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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

Improving access to urban parks through public transit optimization

This study establishes an evaluation and optimization framework for the public transit network based on social network analysis and a greedy algorithm,aiming to explore a quantitative approach to improving access to urban parks through public transit optimization.Social network analysis and the ArcGIS platform are used to build a public transit network model within Nanjing Old City and analyze its overall network structure characteristics.The study also focuses on a method to improve the convenience of reaching regional and citylevel parks by public transit by increasing access and connecting points accordingly.A greedy algorithm is introduced to generate an optimized solution for improving public transit accessibility to regional and city-level parks,consequently enhancing their utilization.The major findings include:(1)The greedy algorithm effectively enhances the performance of the public transit network,but its benefits gradually diminish as more stations are added.(2)Strategically adding stations enhances the performance of most public transit access points,creating efficient pathways for other stations to directly reach these access points and enter regional and city-level parks.(3)The optimized public transit network model offers guidance for the planning and layout of regional and city-level parks.The site selection for new parks should prioritize establishing connections with the“hubs”in the public transit network.The proposed optimization of the public transit network in this study is specific to a single type of urban park,but subsequent research could be conducted to extend the optimization of public transit accessibility around more urban public resources.

Measuring positive public transit accessibility using big transit data

Most of the current existing accessibility measures quantify the potential of reaching desirable opportunities across space and time.Nevertheless,these potential measurements only illus-trate the maximum possible accessibility a person can have,which may not accurately measure real-world transit accessibility in urban areas.This paper introduces a novel methodology to measure positive public transit accessibility based on multi-source big public transit data such as Smart Card Data(SCD)and Global Navigation Satellite System trajectory data,which embed rich travel information and real-world spatio-temporal constraints.First,we use multi-source transit data to reconstruct trip chains,which are used to extract popular destinations.A novel transit accessibility measure is defined to account for latent trip information such as mode/route preference,opportunity attraction,and travel impedance that are difficult to capture explicitly via traditional normative measures.Finally,we produce accessibility maps to visualize time-varying and heterogeneous accessibility patterns distributed over the study region.We performed an empirical evaluation on real-world transit data collected in Shenzhen City,China,demonstrating the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed method in mapping positive transit accessibility over large metropolitan areas.The results and findings of the empirical study demonstrate that the proposed positive accessibility measure can better capture travel behavior characteristics and constraints than traditional normative measures.The measure-ment method can be used as a practical high-resolution mapping tool for transit decision makers in evaluating public transit systems,supporting strategic transit planning,and improv-ing daily transit management.

Zero-emission public transit could be a catalyst for decarbonization of the transportation and power sectors

Reaching carbon neutrality will require investment on an unprecedented scale.Here we suggest that there is an underappreciated opportunity to leverage public funds to mobilize private capital in support of these aims.We illustrate the point using examples from public transit.Although the fuelling energy requirements of public fleets represent a small fraction of the eventual total demand across the transportation sector,the predictable and long-term nature of the refuelling profiles can reduce the financing risk.With appropriate coordination across the energy supply chain,near-term investments can be used to support scale-up of wider efforts to decarbonize the transportation sector and electric grid.We present two examples from California-one related to overnight power for battery electric bus charging and the other related to medium-scale supply chains for zero-carbon hydrogen production-to illustrate how this might be achieved.

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.

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.

洛阳轨道交通站点步行接驳的影响因素研究

通过分析洛阳轨道交通站点的步行接驳影响因素,旨在为提高公共交通吸引力、优化轨道交通系统和促进可持续交通发展提供参考。研究基于GIS分析、实地调研和调查问卷,重点考察了不同类型站点特征、站点设计与布局、客流特征与出行需求及公共交通政策与管理等因素。结果显示,站点周边的功能混合度、人口密度、公共设施和服务质量等因素,以及站点的出入口位置、数量、通达性对步行接驳质量有显著影响。此外,乘客的出行目的、时间分布和交通换乘需求也对步行接驳服务质量产生影响。基于调研结果,建议采取提升步行网络密度、提升步行网络的整体性等措施,以改善洛阳市轨道交通站点的步行接驳状况。

National Standards for Urban Rail Transit

In this paper, we suggest the creation of passenger service standards for urban rail transit. We put forward standards suited for China's actual conditions, aimed at meeting an international level of service based on customer-oriented principles.

Risk of COVID-19 Spread and Mitigation Strategies in Public Transportation Sector

The world is trying to recover from once in the COVID-19 pandemic, which has a higher mortality rate than the common flu. However, the threat of different variants is still affecting us in a different capacity. Several preventive measures have been adopted across the nation and the globe to avoid the spread of this virus, such as lockdown, restricted travel, social distancing guidelines, obligatory face mask use, etc. These activities directly influenced the management of social life, economy, and livelihoods. The effect of COVID-19 on the public transit industry and strategies the transit agencies adapted to continue providing the service during the pandemic has been synthesized in this paper. As a result of the pandemic, public transit ridership decreased by about 70 percent for most agencies compared to pre-pandemic levels. This article also highlights the prevention of COVID-19 spread in the public transit industry using engineering solutions and advanced material science and nanotechnology solutions.

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。

Transit Bus and Pedestrian Safety Analysis in the Context of Operator Improvements and Traffic Volume Assessment

Pedestrian safety related to public bus transit is an integral part of promoting sustainability especially in the urban setting. This concept has received significant attention within the last decade as transit agencies strive to make their systems more sustainable and safer at the same time. This study examined pedestrian collisions related to public transit buses in Philadelphia over a three-year study period from 2008 to 2011. The objective is to perform a detailed analysis on crash records, which provides the foundation on statistics for bus-pedestrian collision to allow for future studies in modeling work in this field. Results of this research provided insights on bus-pedestrian collisions in terms of bus maneuver, cause of crash, impact point of bus, and relation to hourly traffic volume. A strong correlation was found between traffic volume and bus-pedestrian collision rate in terms of hours of the day. For any given hour, an increase in collision frequency was found if the traffic volume exceeds a threshold of 5% of its average annual daily traffic. This serves as an indicator of locations that pedestrians are vulnerable at. Analyses were conducted to the fullest extent allowable by the limited dataset. This study presents findings that can be future developed and investigated in future studies. Additionally, countermeasures are recommended in each section that presents a critical area to address.

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。

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。

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。