Revenue management method and critical techniques of railway passenger transport

Purpose–Revenue management(RM)is a significant technique to improve revenue with limited resources.With the macro environment of dramatically increasing transit capacity and rapid railway transport development in China,it is necessary to involve the theory of RM into the operation and decision of railway passenger transport.Design/methodology/approach–This paper proposes the theory and framework of generalized RM of railway passenger transport(RMRPT),and the thoughts and methods of the main techniques in RMRPT,involving demand forecasting,line planning,inventory control,pricing strategies and information systems,are all studied and elaborated.The involved methods and techniques provide a sequential process to help with the decision-making for each stage of RMRPT.The corresponding techniques are integrated into the information system to support practical businesses in railway passenger transport.Findings–The combination of the whole techniques devotes to railway benefit improvement and transit resource utilization and has been applied into the practical operation and organization of railway passenger transport.Originality/value–The development of RMRPT would provide theoretical and technical support for the improvement of service quality as well as railway benefits and efficiency.

Smartphone-Based Wi-Fi Analysis for Bus Passenger Counting

In the contemporary era of technological advancement,smartphones have become an indispensable part of individuals’daily lives,exerting a pervasive influence.This paper presents an innovative approach to passenger countingonbuses throughthe analysis ofWi-Fi signals emanating frompassengers’mobile devices.The study seeks to scrutinize the reliability of digital Wi-Fi environments in predicting bus occupancy levels,thereby addressing a crucial aspect of public transportation.The proposed system comprises three crucial elements:Signal capture,data filtration,and the calculation and estimation of passenger numbers.The pivotal findings reveal that the system demonstrates commendable accuracy in estimating passenger counts undermoderate-crowding conditions,with an average deviation of 20%from the ground truth and an accuracy rate ranging from 90%to 100%.This underscores its efficacy in scenarios characterized by moderate levels of crowding.However,in densely crowded conditions,the system exhibits a tendency to overestimate passenger numbers,occasionally doubling the actual count.While acknowledging the need for further research to enhance accuracy in crowded conditions,this study presents a pioneering avenue to address a significant concern in public transportation.The implications of the findings are poised to contribute substantially to the enhancement of bus operations and service quality.

Research on Demand Response Potential of Adjustable Loads in Demand Response Scenarios

To address the issues of limited demand response data,low generalization of demand response potential evaluation,and poor demand response effect,the article proposes a demand response potential feature extraction and prediction model based on data mining and a demand response potential assessment model for adjustable loads in demand response scenarios based on subjective and objective weight analysis.Firstly,based on the demand response process and demand response behavior,obtain demand response characteristics that characterize the process and behavior.Secondly,establish a feature extraction and prediction model based on data mining,including similar day clustering,time series decomposition,redundancy processing,and data prediction.The predicted values of each demand response feature on the response day are obtained.Thirdly,the predicted data of various characteristics on the response day are used as demand response potential evaluation indicators to represent different demand response scenarios and adjustable loads,and a demand response potential evaluation model based on subjective and objective weight allocation is established to calculate the demand response potential of different adjustable loads in different demand response scenarios.Finally,the effectiveness of the method proposed in the article is verified through examples,providing a reference for load aggregators to formulate demand response schemes.

A Combination Prediction Model for Short Term Travel Demand of Urban Taxi

This study proposes a prediction model considering external weather and holiday factors to address the issue of accurately predicting urban taxi travel demand caused by complex data and numerous influencing factors.The model integrates the Complete Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition with Adaptive Noise(CEEMDAN)and Convolutional Long Short Term Memory Neural Network(ConvLSTM)to predict short-term taxi travel demand.The CEEMDAN decomposition method effectively decomposes time series data into a set of modal components,capturing sequence characteristics at different time scales and frequencies.Based on the sample entropy value of components,secondary processing of more complex sequence components after decomposition is employed to reduce the cumulative prediction error of component sequences and improve prediction efficiency.On this basis,considering the correlation between the spatiotemporal trends of short-term taxi traffic,a ConvLSTM neural network model with Long Short Term Memory(LSTM)time series processing ability and Convolutional Neural Networks(CNN)spatial feature processing ability is constructed to predict the travel demand for urban taxis.The combined prediction model is tested on a taxi travel demand dataset in a certain area of Beijing.The results show that the CEEMDAN-ConvLSTM prediction model outperforms the LSTM,Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average model(ARIMA),CNN,and ConvLSTM benchmark models in terms of Symmetric Mean Absolute Percentage Error(SMAPE),Root Mean Square Error(RMSE),Mean Absolute Error(MAE),and R2 metrics.Notably,the SMAPE metric exhibits a remarkable decline of 21.03%with the utilization of our proposed model.These results confirm that our study provides a highly accurate and valid model for taxi travel demand forecasting.

Stochastic programming based coordinated expansion planning of generation,transmission,demand side resources,and energy storage considering the DC transmission system

With the increasing penetration of wind and solar energies,the accompanying uncertainty that propagates in the system places higher requirements on the expansion planning of power systems.A source-grid-load-storage coordinated expansion planning model based on stochastic programming was proposed to suppress the impact of wind and solar energy fluctuations.Multiple types of system components,including demand response service entities,converter stations,DC transmission systems,cascade hydropower stations,and other traditional components,have been extensively modeled.Moreover,energy storage systems are considered to improve the accommodation level of renewable energy and alleviate the influence of intermittence.Demand-response service entities from the load side are used to reduce and move the demand during peak load periods.The uncertainties in wind,solar energy,and loads were simulated using stochastic programming.Finally,the effectiveness of the proposed model is verified through numerical simulations.

Optimal dispatching strategy for residential demand response considering load participation

To facilitate the coordinated and large-scale participation of residential flexible loads in demand response(DR),a load aggregator(LA)can integrate these loads for scheduling.In this study,a residential DR optimization scheduling strategy was formulated considering the participation of flexible loads in DR.First,based on the operational characteristics of flexible loads such as electric vehicles,air conditioners,and dishwashers,their DR participation,the base to calculate the compensation price to users,was determined by considering these loads as virtual energy storage.It was quantified based on the state of virtual energy storage during each time slot.Second,flexible loads were clustered using the K-means algorithm,considering the typical operational and behavioral characteristics as the cluster centroid.Finally,the LA scheduling strategy was implemented by introducing a DR mechanism based on the directrix load.The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed DR approach can effectively reduce peak loads and fill valleys,thereby improving the load management performance.

Demand-Responsive Transportation Vehicle Routing Optimization Based on Two-Stage Method

Demand-responsive transportation(DRT)is a flexible passenger service designed to enhance road efficiency,reduce peak-hour traffic,and boost passenger satisfaction.However,existing optimization methods for initial passenger requests fall short in addressing real-time passenger needs.Consequently,there is a need to develop realtime DRT route optimization methods that integrate both initial and real-time requests.This paper presents a twostage,multi-objective optimization model for DRT vehicle scheduling.The first stage involves an initial scheduling model aimed at minimizing vehicle configuration,and operational,and CO_(2)emission costs while ensuring passenger satisfaction.The second stage develops a real-time scheduling model to minimize additional operational costs,penalties for time window violations,and costs due to rejected passengers,thereby addressing real-time demands.Additionally,an enhanced genetic algorithm based on Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II(NSGA-II)is designed,incorporating multiple crossover points to accelerate convergence and improve solution efficiency.The proposed scheduling model is validated using a real network in Shanghai.Results indicate that realtime scheduling can serve more passengers,and improve vehicle utilization and occupancy rates,with only a minor increase in total operational costs.Compared to the traditional NSGA-II algorithm,the improved version enhances convergence speed by 31.7%and solution speed by 4.8%.The proposed model and algorithm offer both theoretical and practical guidance for real-world DRT scheduling.

Physics Guided Deep Learning-Based Model for Short-Term Origin–Destination Demand Prediction in Urban Rail Transit Systems Under Pandemic

Accurate origin–destination(OD)demand prediction is crucial for the efficient operation and management of urban rail transit(URT)systems,particularly during a pandemic.However,this task faces several limitations,including real-time availability,sparsity,and high-dimensionality issues,and the impact of the pandemic.Consequently,this study proposes a unified framework called the physics-guided adaptive graph spatial–temporal attention network(PAG-STAN)for metro OD demand prediction under pandemic conditions.Specifically,PAG-STAN introduces a real-time OD estimation module to estimate real-time complete OD demand matrices.Subsequently,a novel dynamic OD demand matrix compression module is proposed to generate dense real-time OD demand matrices.Thereafter,PAG-STAN leverages various heterogeneous data to learn the evolutionary trend of future OD ridership during the pandemic.Finally,a masked physics-guided loss function(MPG-loss function)incorporates the physical quantity information between the OD demand and inbound flow into the loss function to enhance model interpretability.PAG-STAN demonstrated favorable performance on two real-world metro OD demand datasets under the pandemic and conventional scenarios,highlighting its robustness and sensitivity for metro OD demand prediction.A series of ablation studies were conducted to verify the indispensability of each module in PAG-STAN.

Optimal Bidding Strategies of Microgrid with Demand Side Management for Economic Emission Dispatch Incorporating Uncertainty and Outage of Renewable Energy Sources

In the restructured electricity market,microgrid(MG),with the incorporation of smart grid technologies,distributed energy resources(DERs),a pumped-storage-hydraulic(PSH)unit,and a demand response program(DRP),is a smarter and more reliable electricity provider.DER consists of gas turbines and renewable energy sources such as photovoltaic systems and wind turbines.Better bidding strategies,prepared by MG operators,decrease the electricity cost and emissions from upstream grid and conventional and renewable energy sources(RES).But it is inefficient due to the very high sporadic characteristics of RES and the very high outage rate.To solve these issues,this study suggests non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm Ⅱ(NSGA-Ⅱ)for an optimal bidding strategy considering pumped hydroelectric energy storage and DRP based on outage conditions and uncertainties of renewable energy sources.The uncertainty related to solar and wind units is modeled using lognormal and Weibull probability distributions.TOU-based DRP is used,especially considering the time of outages along with the time of peak loads and prices,to enhance the reliability of MG and reduce costs and emissions.

A Novel Defender-Attacker-Defender Model for Resilient Distributed Generator Planning with Network Reconfiguration and Demand Response

To improve the resilience of a distribution system against extreme weather,a fuel-based distributed generator(DG)allocation model is proposed in this study.In this model,the DGs are placed at the planning stage.When an extreme event occurs,the controllable generators form temporary microgrids(MGs)to restore the load maximally.Simultaneously,a demand response program(DRP)mitigates the imbalance between the power supply and demand during extreme events.To cope with the fault uncertainty,a robust optimization(RO)method is applied to reduce the long-term investment and short-term operation costs.The optimization is formulated as a tri-level defenderattacker-defender(DAD)framework.At the first level,decision-makers work out the DG allocation scheme;at the second level,the attacker finds the optimal attack strategy with maximum damage;and at the third level,restoration measures,namely distribution network reconfiguration(DNR)and demand response are performed.The problem is solved by the nested column and constraint generation(NC&CG)method and the model is validated using an IEEE 33-node system.Case studies validate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed model according to the enhanced resilience and reduced cost.

Comparative Analysis of the Factors Influencing Metro Passenger Arrival Volumes in Wuhan, China, and Lagos, Nigeria: An Application of Association Rule Mining and Neural Network Models

This study explores the factors influencing metro passengers’ arrival volume in Wuhan, China, and Lagos, Nigeria, by examining weather, time of day, waiting time, travel behavior, arrival patterns, and metro satisfaction. It addresses a significant research gap in understanding metro passengers’ dynamics across cultural and geographical contexts. It employs questionnaires, field observations, and advanced data analysis techniques like association rule mining and neural network modeling. Key findings include a correlation between rainy weather, shorter waiting times, and higher arrival volumes. Neural network models showed high predictive accuracy, with waiting time, metro satisfaction, and weather being significant factors in Lagos Light Rail Blue Line Metro. In contrast, arrival patterns, weather, and time of day were more influential in Wuhan Metro Line 5. Results suggest that improving metro satisfaction and reducing waiting times could increase arrival volumes in Lagos Metro while adjusting schedules for weather and peak times could optimize flow in Wuhan Metro. These insights are valuable for transportation planning, passenger arrival volume management, and enhancing user experiences, potentially benefiting urban transportation sustainability and development goals.

A Decade of Changes in the Transportation of Passengers： What Are the Factors That Affected the Demand？

Ten years of financial stability in Brazilian economy have gone. In this period, the regional transportation of passengers suffered exogenous impacts： economical crises, airport crises and great proportions＇ accidents, as well as impacts which were intern to the system： institutional changes （liberation of tariff promotions, many companies establishing themselves and also coming to bankruptcy）, creation of regulating institutions in the air transportation as well as the land transportation. Theoretically, it is expected that these changes have generated impacts in the demand for trips, since an environment regulated with more flexible prices and higher amounts of companies would generate a competitive environment in which the companies could struggle to attract their demand. On the other hand, the impacts which are exogenous to the system can generate responses in the sense of restoring the balance of demand. Thus, based on the theoretical experience, this article aims at analyzing empirically, through categorical variables, if there were impacts on the demand for regional trips in Brazil due to the internal or external changes. In order to perform this, monthly data from January, 1999 to December, 2009 are utilized and estimates are calculated making use of SUR （seemingly unrelated regressions）. As a result, we have the meaning of the internal and external impacts related to air and land transports, identifying that the worldwide economic crisis generated an impact at the level of the demand for transportation and also that the flexibility of tariffs allowed by ANTT （Ag^ncia Nacional de Transportes Terrestres） had an equal impact on the demand for land transportation.

A Note on an Order Level Inventory Model with Varying Two-Phased Demand and Time-Proportional Deterioration

The main purpose of this paper is to generalize the effect of two-phased demand and variable deterioration within the EOQ (Economic Order Quantity) framework. The rate of deterioration is a linear function of time. The two-phased demand function states the constant function for a certain period and the quadratic function of time for the rest part of the cycle time. No shortages as well as partial backlogging are allowed to occur. The mathematical expressions are derived for determining the optimal cycle time, order quantity and total cost function. An easy-to-use working procedure is provided to calculate the above quantities. A couple of numerical examples are cited to explain the theoretical results and sensitivity analysis of some selected examples is carried out.

Fuzzy Inventory Model under Selling Price Dependent Demand and Variable Deterioration with Fully Backlogged Shortages

The objective is to develop a model considering demand dependent on selling price and deterioration occurs after a certain period of time, which follows two-parameter Weibull distribution. Shortages are allowed and fully backlogged. Fuzzy optimal solution is obtained by considering hexagonal fuzzy numbers and for defuzzification Graded Mean Integration Representation Method. A numerical example is provided for the illustration of crisp and fuzzy, both models. To observe the effect of changes in parameters, sensitivity analysis is carried out.

Demand and Analysis of Clinical Research Curriculum in Medical Universities

Objective:To investigate the needs of medical students regarding clinical research curricula to provide scientifically sound offerings and cultivate their clinical research thinking.Methods:From June to October 2022,medical students at medical universities in Shaanxi Province were surveyed using online questionnaires.The survey covered their demographic information,awareness of their major,understanding of clinical research,and preferences for curriculum content.Results:A total of 341 valid questionnaires were analyzed.Medical students demonstrated a strong awareness of their majors but a relatively low awareness of clinical research.There was significant demand for clinical research courses,with preferences for professionally oriented(81.8%),market-oriented(100%),theoretically and practically integrated teaching(78.6%),and application-focused(73.0%)courses.Conclusion:Medical colleges and universities should align clinical research curricula with the actual needs of medical students and clinical practice.Reforms in curriculum design and teaching methods are essential to better prepare students for careers in public health.

Survey on the Demand for Elderly Care Services of Community Residents in Beijing and Analysis of Influencing Factors

Objective: To investigate the current situation of the demand for geriatric care services of community residents in Beijing and analyze the influencing factors to provide a reference basis for meeting the demand for diversified and professional geriatric care services. Methods: A self-made questionnaire was used to randomly survey 1558 elderly individuals at community health service centers in 8 urban districts where elderly care centers were planned to be built. The influencing factors of the different characteristics of elderly care service needs from three aspects were analyzed using a dichotomous logistic regression model: predisposing, enabling, and, need factors. Results: 69.7% of the elderly required home care services, 22.8% wanted to get care services at elderly care centers, 15.9% wanted to get care services at nursing homes, 12.3% required community care services, and 7.4% didn’t know where to access care services. 68.5% of the elderly required care services for disabilities/semi-disabilities, 58.0% for dementia, 54.7% for common diseases, 34.9% for rehabilitation training, 33.0% for plumbing care, and 7.5% for hospice care. At the same time, there were urban- rural differences in the demand for elderly care services, with suburban elderly having a higher demand for care services than those living in urban areas (P < 0.05). The elderly’s demand for care services was mainly related to age, place of residence, and gender in the causative factors, mode of residence and physical condition among able factors, and mode of care services and care needs among need factors (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The demand for elderly care services was differentiated by factors including place of residence, age, and gender. It is crucial to accurately match the demand for elderly care services, innovate the mode of elderly care services, and improve the service quality to improve the elderly health service system.

Research on Adaptability Analysis of Environmental Space Demand and Design Optimization of Daycare Centers: Taking Chongqing’s Community F as an Example

Currently,there is a lack of research on the detailed environmental spatial design of community daycare centers at the micro level.This study focuses on Community F in Chongqing,using the elderly’s“willingness to demand”as a central aspect.It examines indoor and outdoor environmental space needs at a micro level,considering both functional requirements and spiritual needs based on existing research.The analysis incorporates three adaptive elements:current construction,surrounding environment,and operational management.It explores the feasibility of restructuring spatial layouts,utilizing local resources,and integrating Bayu cultural characteristics.Finally,through design optimization practices,the study proposes three strategies for aging optimization:functional integration and interaction,user-friendly facilities,and emotional connections to place.

Dynamic Analysis of Customer Demand Based on Intuitionistic Fuzzy Number in Product Planning

To address the fuzziness and variability in determining customer demand importance,a dynamic analysis method based on intuitionistic fuzzy numbers is proposed.First,selected customers use intuitionistic fuzzy numbers to represent the importance of each demand.Then,the preference information is aggregated using customer weights and time period weights through the intuitionistic fuzzy ordered weighted average operator,yielding a dynamic vector of the subjective importance of the demand index.Finally,the feasibility of the proposed method is demonstrated through an application example of a vibrating sorting screen.

Study on the Alignment Between Talent Training Directions and Employment Market Demands in the Landscape Architecture Industry

Currently,talent training in Chinese universities for landscape architecture is mainly divided into three directions:“landscape planning and design,”“landscape construction management,”and“landscape plant planting and maintenance.”However,with the background of the slowing urbanization process and the widespread demand for composite talents in society,it remains to be verified whether the traditional three major talent training directions in landscape architecture align with the job demands in the current construction market.Based on a survey and analysis of over 300 industry practitioners,this study found a clear trend of merging the three major employment directions into“landscape design and construction”and“landscape plant planting and maintenance.”This presents new requirements and directions for the skill training of landscape architecture majors in universities and provides insights into the alignment between talent training and employment demands in other industries.

Evacuated tube transport technologies (ET3)^(tm):a maximum value global transportation network for passengers and cargo

Evacuated Tube Transport Technologies （ET3） offers the potential for more than an order of magnitude improvement in transportation efficiency, speed, cost, and effectiveness. An ET3 network may be optimized to sustainably displace most global transportation by car, ship, truck, train, and jet aircraft. To do this, ET3 standards should adhere to certain key principals： maximum value through efficiency, reliability, and simplicity; equal consideration for passenger and cargo loads; optimum size; high speed/high frequency operation; demand oriented; random accessibility; scalability; high granularity; automated control; full speed passive switching; open standards of implementation; and maximum use of existing capacities, materials, and processes.