Users’ Perception on Operation and Performance of Public Transport Systems in African Developing Countries: The Case of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Dar es Salaam City, Tanzania

Public transport system has been a means of addressing transportation challenges in urban areas, such as traffic congestion, traffic jam and long travel time in cities worldwide. Transportation in Africa is unique in that it has the least developed public transport systems in the world, while also being one of the fastest urbanizing continents. Bus Rapid Transit being one of the public transport systems was introduced in Africa in 2008 as a means to provide solution on urban transportation challenges. Despite of public transport being the main means of transport in African developing countries, there have been a number of challenges that affects efficiency of performance of the system and makes its users uncomfortable. Therefore, the study aimed at exploring the setbacks or challenges associated with operation and performance of the BRT system in the African developing countries and address them. The study employed mixed methods research design that integrates both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods and analysis. The study findings reveal that, there is an improvement on the perspectives of the commuters on public transport after introduction of BRT system. However, some challenges such as long waiting time, passengers overcrowding during peak hours, as well as safety and security can slowly change the perspective of the commuters. Therefore, to address these challenges it is recommended to reduce the long waiting time and improve accessibility by introduction of passenger information displays (bus information system) and automated fare collection system;reduce travel time by introduction of bus priority signal;and improve safety and security by introduction of signage and CCTV Camera within the bus and bus stops.

Analysis of the influence of occupation rate of public transit vehicles on mixing traffic flow in a two-lane system

Based on the existing classical cellular automaton model of traffic flow, a cellular automaton traffic model with different-maximum-speed vehicles mixed on a single lane is proposed, in which public transit and harbour-shaped bus stops are taken into consideration. Parameters such as length of cellular automaton, operation speed and random slow mechanism are re-demarcated. A harbour-shaped bus stop is set up and the vehicle changing lane regulation is changed. Through computer simulation, the influence of occupation rate of public transit vehicles on mixed traffic flow and traffic capacity is analysed. The results show that a public transport system can ease urban traffic congestion but creates new jams at the same time, and that the influence of occupation rate of public transit vehicles on traffic capacity is considerable. To develop urban traffic, attention should be paid to the occupation rate of public transit vehicles and traffic development in a haphazard way should be strictly avoided.

Simultaneous optimization of transit network and public bicycle station network

The traditional manner to design public transportation system is to sequentially design the transit network and public bicycle network. A new public transportation system design problem that simultaneously considers both bus network design and public bicycle network design is proposed. The chemical reaction optimization(CRO) is designed to solve the problem. A shortcoming of CRO is that, when the two-molecule collisions take place, the molecules are randomly picked from the container.Hence, we improve CRO by employing different mating strategies. The computational results confirm the benefits of the mating strategies. Numerical experiments are conducted on the Sioux-Falls network. A comparison with the traditional sequential modeling framework indicates that the proposed approach has a better performance and is more robust. The practical applicability of the approach is proved by employing a real size network.

Two Network Structure Indicators for Conventional Public Transit

The significance of network structure indicators for the planning and management of conventional public transit is widely acknowledged.In order to improve and enrich the conventional public transit assessment system,two network structure indicators are proposed.Firstly,according to the obvious defects lying in the traditional no-linear coefficient,the realistic no-linear coefficient γRNL,a modified no-linear coefficient indicator,is put forward,which takes into account the effects of barriers in a city.Secondly,to cover the gap of an indicator which can reflect the coverage homogeneity of a transit network,the length dimension LDis proposed on the basis of Fractal Theory.Finally,a case study is applied to verify the validity and practicability of the two indicators in problem diagnosis using regression analysis.The results validate that γRNLcan evaluate the detour of bus lines more reasonably than the previous no-linear coefficient because it reflects the layout of bus lines,and LDcan represent the rate of change of the network density,adding a new member to the scheme of network structure indicators for public transit.

Public Transit Performance Evaluation Using Data Envelopment Analysis and Possibilities of Enhancement

This study evaluates the operational performance of all routes of Sajha Bus Yatayat operating inside Kathmandu valley using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) in terms of efficiency and effectiveness score. This approach allows us to access the relative performance of transit system in absence of historical data and research to compare with. To explore the possibility of enhancing the performance, scenarios were created for relatively underperforming routes and long route problem by changing the most important input variable and output variables accordingly with regression model where it was relevant. Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression was used to determine the most influential input variables to the output variables. DEA was conducted to access the performance of all routes under these scenarios. Underperforming routes except the longest route under the first set of scenarios, emerge to be better performing efficiently without considerable negative deviation in effectiveness. The result of second set of scenarios for long route problem suggests that the longest route’s performance can be enhanced significantly upon proper route alignment. Scenarios development and evaluation can help lead transit companies to explore the strategies to facilitate operational performance enhancement.

Morphology of single inhalable particle inside public transit biodiesel fueled bus

In an urban-transit bus, fueled by biodiesel in Toledo, Ohio, single inhalable particle samples in October 2008 were collected and detected by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry （SEM/EDS）. Particle size analysis found bimodal distribution at 0.2 and 0.5 μm. The particle morphology was characterized by 14 different shape clusters： square, pentagon, hexagon, heptagon, octagon, nonagon, decagon, agglomerate, sphere, triangle, oblong, strip, line or stick, and unknown, by quantitative order. The square particles were common in the samples. Round and triangle particles are more, and pentagon, hexagon, heptagon, octagon, nonagon, decagon, strip, line or sticks are less. Agglomerate particles were found in abundance. The surface of most particles was coarse with a fractal edge that can provide a suitable chemical reaction bed in the polluted atmospheric environment. The three sorts of surface patterns of squares were smooth, semi-smooth, and coarse. The three sorts of square surface patterns represented the morphological characteristics of single inhalable particles in the air inside the bus in Toledo. The size and shape distribution results were compared to those obtained for a bus using ultra low sulfur diesel.

PM10 and CO Exposure of Hong Kong Population in Public Transit Facilities

Taking public transit facilities (PTFs) is the major transport style in Hong Kong. Human exposure to indoor air pollutants may cause adverse health effects to the passengers. Exposure assessment on air pollutants is important for the control of human diseases caused by indoor air pollution. In this paper, the indoor PM10, CO and CO 2 levels in various PTFs, such as public bus, subway, railway and ferry in Hong Kong, were mea- sured. Combining with the time budget survey of Hong Kong population,the human exposures were calculated through Monte-Carlo simulation.

Potential Benefits of Increased Public Transit Ridership in Medium Sized Cities: A Case Study

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the United States was leading in the public transit sector, but following World War II, private automobiles became more affordable and gained popularity. Transportation infrastructure investments that increased road capacity further facilitated the increase in automobile use at the expense of reduced public transit ridership. With the increase of dependency on automobiles and the continuing growth of private automobile ownership and use, various problems became major challenges in big cities of USA. These include traffic congestion, air pollution, road and parking infrastructure costs, energy consumption, traffic safety, fewer mobility options for the non-drivers, and a decline in the image and use of public transit. This study uses a medium sized city, Birmingham as a case study to investigate the potential of public transit to reduce automobile trips and in turn improve the overall performance of the road network by addressing the abovementioned challenges. An agent-based simulation model was developed for the Birmingham metropolitan region using the Multi-agent Transport Simulation (MATSim) platform. Three scenarios were considered with gradually increased transit ridership to identify the benefits of increased public transit. Traffic volume, network average speed, and travel times were used as performance measures for the evaluation of the designated scenarios. Results suggest that modal shifts toward public transit and reduction in travel demand for an automobile can result in improvements in speed and travel time for all users. Therefore, investments for improving transit quality and frequency of service, as well as campaigns to improve the image of public transit and make it a mode of choice for transportation users can increase transit ridership and, in turn, improve network operations, thus are deemed worthy for medium sized cities.

Public Transit Connectivity Measures and Analysis of Weak Segments

Bus and any other public transit connectivity issues facilitate an understanding of the importance of transit planning in enhancing existing or new transit services. Improving transit connectivity is one of the most vital tasks in transit-operations planning. A poor connection can cause some passengers to stop using the transit service. Service-design criteria always contain postulates to improve routing and scheduling coordination （intra- and inter-agency transfer centers/points and synchronized/timed transfers）. Ostensibly the lack of well-defined connectivity measures precludes the weighing and quantifying of the result of any coordination effort. This work provides an initial methodological framework and concepts for （1） quantifying transit connectivity measures and （2） directions and tools for detecting weak segments in inter-route and inter-modal chains （paths） for possible revisions/changes.

共享单车与公共交通多元关系分类及阈值研究

为准确评估共享单车和公共交通之间的复杂时空关系,根据替代或补充关系的具体成因类型,结合共享单车出行起讫点的分布情况,定义共享单车与公共交通多元关系;其次,考虑公共汽电车与轨道交通的差异性,提出一种基于弱监督全连接神经网络的共享单车与公共交通多元关系的分类模型,并根据共享单车轨迹数据,计算不同关系分类和交通方式下的公共交通可达范围、共享单车骑行时长及步行接驳距离边界阈值。结果表明:共享单车与公共交通的多元关系可分为接驳补充、空白补充、替代关系1和替代关系2。其中,共享单车与公共汽电车多元关系的三参数划分阈值分别为329.75 m、5.07 min和182.93 m,与轨道交通多元关系的划分阈值分别为816.96 m、10.27 min和653.91 m。共享单车与公共汽电车以替代关系1为主,占总行程的54.98%;共享单车与轨道交通以空白补充关系为主,占总行程的48.90%。共享单车与公共汽电车关系主要为多元替代与接驳补充,与轨道交通主要为多元补充与替代关系2。共享单车与公共汽电车的关系相比于轨道交通会更为复杂。本文可为促进共享单车与公共交通在各自优势距离上的协同发展提供支撑。

公交专用车道规划管理思辨及公共汽电车交通发展纾困

2023年上半年,公安部推出10项公安交管新措施,其中包括优化城市公交专用车道管理。北京、深圳、青岛、南通等地陆续发布公交专用车道相关管理措施,引发广泛讨论与关注。围绕公交专用车道管理措施背后的原因与调整的依据,公交专用车道本身的规划、管理与使用问题,以及公共汽电车交通运营困境,特邀城市交通行业专家学者和公共汽电车运营管理研究的一线工作人员以笔谈的形式交流观点。在此基础上,探索在城市存量发展阶段如何建立常态化路权变更规则和评估机制,以及公共汽电车交通纾困之路。

考虑乘客起讫点选择的可变线路公交服务设计优化

可变线路公交可以在一定距离内偏离固定线路接送乘客,具有提高公共交通服务可达性的优势。然而,公交车过多访问非站点处的乘客,会增加车辆的行驶距离与时间,导致车内和站点等候乘客时间延误。因此,本文提出以浮动票价来调控乘客的接送需求,优化可变线路公交的固定站点个数、发车间隔和基础票价以实现单位时间内的社会福利(运营商利润和消费者剩余之和)最大化。首先,本文利用连续近似法分别在无财政限制(允许盈利赤字)和有财政限制(在财政补贴下确保运营不亏损)的情况下构建了最优化模型;其次,通过BONMIN求解器,求出无财政限制的模型的最优固定站点个数、发车间隔和基础票价;最后,通过对潜在出行需求、服务区域的矩形长宽比、票价调整系数及车容量等进行灵敏度分析,验证了模型的有效性。结果表明,单位时间财政补贴存在两个阈值。实例分析表明,对洛杉矶MTA646路夜间公交分别实行统一票价和差异化票价时,潜在出行需求存在一个阈值。当潜在出行需求超过120人/h时,票价调整系数为1时对单位时间社会福利的优化度比票价调整系数为0.2、0.4、0.6和0.8时更高,约为1%。本研究为可变线路公交系统的服务设计与财政补贴计算提供了重要参考依据。

基于博弈-可拓云的地铁-常规公交换乘服务评价

为了解决地铁与常规公交换乘服务评价方法的单一性和滞后性等问题,提出一种博弈-可拓云组合模型。结合“全、简、精、实”四类原则构建评价指标体系,分别利用层次分析法、CRITIC法、博弈论确定各项指标的主、客综合权重,并将数值代入可拓云模型实现二者的结合。以石家庄地铁为例,对辖区三条线路与常规公交间的换乘服务进行综合评价,结果显示:1、2、3号线的分数均处于[70,90)范围内,属于良好等级。评价结果与该市地铁-常规公交的运营现状相符,验证了组合模型的可行性与普适性,该结果对科学制定精准化的公共交通换乘服务政策提供参考。

引进改编版教材的内容调试与图像转换——以《演讲的艺术》为例

引进改编国际版教材是一项极为繁杂的系统工程,不仅涉及出版信息、装帧形式的变更,更关乎内容、图像的调试与转换。作为引进改编版教材的范例,《演讲的艺术》通过内容与图像的替换、添加、删除、调试,完美契合了中国演讲教学的需求,成为当下国内演讲课程最受欢迎的教材。《演讲的艺术》的成功改编可以证明:唯有更广泛地引进改编国际教材,实现国际优秀教材向“中国特色西方课本”,再到“中国化西方课本”的转换,才能充分发挥国际教材的作用,助推我国的教育改革发展。

突发事件网络舆情主题转变路径及其风险评估

探索突发事件网络舆情主题转变节点,并据此展开多阶段网络舆情风险评估,对精准处置突发事件网络舆情危机、提供动态舆情引导策略具有重要参考意义。本文提出一种突发事件情境下网络舆情主题转变路径识别及多阶段风险评估方法。首先,融合RoBERTa (robustly optimized BERT pretraining approach)模型提出时序语义-共词网络,并基于Louvain-CFDP (clustering by fast search and find of density peaks)算法进行网络社区主题发现;其次,提出主题状态转变检测模型,据此生成主题转变路径,识别并分析多类型转变路径及其风险波动特征。以“日本核污染水排海”事件为例进行实证分析,识别事件发展型、情绪集聚型及衍生事件型3种转变路径类型,分别对这3种类型路径的特点、风险特征及差异进行分析。研究结果表明,本文提出的主题转变路径及风险评估研究方法能够完整、全面地展现突发事件在社交媒体上的话题转变,为管理部门快速锁定高风险话题,制定精准、有效的舆情风险引导方案提供借鉴与参考。

基于虚拟编组的城轨列车时刻表优化方法

针对高峰时段城市轨道交通客流与运力不匹配问题,考虑城市轨道交通客流时空分布特征、交通过饱和状态和车场车底数量限制,提出了基于虚拟编组的城轨列车时刻表优化方法。构造动态客流累计需求函数,预测不同时段客流量;考虑乘客需求、发车间隔、运行时间、车底数量、车底接续等约束条件,以列车在首站的发车时刻和各车次的编组方案为决策变量,以乘客平均等待时间与列车走行里程最小化为优化目标,建立了基于虚拟编组的城轨列车时刻表优化模型。针对原问题包含大量耦合约束条件,利用拉格朗日松弛算法将耦合性约束吸收至目标函数,将原问题分解为2个独立路径的子问题,降低问题的复杂度;再利用商业求解器求解子问题的下界解,并设计启发式算法求解子问题的上界可行解,得到原问题解的上下界。以上海地铁某线路为算例进行验证,结果表明:在高峰时段,所提动态客流累计需求函数与客流实际到达规律拟合度较高;固定编组模式下,非均匀发车时刻表相比于均匀发车时刻表,可降低24.15%的乘客平均等待时间和51.73%的滞留乘客等待时间;而所提虚拟编组列车时刻表相比于固定编组模式下非均匀发车时刻表,不仅可减少0.33%的列车运行里程,还可进一步减少16.95%的乘客平均等待时间和6.03%的滞留乘客等待时间。

交旅融合视域下重庆轨道交通公共设施数智化设计方法研究

目的致力于探索在交旅融合背景下,如何适应信息技术的快速发展,应用数智化手段提升重庆轨道交通公共设施的功能性、便捷性和用户体验等,为乘客打造一个高效、舒适且互联互通的出行环境。方法采用定量与定性相结合的研究方法。通过调查问卷收集使用群体的需求与偏好;运用层次分析法(AHP)分析重庆轨道交通公共设施,建立评价指标体系,并基于结果分析确立指标权重。结果将大数据、物联网、人工智能等数智化工具应用于重庆轨道交通公共设施中,可以帮助政府部门、轨道交通运营单位和设计师等利用科学数据全面提升服务功能和水平,精准满足乘客的功能性、文化性、情感性需求。结论探索一套适用于重庆轨道交通的公共设施数智化设计方法。该方法着眼于乘客的真实需求,兼顾科技发展趋势,有效促进重庆轨道交通公共设施的现代化改造,促进交旅融合。相关研究也为未来类似项目提供了重要的理论依据和实践指南。

轨道交通促进下城市中心区地下公共空间精细化城市设计——以南京新街口中心区为例

要存量优化背景下,轨道交通促进城市中心区地下公共空间开发,从而拓展公共空间容量是实现城市中心区可持续发展的重要途径之一。在探明地下公共空间精细化城市设计的内涵,剖析城市中心区地下公共空间精细化城市设计特征,明确轨道交通对城市中心区地下公共空间开发影响的基础上,总结轨道交通促进下的城市中心区地下公共空间精细化城市设计的通用策略;以南京新街口中心区为例,通过分析南京新街口中心区发展的各个阶段和地下公共空间开发的侧重点,结合轨道交通城市中心区地下公共空间精细化城市设计策略,并使用空间句法验证策略的合理性。为类似城市中心区地下公共空间精细化城市设计提供科学合理的方法指引和案例参考。

数智转型下口述档案的历史人民性新探

历史是由人民书写的,而口述档案作为历史研究的重要工具,能够有效体现历史人民性。在数智转型的背景下,口述档案的历史人民性呈现出新的变化。通过梳理口述档案在历史研究中的核心作用,尤其是口述档案在增强公众参与历史叙事中的价值,探讨数智技术如何为口述档案在公众参与、资源共享和档案利用等方面带来新机遇。与此同时,数智转型也为信息的生成、传播以及信息获取的公平性带来诸多挑战。合理应用并管理数智技术,成为提升口述档案的历史人民性、推动公众积极参与历史构建的关键。基于此,从政策层面、主体层面和资源层面深入分析数智转型,深入探讨口述档案在公众提供参与历史构建与理解历史方面的新可能性,从而揭示口述档案在丰富历史叙事多样性和强化历史人民性方面的重要意义。

A Game-Theoretic Approach to Safe Crowd Evacuation in Emergencies

Obstacle removal in crowd evacuation is critical to safety and the evacuation system efficiency. Recently, manyresearchers proposed game theoreticmodels to avoid and remove obstacles for crowd evacuation. Game theoreticalmodels aim to study and analyze the strategic behaviors of individuals within a crowd and their interactionsduring the evacuation. Game theoretical models have some limitations in the context of crowd evacuation. Thesemodels consider a group of individuals as homogeneous objects with the same goals, involve complex mathematicalformulation, and cannot model real-world scenarios such as panic, environmental information, crowds that movedynamically, etc. The proposed work presents a game theoretic model integrating an agent-based model to removethe obstacles from exits. The proposed model considered the parameters named: (1) obstacle size, length, andwidth, (2) removal time, (3) evacuation time, (4) crowd density, (5) obstacle identification, and (6) route selection.The proposed work conducts various experiments considering different conditions, such as obstacle types, obstacleremoval, and several obstacles. Evaluation results show the proposed model’s effectiveness compared with existingliterature in reducing the overall evacuation time, cell selection, and obstacle removal. The study is potentially usefulfor public safety situations such as emergency evacuations during disasters and calamities.