution and noise in public bus transport. This follow-up study continues to strengthen the previous study by deepen the economic comparisons of two electric buses with different driving range and different type of chargers. The study aims to emphasize on sensitivity analysis for the total cost of ownership (TCO) to reduce uncertainty by identifying which factors of interest that most likely cause the estimated cost values for the electric bus. The result shows that the percentage change of line distance (km/year), operational years, and investment cost would be the most influential and significant factors on TCO.
77 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used the ordered probit model to examine the contribution of several factors to the injury severity faced by motor-vehicle occupants involved in road accidents, and found that occupants travelling in light-vehicles, at two-way roads, and on dry road surfaces tend to suffer more severe injuries than those who travel in heavy vehicles, at oneway roads and on wet road surfaces.
Abstract: The ordered probit model is used to examine the contribution of several factors to the injury severity faced by motor-vehicle occupants involved in road accidents. The estimated results suggest that motor-vehicle occupants travelling in light-vehicles, at two-way roads, and on dry road surfaces tend to suffer more severe injuries than those who travel in heavy-vehicles, at one-way roads, and on wet road surfaces. Additionally, the driver's seat is clearly the safest seating position, urban areas seem to originate less serious accidents than rural areas, and women tend to be more likely to suffer serious or fatal injuries than men.
TL;DR: In this article, a model based on Artificial Neural Network (ANN) has been applied to real estate appraisal and an evaluation of ANN performances in estimating the sale price of residential properties has been carried out.
Abstract: In this paper, a model based on Artificial Neural Network (ANN) has been applied to real estate appraisal. Moreover, an evaluation of ANN performances in estimating the sale price of residential properties has been carried out. Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) are useful in modelling input-output relationships learning directly from observed data. This capability can be very useful in complex systems like the real estate ones where motivations, tastes and budget availability often do not follow rational behaviours. This study also analyses the impact of such key environmental conditions that represent a problem related to many industrial cities where pollution and landscaping consequences affect the real estate market and residential location choices. We have considered a set of asking price's houses collected in the urban area of Taranto (Italy) where the biggest European steel factory and the 2 nd industrial harbour are located.
TL;DR: A probabilistic modeling of travel time which takes into account the levels-of-service is given, and the superiority of the Singh-Maddala distribution appears in many cases.
Abstract: Increasing mobility and congestion results in an increase in travel time variability and in a decrease in reliability. Reliability becomes an important performance measure for transportation facilities. A variety of performance measures have been proposed to quantify it. Many of these indicators are based on percentiles of travel time. The knowledge of the distribution of travel time is needed to properly estimate these values. Congestion distorts the distribution and particular statistical distributions are needed. Different distributions have been proposed in the literature. In a previous paper, we presented a comparison of six statistical distributions used to model travel time. These six distributions are the Lognormal, Gamma, Burr (extended by Singh-Maddala), Weibull, a mixture of two Normal distributions and a mixture of two Gamma distributions. In this paper a probabilistic modeling of travel time which takes into account the levels-of-service is given. Levels of service are identified, then travel time distributions are modeled by level of service. This results in a very good fit between the empirical and modeled distributions Moreover, the adjustment was improved, thanks to the calibration of “Bureau of Public Roads” functions, linking the travel time to the traffic flow by level of service. The superiority of the Singh-Maddala distribution appears in many cases. This has been validated, thanks to travel time data from the same site at another period. However the parameters of the distributions vary from one year to another, due to changes in infrastructure. The transferability of the approach, not performed, will be based on travel time data on another site.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored the question how and in what ways the MetroCable affects accessibility of the residents in two municipalities - Santa Cruz and Popular - where it operates since 2004 and combined an analysis of the influence of the metroCable on accessibility in general with a specific inquiry on female residents and the role of security.
Abstract: The MetroCable in Medellin, the second largest city in Colombia, is perhaps one of the most prominent recent expansions of public transport infrastructure in urban Latin America. This article explores the question how and in what ways the MetroCable affects accessibility of the residents in two municipalities - Santa Cruz and Popular - where it operates since 2004. The presentation combines an analysis of the influence of the MetroCable on accessibility in general with a specific inquiry on female residents and the role of security. The paper adopts a differentiated conceptualization and indicators of accessibility. The analysis draws on statistical quantitative data from the Origin-Destination surveys for Medellin of 2005 and 2011/2 and about 30 in-depth semi structured interviews with female residents conducted in 2012. The paper concludes with a discussion on the possible lessons for planning interventions for improving accessibility of residents in low-income neighborhoods and a discussion on methodological implications.
TL;DR: Aiming at a quantitative understanding of basic aspects of pedestrian dynamics, extensive and high-accuracy measurements of real-life pedestrian trajectories have been performed using Microsoft Kinect™, resulting in statistical descriptions of pedestrian characteristic kinematic quantities.
Abstract: Aiming at a quantitative understanding of basic aspects of pedestrian dynamics, extensive and high-accuracy measurements of real-life pedestrian trajectories have been performed. A measurement strategy based on Microsoft Kinect™ has been used. Specifically, more than 100,000 pedestrians have been tracked while walking along a trafficked corridor at the Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands. The obtained trajectories have been analyzed as ensemble data. The main result consists of a statistical descriptions of pedestrian characteristic kinematic quantities such as positions and fundamental diagrams, possibly conditioned to the local crowd flow (e.g. co-flow or counter-flow).
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine the historical development of academic research on intermodal freight transport and identify the seminal works on the topic, and identify what is likely to be the most important and influential papers on inter-modal transport, using citation frequency.
Abstract: It is widely accepted that non-road freight transport is less energy intensive than freight transport by road. The use of other transport modes than truck for long haul freight transport can therefore contribute to more energy efficient transportation systems. As a result, the successful promotion of intermodal transport, using rail or sea on the long haul part, has been identified as the most critical action to achieve a sustainable transport sector. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, we examine the historical development of academic research on intermodal freight transport. Second, we identify the seminal works on the topic. In our analysis we identify and classify the academic literature on intermodal freight transport. This approach has also previously been used to aggregate knowledge about particular fields of research and it aims to be as unbiased as possible by being auditable and repeatable. A timeline on the evolution of the academic literature on intermodal freight transport is presented and the development in publication frequency and topics are commented on in relation to keywords, journals, author affiliations and countries. Publishing frequencies are measured, and reported, both in terms of absolute and relative values. Finally, what is likely the most important and influential papers on intermodal freight transport are identified, using citation frequency.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors solve aircraft type selection problem for known route network and forecasted air travel demand by using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the sensitivity analysis of alternative ratings in respect to different pairwise comparisons of the criteria is carried out.
Abstract: In order to bring air travel demand and its capacity as closely together as possible, an airline needs to adopt an appropriate methodological approach for fleet planning process. The goal of this paper is to solve aircraft type(s) selection problem for known route network and forecasted air travel demand by using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The sensitivity analysis of alternative ratings in respect to different pairwise comparisons of the criteria is carried out. By changing one element in the pairwise comparison matrix (while keeping others constant), the process of aircraft type selection is monitored hereby enabling possible improvements.
TL;DR: This paper gives examples of relevant human factors from the literature and field research, including physical, cognitive, motivational and social variables most relevant for safe and fast evacuation.
Abstract: Evacuation research shows growing interest in human factors and psychology. Before, humans were mostly modelled as homogeneous, without individual emotion, motivation or physical needs. Human factors had mainly been taken into account as physical characteristics or space requirements. In this paper, we give examples of relevant human factors from the literature and our own field research. Human factors include physical, cognitive, motivational and social variables. As yet, there is no validated set of variables most relevant for safe and fast evacuation. Models for classifying human factors from other domains are introduced for use in future research.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors model the behaviour of a public transport traveller in a realistic way to assess the effects of policy measures properly, which is important to model the behavior of the (public transport) traveller.
Abstract: The current traffic system faces well known problems like congestion, environmental impact and use of public space. Public transport (PT) is an important mode to alleviate these problems. To be able to assess the effects of policy measures properly, it is important to model the behaviour of the (public transport) traveller in a realistic way.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors evaluated the potential of station-based electric carsharing in the city of Berlin and the smaller city of Garmisch-Partenkirchen and found that residents living in rural areas seem to be as open towards e-carsharing as people living in an urban context.
Abstract: Electromobility can help to contribute to a more sustainable, climate and environmentally friendly mobility. However, in terms of electric operated cars it has not spread to the full extent of its potential. From the user's perspective there are two major barriers in buying an electric car: It costs more than a car with an internal combustion engine and also, it has in general a limited range compared to a conventional vehicle. Intermodal concepts, relying on electric shared vehicles can be one promising solution as the total costs of ownership of the electric vehicles can be spread among many users and as a part of the public transport system it can also offer a complement for local and long-distance travel. To evaluate whether successful schemes known from urban contexts might work in rural areas as well, this paper presents results of two studies evaluating the potential of station-based electric carsharing in the city of Berlin and the smaller city of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Overall, the results show that residents living in a rural area seem to be as open towards e-carsharing as people living in an urban context. However, this group alone cannot contribute to the full economic viability of the system.
TL;DR: In this paper, a battery operated electric taxicab fleet is simulated in a small city scenario using the agent-based transport simulation MATSim, showing no negative impact on the level of service provided by taxis in everyday operations when using electric cars.
Abstract: Battery operated electric vehicles offer the opportunity to manage zero-emission car traffic at low operational costs. Due to their current range constraints, electric vehicle operations are mainly attractive for inner-city transport, with taxicabs being one possible field of application. In this paper, a battery operated electric taxicab fleet is simulated in a small city scenario using the agent-based transport simulation MATSim. The simulation results indicate no negative impact on the level of service provided by taxis in everyday operations when using electric cars. However, facing increased demand, conventionally operated taxi fleets may provide a better service. The simulation also demonstrates that every taxi rank only needs to be equipped with a small number of charging outlets. Under these circumstances, it may be useful from the passengers’ perspective to dispatch those taxis with the highest battery charge level first.
TL;DR: A novel methodology for validating Social Force based models which investigates the reproducibility of human movement behavior on the individual trajectory level with real-world movement data by estimating model parameter values and their distribution with non-linear regression on observed trajectory data.
Abstract: Over the last years multiple variations of the Social Force model have been proposed. While most of the available force-based models are calibrated on observed human movement data, validation for investigating the model characteristics, e.g. variance in parameter values, is still sparse. The authors present a novel methodology for validating Social Force based models which investigates the reproducibility of human movement behavior on the individual trajectory level with real-world movement data. The approach estimates model parameter values and their distribution with non-linear regression on observed trajectory data, where the resulting variances of the parameter values represent the model's validity. The authors demonstrate the approach on a comprehensive (235 pedestrians) and highly accurate (within a few centimeters) set of human movement trajectories obtained from real-world pedestrian traffic with bidirectional flow using an automatic people tracking approach based on Kinect sensors. The authors validate the Social Force model of Helbing and Molnar (1995), Helbing and Johansson (2009) and Rudloff et al. (2011).
TL;DR: This paper presents a low-cost procedure to calibrate the Gipps car-following model using an automated procedure based on a genetic algorithm to provide a satisfactory fit in a wide range of traffic conditions.
Abstract: One of the most important tasks in the microscopic simulation of traffic flow, assigned to the car following sub-model, is the modelling of the longitudinal movement of vehicles. The calibration of a car-following model is usually done at an aggregated level, using macroscopic traffic stream variables (speed, flow, density). There is an interest in calibration procedures based on disaggregated data. However, obtaining accurate trajectory data is a real challenge. This paper presents a low-cost procedure to calibrate the Gipps car-following model. The trajectory data is collected with a car equipped with a datalogger and a LIDAR rangefinder. The datalogger combines GPS and accelerometers data to provide accurate speed and acceleration measurements. The LIDAR measures the distances to the leading or following vehicle. Two alternative estimation methods were tested: the first follows individual procedures that explicitly account for the physical meaning of each parameter; the second formulates the calibration as an optimization problem: the objective function is defined so as to minimize the differences between the simulated and real inter-vehicle distances; the problem is solved using an automated procedure based on a genetic algorithm. The results show that the optimization approach leads to a very accurate representation of the specific modeled situation but offers poor transferability; on the other hand, the individual estimation provides a satisfactory fit in a wide range of traffic conditions and hence is the recommended method for forecasting purposes.
TL;DR: In this article, a bilevel multi-objective approach to optimise tolls in a road network is proposed. But the authors consider three objectives at the upper level: minimising system travel time; total vehicle emissions; and negative health impacts, modelled as the level of pollutant uptake.
Abstract: We propose a bilevel multi-objective approach to optimise tolls in a road network. Multiple objectives have been considered at either the upper or lower level in the literature but not both. We consider three objectives at the upper level: minimising system travel time; total vehicle emissions; and negative health impacts, modelled as the level of pollutant uptake. For the lower level, we adopt a time surplus maximisation bi-objective user equilibrium model, assuming all users have two objectives: minimising travel time and toll. The complete bilevel optimisation problem is solved using a combination of a metaheuristic and a classical optimisation algorithm.
TL;DR: The authors explore Virtual Reality (VR) as an experimental tool to perform observations of individuals facing interactions in crowds with an accurate control of experimental conditions, but the bias introduced in the collected data through the VR-system must be evaluated.
Abstract: Microscopic pedestrian simulation models are based on local interactions between agents. Many interactions occur between walkers, with many factors of influence. There is a need for observations of individuals facing interactions in crowds to better understand them and improve the level of realism of simulation algorithms. The authors explore Virtual Reality (VR) as an experimental tool to perform such observations with an accurate control of experimental conditions. However, the bias introduced in the collected data through the VR-system must be evaluated. The authors present the effort made in the last few years to evaluate such bias.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors study evacuation processes of pedestrian crowds with differently interacting groups using an extended floor field cellular automaton model and introduce group-related update rules to form couples with one pedestrian leading the other.
Abstract: We study evacuation processes of pedestrian crowds with differently interacting groups using an extended floor field cellular automaton model. For homogeneous crowds floor field automaton models introduce a mutual dynamic floor field and apply an equal set of update rules. We use an extended model with group-specific floor fields inducing attraction and herding behaviour within respective groups only. As another approach we introduce group-related update rules to form couples with one pedestrian leading the other. We use these approaches to model groups with symmetric and asymmetric group interactions and study the impact of such groups on evacuation dynamics.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed the relationship between existing Euclidean distances in numerous points, the producing centers and Brazilian's ports, performing comparisons between the correction factor obtained by calculation in this article with the factors obtained by other authors, also seeking to relate the road distances calculated based on intervals and freight.
Abstract: Soybean is a commodity that has an important influence on the Brazilian economy because it accounts for the largest share among the grains in the export market. Its main production centers excel in regions far from major consuming centers, requiring long commutes especially in road transport. The distance is the most influential factor in transport costs and is directly related to the freight. To define actual road distances, particularly in unfamiliar roads, it is necessary to use a correction factor. In addition to estimating a better correction factor, the paper aims to contribute by developing a procedure to identify this factor. This paper will analyze the relationships between existing Euclidean distances in numerous points, the producing centers and Brazilian's ports, performing comparisons between the correction factor obtained by calculation in this article with the factors obtained by other authors, also seeking to relate the road distances calculated based on intervals and freight. The advantage of obtaining a more accurate factor k is to allow the results of different location, such as p- median be more accurate. The result was satisfactory when comparing with the existing literature.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report on the results of the investigations about users' attitudes towards ARTS and conventional buses that have been carried out in twelve cities where the implementation of an ARTS service is being planned within the Citymobil2 project.
Abstract: Collective automated road transport systems (ARTS) are the subject of current research in Europe. The paper reports on the results of the investigations about users’ attitudes towards ARTS and conventional buses that have been carried out in twelve cities where the implementation of an ARTS service is being planned within the Citymobil2 project. A common stated preference questionnaire has been used. The econometric analysis has been based on the estimation of a logit model which has considered the choice for two alternatives: ARTS and minibus. The observed attributes are: waiting time, riding time and fare. Of particular interest, is the estimation of the alternative specific constant (ASC) of the ARTS, because this represents the mean of all the unobserved attributes of the automated system that affect the choice. With a common specification of the systematic utilities of ARTS and minibus, the observed attributes being the same, a positive value of the ASC is indicative of a relatively higher preference for the ARTS. The results show a relatively higher preference for ARTS across the cities where the ARTS is implemented inside a major facility. In other application contexts, commonalities in attitudes across cities are not found. The impacts on attitudes of the socio-economic attributes of the users are heterogeneous across cities.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a systematics of these tools and a concept of how they could be developed in Poland, focusing on elements of scientific support to help build the necessary tools, and an estimation of the consequences and effects of applying the tools of road safety management on the network of national roads in Poland until 2020.
Abstract: The objective of road safety infrastructure management is to ensure that when roads are planned, designed, built and used road risks can be systematically identified, assessed, removed and mitigated. There are a number of approaches to road safety management. European Union Directive 2008/96/EC requires EU member states to use four basic tools of road safety infrastructure management. An overview of the methods in these countries shows a variety of approaches to how these tools are used in practice. The paper presents a systematics of these tools and a concept of how they could be developed in Poland. It looks at the life cycle of a road structure and the requirements of risk management processes. The paper focuses on elements of scientific support to help build the necessary tools. To help with assessing the impact of a road project on the safety of related roads, a method was developed for long-term forecasts of accidents and accident victims and accident cost estimation as well as a risk classification to identify risks that are not acceptable risks. With regard to road safety audits and road safety inspection, a set of principles was developed to identify risks and the basic classification of errors and omissions. In the case of road network safety management, measures of individual and societal risk were selected. A method for classifying dangerous road sections was developed as well. An estimation is given of the consequences and effects of applying the tools of road safety management on the network of national roads in Poland until 2020.
TL;DR: This work proposes an agent-based model for evacuation simulation based on the analysis of videotapes concerning real events based on modifications to the social force model in order to describe typical behaviors.
Abstract: The earthquake risk assessment approach actually ignores human behaviors during earthquake. Nevertheless, simulating pedestrians’ motion could be useful to introduce “human” interactions with post-earthquake scenarios. This work proposes an agent-based model for evacuation simulation based on the analysis of videotapes concerning real events. Modifications to the social force model are provided in order to describe typical behaviors. A simulation software is developed for model validation. Tests mainly involve speeds and distances between individuals. The model could be integrated in tools for the analysis of probable pedestrians’ choices in different scenarios, and checking solutions for reducing man-environment interferences during the evacuation process.