Public Transportation Management Strategies in a Low-Carbon Economy

The importance of public transportation in social and economic development is undeniable.With the rising concerns of environmental pollution and resource depletion in recent times,China has made significant efforts to transition towards a low-carbon economy.To advance this transition,it is imperative to confront the obstacles faced by public transportation and enact effective management strategies that promote both economic and environmental sustainability.In this regard,the author has evaluated the existing status of public transit within the context of a low-carbon economy and put forth targeted management approaches.This research is expected to make a valuable contribution towards enhancing the quality of public transportation management.

A Support System of Sightseeing Tour Planning Using Public Transportation in Japanese Rural Areas

Though most of tourists tend to visit multiple sightseeing spots during their sightseeing tours,it is difficult for them to efficiently acquire information necessary for their sightseeing tour planning.Additionally,in rural area,many people hope to use public transportation which has not developed as much as in urban areas.The present study aims to design and develop a support system of sightseeing tour planning in Japanese rural areas,adopting the information related to real timetables of public transportation on both the sea and the ground,and genetic algorism(GA).The system was developed integrating moving route recommendation system,web-geographic information systems(Web-GIS),and augmented reality(AR)application.Furthermore,Kagawa Prefecture in the western part was selected as the operation target area.The operation of the system was conducted for two months,targeting those inside and outside the operation target area,and web questionnaire surveys were conducted.From the evaluation results based on the web questionnaire surveys,the usefulness of all the original functions as well as of the entire system was analyzed.Additionally,though some users could not easily use the system,it is expected that they will get used to utilizing it by their continuous use.

Commuter exposure to BTEX in public transportation modes in Bangkok, Thailand

Measurements and monitoring of volatile organic compounds （VOCs） have been conducted in the metropolitan Bangkok. However, in-vehicle levels of VOCs are still lacking. This study investigated VOCs concentrations in four public transportation modes in Bangkok, Thailand during two rush hour periods （7：00–9：00 a.m. and 4：00–7：00 p.m.）. The four modes included an air-conditioned bus （A/C bus）, non-air-conditioned bus （non-A/C bus）, electric sky train, and a passenger boat traveling along the canal. Comparison among three important bus routes was also studied. In-vehicle air samples were collected using charcoal sorbent tubes and then analyzed by a gas chromatography-mass spectrometer. Results showed that the transportation modes significantly influenced the abundance of in-vehicle benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and m,p-xylene （BTEX）. Median concentrations of BTEX were 11.7, 103, 11.7, and 42.8 μg/m3 in A/C bus; 37.1, 174, 14.7, and 55.4 μg/m3 in non-A/C bus; 2.0, 36.9, 0.5, and 0.5 μg/m3 in sky train; and 3.1, 58.5, 0.5, and 6.2 μg/m3 in boat, respectively. Wilcoxon rank sum test indicated that toluene and m,p-xylene in the sky trains were statistically lower than that in the other three modes at a p-value of 0.05. There were statistical differences in TEX concentrations among the bus routes in the non-A/C buses. In addition, the benzene to toluene ratios implied that tail-pipe emissions were important contributor to the abundance of in-vehicle VOCs.

Open Queueing Network Model of Shanghai Public Transportation Problem

In this paper, the open queueing network model is proposed for solving the problem of public transportation in cities. The vertices of the networks(i.e., the bus stops) are determined by means of the fuzzy clustering method. The arcs (i.e., the paths of the public transportation) can be set up by using the shortest path model in the time sense or the 0 1 integer programming method.Applying the statistics method, we can calculate the parameters(such as the passenger flow's distribution, passenger flow's transition probability, mean waiting time for the bus etc. ) of the public transportation network. In this paper, we suggest to divide the network into two or three stages to implement the public transportation system in the form of ``frog jumping' fast transfer and ``permeation' fast dispersion.Combining the computer simulation and the evaluation of the achievement and effect of public transportation system, we modify the model so as to solve the public transportation problem better.

On Distributary Model of Public Transportation in Metropolis

The expansion of population and the worsening of the city development pattern brought serious effects on public transportation in the metropolis. The traditional method is not suitable for the analysis of city public transportation. This paper presents the model of “frog jumping and permeation” of passage flow in city public transportation. In this model, the passages between the first class gradient centers are transported by the fastest ways, and transferred in the mode of permeation between the second class gradient centers. this model will improvc the situation in the metropolitan communications.

Resilience assessment model for urban public transportation systems based on structure and function

Urbanization and the increasing frequency of extreme climates affect the sustainability of urban public transportation systems,and improving resilience is one of the primary directions for sustainable development.To scientifically assess the resilience of urban public transportation systems,a resilience assessment model based on structure and function is established in this study.This model mathematically quantifies and simulates the structural and functional changes in public transportation systems under disruption scenarios and provides a comprehensive assessment of six abilities:1)structural resistance,2)structural recoverability,3)functional resistance,4)functional recoverability,5)passenger adaptability,and 6)management adaptability.Depending on the initial failure stations,this model can simulate the resilience of a public transportation system under various scenarios.This model is applied to assess the resilience of public transportation systems in a provincial capital city under an equipment failure scenario.The results show that the impact of equipment failure on resilience varies according to the metro lines,and improvement strategies for functional recoverability and management adaptability are proposed.The weaknesses in the resilience of urban public transportation systems can be identified using the proposed model,which helps provide strategies for improving the capacity to face perturbations.

Performance Evaluation of Public Bus Transportation by Using DEA Models and Shannon’s Entropy:An Example From a Company in a Large City of China

The purpose of this paper is to assess the operational efficiency of a public bus transportation via a case study from a company in a large city of China by using data envelopment analysis(DEA)model and Shannon’s entropy.This company operates 37 main routes on the backbone roads.Thus,it plays a significant role in public transportation in the city.According to bus industry norms,an efficiency evaluation index system is constructed from the perspective of both company operations and passenger demands.For passenger satisfaction,passenger waiting time and passenger-crowding degree are considered,and they are undesirable indicators.To describe such indicators,a superefficient DEA model is constructed.With this model,by using actual data,efficiency is evaluated for each bus route.Results show that the DEA model with Shannon’s entropy being combined achieves more reasonable results.Also,sensitivity analysis is presented.Therefore,the results are meaningful for the company to improve its operations and management.

Spatial investigation of the temporal urban form to assess impact on transit services and public transportation access

The rapid urban growth in developing city increases the requirement of the efficient and sustainable public transportation system.The urban growth affects the urban form,which indicates the change in human and urban development activity.Urban form affects directly and indirectly access to the public transportation system as an assessment of potential riders and proximity to stops increase transit services users.Therefore,access is one of the important aspects for the assessment of transit service efficiency.Public transportation access can be represented by a coverage area and useful to estimate potential riders of public transportation.In this study,a Geographical Information System(GIS)-based spatial statistical analysis method is used to examine the spatial relationship of different urban form indicators with population or riders of transit service in a coverage area and to ascertain how urban form influences public transportation trips in this coverage area.The coverage area is delineated using a GIS-based road/street network distance approach.The spatial analysis results suggested that urban forms have certain impact on trips in coverage area at both ward level and zone level.The statistical analysis implies that significant and positive values of spatial lag coefficient indicate a positive spatial interaction between wards and variable like total coverage area;worker density have shown positive and significant effects on trips of public transportation.

QoE-based video segments caching strategy in urban public transportation system

With the rapid development of vehicle-based applications, entertainment videos have gained popularity for passengers on public vehicles. Therefore, how to provide high quality video service for passengers in typical public transportation scenarios is an essential problem. This paper proposes a quality of experience(QoE)-based video segments caching(QoE-VSC) strategy to guarantee the smooth watching experience of passengers. Consequently, this paper considers a jointly caching scenario where the bus provides the beginning segments of a video, and the road side unit(RSU) offers the remaining for passengers. To evaluate the effectiveness, QoE hit ratio is defined to represent the probability that the bus and RSUs jointly provide passengers with desirable video segments successfully. Furthermore, since passenger volume change will lead to different video preferences, a deep reinforcement learning(DRL) network is trained to generate the segment replacing policy on the video segments cached by the bus server. And the training target of DRL is to maximize the QoE hit ratio, thus enabling more passengers to get the required video. The simulation results prove that the proposed method has a better performance than baseline methods in terms of QoE hit ratio and cache costs.

A surface sampling and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry method for the analysis of quaternary ammonium compounds collected from public transportation buses in New Jersey

Quaternary ammonium compounds(QACs)are a class of antimicrobial disinfectants whose use in cleaning products increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.Chemically,their low vapor pressure indicates a proclivity to persist on surfaces,and their presence suggests a level of protection against microorganisms.The widespread application of QACs in response to the SARS CoV-2 virus created a need to evaluate their longevity on surfaces,for both efficacy and possible health risks.There are however,no standardized analytical methods for QAC surface sampling and analysis,and no published studies quantifying their concentrations on mass transportation vehicles-a high occupancy,close-contact microenvironment documented to facilitate the spread the SARS CoV-2 virus.Here,we describe a robust liquid chromatography mass spectrometry(LC-MS)method for the analysis of QACs and simultaneous development of a direct surface sampling and extraction protocol.We demonstrate the applicability of the method through the analysis of surface samples collected from in-service public transportation buses.The rapid,sensitive LC-MS method included 8 target QACs quantified on a Q-Exactive HF Hybrid Quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometer using an electrospray ionization source and Dionex UltiMate 3000 UHPLC system for analyte separation.QAC standard mixtures at concentrations between 0.1 ng mL^(-1)and 2000 ng mL^(-1)were analyzed,and chromatographic separation of all analytes was achieved in less than 10 min.All correlation coefficients were reported at r>0.986,and LODs ranged from 0.007 to 2.103 ng mL^(-1)for all compounds,confirming the method's sensitivity.A previously reported surface sampling and extraction protocol was modified to further simplify the procedure and expand the number of target compounds.The new sampling protocol was optimized from 10 commercially available wipes and 4 solvent types by quantifying recovery from the surface.Band-Aid brand small gauze pads saturated with isopropanol had the highest recovery efficiencies,ranging from 61.5 to 102.9%across all analytes.To test the real-world applicability,wipe samples were collected from 4 in-circulation New Jersey Transit buses on 5 separate days over the course of a month to assess the occurrence and longevity of QACs on sanitized mass transportation vehicles.Concentrations of QACs were detected on every wipe sample taken,and at all sampled time points,confirming their persistence on hard surfaces.QACs have the potential to form polymers,and detection of the polymer might serve as a secondary indication of their effectiveness on surfaces.None of the polymers detected however,were unique to QACs from this study.The polymers detected were already present in the wipe and used as an internal standard to demonstrate the efficacy of extraction and analysis of polymeric QACs.

Development of New Modality Municipal Public Transportation for Guangzhou——Group Rapid Transit System as Supplementary Linkage from Guangzhou City Center to its Eastern Tourism Zone

As one of the primary business centers of China, Guangzhou has been undergoing rapid growth and expansion. Over the past decade, the Guangzhou Municipality Government has significantly upgraded its transport infrastructure, especially with the highly beneficial expansion of its Subway Mass Rapid Transit(MRT) system.Positive steps have also been taken to continue planning the construction of new roads, a Bus Rapid Transit(BRT)system and other transportation facilities. Further administrative and regulatory measures have also been implemented to control the situation, such as the banning of motorcycles from the central city area and the limitation of new automobile registrations. However, Guangzhou continues to face serious challenges of traffic congestion in and around the city center owing to further intensification of its population with economic growth. The need to ease Guangzhou's stretched public transportation resources,and at the same time to support the realization of its"Eastward Advance" strategy, presents a unique challenge and opportunity to develop an advanced high-efficiency public transportation modality for Guangzhou, viz. the Group Rapid Transit(GRT) involving the use of automation-guided(driverless) smart-vehicles. This paper outlines the PRT/GRT(PRT: Personal Rapid Transit) smart-vehicle modality and also puts forth a proposal of Guangzhou's first GRT route as the city's first dedicated transportation link to the scenic landscape of the Eastern Tourism Zone.This GRT route will help in diffusing the city's traffic congestion as well as support the effectuation of Guangzhou's "Eastern Expansion" strategy, supplementing the ongoing expansion of the Guangzhou Municipality's subway MRT networks.

Is Free Public Transportation Sustainable?

Ever wished public transportation was free? Well, if you’re in Changning City,central China’s Hunan Province, your wish just came true. Starting from July 1, local residents and visitors enjoy a free ride

Multiple Extreme Learning Machines Based Arrival Time Prediction for Public Bus Transport

Due to fast-growing urbanization,the traffic management system becomes a crucial problem owing to the rapid growth in the number of vehicles The research proposes an Intelligent public transportation system where informa-tion regarding all the buses connecting in a city will be gathered,processed and accurate bus arrival time prediction will be presented to the user.Various linear and time-varying parameters such as distance,waiting time at stops,red signal duration at a traffic signal,traffic density,turning density,rush hours,weather conditions,number of passengers on the bus,type of day,road type,average vehi-cle speed limit,current vehicle speed affecting traffic are used for the analysis.The proposed model exploits the feasibility and applicability of ELM in the travel time forecasting area.Multiple ELMs(MELM)for explicitly training dynamic,road and trajectory information are used in the proposed approach.A large-scale dataset(historical data)obtained from Kerala State Road Transport Corporation is used for training.Simulations are carried out by using MATLAB R2021a.The experiments revealed that the efficiency of MELM is independent of the time of day and day of the week.It can manage huge volumes of data with less human intervention at greater learning speeds.It is found MELM yields prediction with accuracy in the range of 96.7%to 99.08%.The MAE value is between 0.28 to 1.74 minutes with the proposed approach.The study revealed that there could be regularity in bus usage and daily bus rides are predictable with a better degree of accuracy.The research has proved that MELM is superior for arrival time pre-dictions in terms of accuracy and error,compared with other approaches.

ComplexTrans-Global Rail-Road Transportation System Economical and Clustered Individual and Individualised Public Transport also Prevents the Spread of Covid 19

Land transport can no longer meet the requirements.European transport can be described by these words−crowded motorways and cities,dangerous emissions,ubiquitous traffic accidents,delays,expensive railways.Solutions are being sought to transfer a large part of passengers and especially freight transport to(high-speed)rail,and efforts are moving towards electromobility,car-sharing,5G-connectivity,autonomous driving,MaaS(Mobility as a Service)-coordinated transport or hyperloop-type solutions.However,all these solutions have additional challenges and limitations.Solutions are not being searched where they really exist-in the mutual adaptation of road and rail vehicles and their deep cooperation.The ComplexTrans project shows that simply adapting the dimensions and functions of road and rail vehicles can eliminate(or at least significantly reduce)all the problems of existing land transport.The main features of the ComplexTrans system are sufficient parking spaces,reduction of urban and non-urban congestion,electric vehicles with unlimited range and cheaper than standard cars,cheaper and more accessible battery charging,“autonomous ride”,solving the overlap between passenger and freight rail transport and making it self-financing,transferring intercity freight transport to rail,replacing part of continental air transport and many others.The cost-effective and clustered individual transport and individualised public transport of the ComplexTrans system also bring very significant reductions in the risk of transmission of covid-19 and other contagious diseases during transport.

Features Desired in Public Transport in a Developing City: Users’ Perspective

Excessive growth of population and urbanization in the developing countries set an increasing demand of mobility services. To meet this demand, public transport plays a significant role by providing an easy and affordable mobility service. Public transport service is a process evolving over time nevertheless is not always directly responsive to the changing demand of the passengers. Recently in developing countries, the unpleasant experience in public transport services is seen as one of the main reasons behind increased passenger car share, which eventually lead to traffic congestion. However, the situation can be ameliorated if the features of the public transport are improved by addressing the users’ demand. In this study, the primary features desired and demanded by the passengers of a developing country are identified by three phase survey. These identified features are also categorized based on public responses. And finally, the required features in an appropriate public transport mode are prioritized by using a common Multi Criteria Decision Making approach (AHP—Analytic Hierarchy Process). The study suggests that residents of the developing city are not that much concern on the outlook and ambience of the service rather they are concerned about finishing their trips safely in time at an affordable rate. The findings of this research will help planners and decision makers to make the best use of the investment in public transport services and infrastructure to promote these modes over privately owned vehicle.

Examining Modal Shift to Public Transport in Developing Asian Cities:A Case Study in Hanoi City,Vietnam

Quite many Asian cities are facing the issues of motorcycle dominance,and to solve it these cities are developing urban mass rapid transit systems(i.e.,BRT and MRT)with an intention to attract a large number of motorcycle and car users.However,there might be uncertainties in shifting private transport users to new public transport systems,thereby risking the effectiveness of the investment in public transport.This study aims to examine the possibilities of modal shift to public transport by exploring current patterns of people’s travel behavior and anticipating their mode choice changes under policy intervention scenarios.Hanoi City,a typical motorcycle-dominated city in Asia,is selected for a case study.A stated preference survey is conducted and SP/RP mode choice models are estimated for different segments of urban transport market.It is revealed that a significant number of private transport users might still stick to motorcycle and car use despite aggressive improvements of public transport in the future.Trip chaining behavior and presence of school kid(s)in the family may prevent family members from shifting to public transport.A longer travel distance may not necessarily lead to a higher modal shift away from motorcycle.These findings would be helpful to guide policy making towards sustainable development of public transport systems and effective management of private transport in developing cities,especially whose motorcycles are rapidly increasing and being dominant.

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.

Application Strategy of Green Transportation Concept in Urban Road Design

Urban traffic and urban environmental pollution are important issues that must be taken into account in the process of urbanization,especially in China.Modernization has enabled many developed countries in the west to carry out rational city traffic planning.At the same time,the concept of green transportation has also emerged,integrating low-energy consumption,low pollution,comfort,and safety into urban traffic to effectively solve issues pertaining to traffic and pollution.The concept of green transportation has been widely adopted in China and made popular in many cities,thereby promoting the sustainable development of cities.

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.

Efficient Route Planning for Real-Time Demand-Responsive Transit

Demand Responsive Transit (DRT) responds to the dynamic users’ requests without any fixed routes and timetablesand determines the stop and the start according to the demands. This study explores the optimization of dynamicvehicle scheduling and real-time route planning in urban public transportation systems, with a focus on busservices. It addresses the limitations of current shared mobility routing algorithms, which are primarily designedfor simpler, single origin/destination scenarios, and do not meet the complex demands of bus transit systems. Theresearch introduces an route planning algorithm designed to dynamically accommodate passenger travel needsand enable real-time route modifications. Unlike traditional methods, this algorithm leverages a queue-based,multi-objective heuristic A∗ approach, offering a solution to the inflexibility and limited coverage of suburbanbus routes. Also, this study conducts a comparative analysis of the proposed algorithm with solutions based onGenetic Algorithm (GA) and Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm (ACO), focusing on calculation time, routelength, passenger waiting time, boarding time, and detour rate. The findings demonstrate that the proposedalgorithmsignificantly enhances route planning speed, achieving an 80–100-fold increase in efficiency over existingmodels, thereby supporting the real-time demands of Demand-Responsive Transportation (DRT) systems. Thestudy concludes that this algorithm not only optimizes route planning in bus transit but also presents a scalablesolution for improving urban mobility.