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.

Modeling customer satisfaction for bus rapid transit in Changzhou, China

This paper aims to develop a customer satisfaction model for bus rapid transit （BRT）. Both the socio-economic and travel characteristics of passengers were considered to be independent variables. Changzhou BRT was taken as an example and on which on-board surveys were conducted to collect data. Ordinal logistic regression （OLR） was used as the modeling approach. The general OLR-based procedure for modeling customer satisfaction is proposed and based on which the customer satisfaction model of Changzhou BRT is developed. Some important findings are concluded： Waiting sub-journey affects customer satisfaction the most, riding sub- journey comes second and arriving station sub-journey has relatively fewer effects. The availability of shelter and benches at stations imposes heavy influence on customer satisfaction. Passengers＇ socio-economic characteristics have heavy impact on customer satisfaction.

Impact of viscosity modifier on asphalt properties used for bus rapid transit lanes in Chengdu

In order to find the effect of different viscosity modifier dosages on asphalt binder＇s performance in bus rapid transit lanes in the city of Chengdu, three different viscosity modifiers were analyzed： TAFPACK-super （TPS）, high-viscosity additive （HVA） and road-science- technology （RST）, and four different asphalt binders were investigated through laboratory experiments. The percent- ages of the viscosity modifiers used were： TPS （0%, 8%, 10%, 12%, 14% and 16%） and RST and HVA （8% and 12%） depending on the type of asphalt binder. Technical indicators of modifier asphalt were tested through con- ventional and unconventional binder tests. It has been found out that only a percentage greater than or equal to 14% TPS is reasonable to achieve the requirement set by 20,000 Pa. s for the 60℃ dynamic viscosity on local #70 grade asphalt. The results indicate that conventional bin- ders did not meet the requirements of the 60℃ dynamic viscosity when 12% of TPS or HVA modifiers were used. In addition, the B-type styrene-butadienne-styrene （SBS） modified asphalt binder has better viscosity balance than the A-type SBS modified when 8% of each of the three different kinds of viscosity modifiers is used. Therefore, the B-type modified SBS thus appears to be a suitable choice in asphalt mixtures for bus rapid transit lane with the 60℃ dynamic viscosity.

Integrated Performance Measures for Bus Rapid Transit System and Traffic Signal Systems Using Trajectory Data

Bus rapid transit (BRT) systems have been implemented in many cities over the past two decades. Widespread adoption of General Transit Feed Specification (GTFS), the deployment of high-fidelity bus GPS data tracking, and anonymized high-fidelity connected vehicle data from private vehicles have provided new opportunities for performance measures that can be used by both transit agencies and traffic signal system operators. This paper describes the use of trajectory-based data to develop performance measures for a BRT system in Indianapolis, Indiana. Over 3 million data records during the 3-month period between March and May 2022 are analyzed to develop visualizations and performance metrics. A methodology to estimate the average delay and schedule adherence is presented along a route comprised of 74 signals and 28 bus stations. Additionally, this research demonstrates how these performance measures can be used to evaluate dedicated and non-dedicated bus lanes with general traffic. Travel times and reliability of buses are compared with nearly 30 million private vehicle trips. Results show that median travel time for buses on dedicated bi-directional lanes is within one minute of general traffic and during peak periods the buses are often faster. Schedule adherence was observed to be more challenging, with approximately 3% of buses arriving within 1 minute on average during the 5AM hour and 5% of buses arriving 6 - 9 minutes late during the 5PM hour. The framework and performance measures presented in this research provide agencies and transportation professionals with tools to identify opportunities for adjustments and to justify investment decisions.

An Apparatus Design for the Vehicle Control Scheme in Personal Rapid Transit System

A new transportation technology known as personal rapid transit （PRT） is being developed by multiple different companies around the world, and one system is under commercial operations in the United Kingdom. Each design is different, but they all share a need to operate many automated transit vehicles at very close headways. Safe operation will require a level of control an order of magnitude above any current transit system. As a result, new techniques will be needed for the development and testing of the mechanical and control systems. In this paper an apparatus for developing and testing a PRT vehicle control scheme is demonstrated. This system is composed of independent modules that represent virtual vehicles, a central control system, a man-machine interface and a monitoring device. It can be used to implement and to evaluate the designed vehicle control algorithm. The vehicle control algorithm is designed and simulated in a combined simulation platform that consists of Matlab/Simulink and Labview Simulation Interface Toolkit. Simple operational scenarios are proposed for the testing of the proposed vehicle control apparatus.

Dwell time estimation models for bus rapid transit stations

Bus rapid transit （BRT） systems have been shown to have many advantages including affordability, high capacity vehicles, and reliable service. Due to these attractive advantages, many cities throughout the world are in the process of planning the construction of BRT systems. To improve the performance of BRT systems, many researchers study BRT operation and control, which include the study of dwell times at bus/BRT stations. To ensure the effectiveness of real-time control which aims to avoid bus/BRT vehicles congestion, accurate dwell time models are needed. We develop our models using data from a BRT vehicle survey conducted in Changzhou, China, where BRT lines are built along passenger corridors, and BRT stations are enclosed like light rails. This means that interactions between passengers traveling on the BRT system are more frequent than those in traditional transit system who use platform stations. We statistically analyze the BRT vehicle survey data, and based on this analysis, we are able to make the following conclusions： （ I ） The delay time per passenger at a BRT station is less than that at a non-BRT station, which implies that BRT stations are efficient in the sense that they are able to move passengers quickly. （II） The dwell time follows a logarithmic normal distribution with a mean of 2.56 and a variance of 0.53. （III） The greater the number of BRT lines serviced by a station, the longer the dwell time is. （IV） Daily travel demands are highest during the morning peak interval where the dwell time, the number of passengers boarding and alighting and the number of passengers on vehicles reach their maximum values. （V） The dwell time is highly positively correlated with the total number of passengers boarding and alighting. （VI） The delay per passenger is negatively correlated with the total number of passengers boarding and alighting. We propose two dwell time models for the BRT station. The first proposed model is a linear model while the second is nonlinear. We introduce the conflict between passengers boarding and alighting into our models. Finally, by comparing our models with the models of Rajbhandari and Chien et al., and TCQSM （Transit Capacity and Quality of Service Manual）, we conclude that the proposed nonlinear model can better predict the dwell time at BRT stations.

Critical evaluation of transit policies in Lima,Peru;resilience of rail rapid transit(Metro)in a developing country

This paper evaluates rail transit within the context of the transit policies implemented in Lima,Peru.First it reviews the implementation of rapid transit,and bus reform.Secondly,it evaluates the outcomes of such policies by using Total Factor Productivity for policy effectiveness,Data Envelopment Analysis for rapid transit performance,and Generalized Cost of Travel for improvements.This paper finds that implementation failed in enforcing key requirements for rail transit regarding penetration of CBD and short transfers to bus transit;and that the basic assumptions of bus reform did not hold regarding bus oversupply,bus congestion or bus pollution.This paper also finds that outcomes of policies failed dramatically in achieving the planning goals;however,rail transit(Metro)shows high level of resilience in serving large ridership at high speed.On the other hand,bus reform was associated with a disproportionate increase of motorization,well over the effect of income growth or car attractiveness,and more related to the excessive reduction of bus transit capacity ill-advised from unproved bus reform assumptions.This paper recommends expanding rail rapid transit due to its intensive use of green renewable energy and its potential of demand growth if combined with modern Intelligent Transportation services,but this opportunity can be wasted without the proposed policy constraint to achieve lower Generalized Cost of Travel at any governmental intervention for bus reform,instead of just reducing bus transit capacity as implemented.Finally,this paper recommends government to government contracts to build rail transit and to enforce proper planning.

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.

Investment in Mass Rapid Transit

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Rapid transition of the hole Rashba effect from strong field dependence to saturation in semiconductor nanowires

With the support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,a study by the research group led by Prof.Luo Junwei(骆军委)from the Institute of Semiconductors,Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered a rapid transition of the hole Rashba effect from strong field dependence to saturation

Financing Rail Rapid Transit System: A Comparison Between Chicago and Shanghai

Detailed financial information of a rail rapid line project is often unavailable to the general public until a project has been completed for a couple of years and even for decades. This is especially true in the Chinese context. Based on available information, this paper compares four aspects of the financing of two rail rapid lines that were built almost simultaneously in Shanghai of China and Chicago of the US. The author finds: first, the central governments had the greatest impact on the capital investment in both lines; second, the formation of transit and financial plans in two cities both involved complicated political processes which were shaped by certain political figures and unforeseeable events; third, in the longer term, it was more expensive to maintain a rail rapid line than to build a new line in both countries; and finally, mainly depending on foreign loans and bonds, Shanghai faced greater challenge in offsetting the financial deficit. But this situation was improved as the Shanghai rail rapid system expanded and matured.

Fabrication of VO_2 thin film by rapid thermal annealing in oxygen atmosphere and its metal–insulator phase transition properties

Vanadium dioxide thin films have been fabricated through sputtering vanadium thin films and rapid thermal annealing in oxygen. The microstructure and the metal-insulator transition properties of the vanadium dioxide thin films were inves- tigated by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and a spectrometer. It is found that the preferred orientation of the vanadium dioxide changes from （111） to （011 ） with increasing thickness of the vanadium thin film after rapid thermal annealing. The vanadium dioxide thin films exhibit an obvious metal-insulator transition with increasing temperature, and the phase transition temperature decreases as the film thickness increases. The transition shows hysteretic behaviors, and the hysteresis width decreases as the film thickness increases due to the higher concentration carriers resulted from the uncompleted lattice. The fabrication of vanadium dioxide thin films with higher concentration carriers will facilitate the nature study of the metal-insulator transition.

市域快线行车组织在埃及斋月十日城铁路项目中的应用研究

为适应我国社会经济和新型城镇化发展,市域铁路正呈现蓬勃发展的态势。埃及斋月十日城铁路项目作为为中资公司“走出去”的第一条成功执行的市域快线,与其功能需求和技术特点相匹配的行车组织关键技术和方法在海外推广具有一定的难度。该论文简述了埃及轨道交通发展历程及现状,总结了项目的主要特点,阐述了车辆选型、速度目标值及站立标准的确定,分析了辅助配线设置方案,探讨了快慢车行车组织模式的可行性,提出了线路多次延伸后列车开行方案的设想。

Combinations of Transportation Policies to Promote BRT Usage Using Artificial Society Model

Various transportation systems have been developed in recent years.In this study,an artificial society model is developed to examine the combination of transportation policies in urban areas.In this model,each trip maker selects the primary and terminal transportation modes.An artificial society model is applied to the southeastern region of Osaka City,Japan.The effects of introducing BRT(bus rapid transit,primary transportation)and on-demand buses(terminal transportation)are investigated.The results confirm that BRT is used by a certain number of users.An increase in the use of BRT will increase the amount of walking,thus resulting in a healthy city.However,on-demand buses are rarely used as terminal transportation.Additionally,the development of bicycle parking stations near BRT stops is shown to be effective in the northern section of the BRT route.

透析液中结缔组织生长因子、纤溶酶水平与腹膜透析患者腹膜溶质转运速率的关系

目的 探讨透析液中结缔组织生长因子(CTGF)、纤溶酶原激活物抑制剂-1(PAI-1)水平与腹膜透析(PD患者腹膜溶质转运速率(PSTR)的关系。方法 选取2020年1月至2022年12月江苏省连云港市第二人民医院收治的152例PD患者,根据标准腹膜平衡试验分为快速转运组和非快速转运组。采用酶联免疫吸附试验检测透析液中CTGF、PAI-1水平。采用多因素logistic回归分析PD患者PSTR快速转运的影响因素,采用受试者操作特征曲线分析透析液中CTGF、PAI-1水平对PD患者PSTR快速转运的评估价值。结果 152例PD患者PSTR快速转运发生率为57.24%(87/152)。快速转运组透析液中CTGF、PAI-1水平高于非快速转运组(P<0.05)。快速转运组透析龄、夜间超滤量高于非快速转运组,白蛋白水平低于非快速转运组(P<0.05)。透析龄延长(OR=1.051,95%CI:1.023~1.081)和CTGF(OR=1.298,95%CI:1.165~1.446)、PAI-1(OR=1.408,95%CI:1.205~1.646)升高为PD患者PSTR快速转运的独立危险因素(P<0.05)。透析液中CTGF联合PAI-1预测PD患者PSTR快速转运的曲线下面积大于二者单独预测(P<0.05)。结论 透析液中CTGF、PAI-1水平升高与PD患者PSTR快速转运独立相关,二者联合对PD患者PSTR快速转运评估价值较高,可能成为PD患者PSTR快速转运的辅助评估指标。

基于快速评价方法的土地利用变化分析

为构建快速评价方法,及时掌握区域土地利用变化动态,促进土地资源的科学合理利用,推进自然资源可持续发展,利用影像自动分割技术,对2010年、2020年两期遥感数据进行地类信息采集,利用ArcGIS模型构建技术,采用土地利用动态变化度、地学信息图谱及土地利用转移矩阵等方法对研究区土地利用情况进行综合分析。结果显示,2010—2020年研究区林地面积增加244.81 hm~2,住宅用地面积增加69.68 hm~2,水域及水利设施用地面积增加33.60 hm~2;耕地和草地面积分别减少262.81 hm~2、30.71 hm~2,其他地类面积变化不大。从土地利用动态变化度来看,公共管理与公共服务用地增幅显著,达到24.62%。从地学信息图谱及土地利用转移矩阵来看,林地增加来源地类主要为耕地、园地及草地,整个研究区域均有分布,主要受到退耕还林政策及在影像分割和目视解译过程中的林下耕地影响。通过一系列研究较快地摸清了土地利用数量、布局及各地类之间相互转化的剧烈程度,可为土地利用可持续发展及相关部门开展研究提供决策依据。

旱涝急转对大豆产量和生长发育影响

为研究旱涝急转对大豆产量和生长发育的影响,通过开展旱涝急转组、单旱组、单涝组和对照组平行对比形式的旱涝急转测筒试验,分析了大豆不同试验处理条件下叶绿素含量变化规律、大豆前期受旱再继续受涝的产量变化规律以及不同旱涝组合形式下先旱与后涝相互作用的产量变化规律,进一步探究了旱涝互作对产量构成因素的影响。研究成果为旱涝急转防灾、减灾提供理论依据和技术支撑。

自适应循环发动机快速推力变化过渡过程性能初步研究

自适应循环发动机是基于变循环发动机设计理念基础并充分考虑飞发一体化设计、热管理等综合性能的面向未来飞行平台的先进动力装置,可通过诸多可调机构实现发动机涵道比、增压比、流量以及工作模式的灵活改变,从而适应不同飞行任务的复杂任务剖面需求,获得更大飞行包线内的性能优化。本文基于自适应循环发动机的性能计算仿真模型,在相关研究基础上结合模式转换和加减速过程实现快速推力变化过程,根据模式转换与加减速控制规律设计,开展典型算例下的快速推力变化过渡过程性能分析并验证其控制规律设计方法可行性,在亚声速巡航工况下,发动机在以M3模式叶尖风扇最小角度状态下,低压转子相对物理转速从0.6加速至1.0,最大可使终止推力增大32.4%,相较于单一模式加减速过渡过程,推力变化范围更宽,加速时间更短,转速变化范围更小。

首尔都市区轨道交通演进特征及启示

[目的]深入掌握国外发达都市区轨道交通演进历程,有利于我国超大、特大城市建构科学的轨道交通线网形态,安排合理的建设时序。首尔都市区与我国超大城市空间结构和轨道交通发展基础有更强的类似性,更值得深入研究。[方法]采用案例比较与演绎的研究方法,总结了首尔都市区人口与土地空间演进历程特征,分别研究了地铁、都市快轨、准高速通勤快线等的供给特征。[结果及结论]首尔都市区轨道供给存在普遍性规律,也有其独特性。我国超大城市都市快轨供给不具备首尔都市区的历史条件,且受空间形态影响,因此其里程占比应远小于首尔都市区的;站间距指标对实现都市快轨预定职能有重要的保障意义。

某160 km/h市域快速轨道交通地下线环境振动特性试验研究

随着城镇化的快速发展,城市范围拓展地越来越大。目前地铁设计速度多为80~120 km/h,对于长距离通勤略显不足。为了更好地实现城市融合,更高速度的城市轨道交通应运而生,并已经在某些城市投产运营。为掌握160 km/h市域快速轨道交通地下线产生的环境振动影响,对某城市160 km/h市域快速轨道交通地下线开展系统的环境振动测试,包括钢轨、道床、隧道壁振动测试;地面振动和室内二次结构噪声测试。结果表明:列车速度在124~152 km/h时,钢轨振动为109.7~111.2 dB,道床振动为75.6~77.4 dB,隧道壁振动为67.5~69.4 dB,平均速度138 km/h时,隧道壁振动为68.7 dB;列车振动传至地面后,隧道正上方距离轨道0~40 m地面振动最大Z振级为46.4~60.2 dB,地面振动基本符合随距离加大而减小的衰减规律,但是距离轨道10 m处测点的振动响应较0 m处测点存在放大现象;采取橡胶隔振垫整体道床情况下,近、远轨列车通过时隧道上方建筑物一层室内二次结构噪声最大值分别为32.7 dB(A)、28.4 dB(A)。