Environmental impact of combined ITS traffic management strategies

Transport was responsible for 20% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in Europe during 2011 (European Environmental Agency 2013) with road transport being the key contributor. To tackle this, targets have been established in Europe and worldwide to curb transport emissions. This poses a significant challenge on Local Government and transport operators who need to identify a set of effective measures to reduce the environmental impact of road transport and at the same time keep the traffic smooth. Of the road transport pollutants, this paper considers NOx, CO2 and black carbon (BC). A particular focus is put on black carbon, which is formed through incomplete combustion of carboneous materials, as it has a significant impact on the Earth’s climate system. It absorbs solar radiation, influences cloud processes, and alters the melting of snow and ice cover (Bond et al. 2013). BC also causes serious health concerns: black carbon is associated with asthma and other respiratory problems, heart attacks and lung cancer (Sharma 2010; United States Environmental Protection Agency 2012). Since BC emissions are mainly produced during the decelerating and accelerating phases (Zhang et al. 2009), ITS actions able to reduce stop&go phases have the potential to reduce BC emissions. This paper investigates the effectiveness of combined ITS actions in urban context in reducing CO2 and BC emissions and improving traffic conditions

National remote and regional transport strategy: consultation draft

On 22 May 2014, the Northern Territory hosted the National Remote and Regional Transport Infrastructure and Services Forum in Alice Springs, attended by 120 industry, government and community representatives from all areas of Australia. Following the Forum, the Council agreed for the Northern Territory to lead the development of the National Remote and Regional Transport Strategy, in collaboration with the South Australia, Western Australia, Queensland and Commonwealth governments. The Strategy will propose specific actions to address issues faced in remote and regional areas in relation to transport infrastructure, services and regulation. On 22 May 2015, the Council approved the release of the draft Strategy for public consultation. As part of the consultation period, stakeholders are invited to provide feedback on the draft Strategy and its proposed actions. For more information on the Strategy, or to make a submission, please visit the following link: www.transport.nt.gov.au/nrrts. Please note the closing date for submissions is 5pm Friday 31 July 2015 (ACST). Transport – A Vital Role The availability and quality of transport infrastructure and services impacts on every part of our society and wellbeing. Good transport systems provide a platform for improving productivity and driving social and economic growth for all Australians. Remote and Regional Areas – Supporting all of Australia The remote and regional area of Australia covers 85 percent of the Australian land mass, however has only 15 percent of the Australian population. But significantly, this area is responsible for 40 percent of Australia\u27s GDP due to its considerable resource sector and primary industries. Transport Challenges Remote and regional areas face specific transport challenges which do not apply to the highly populated eastern seaboard of Australia – all influenced by vast distances, a small population, climatic extremes, and demanding geography. It is for this reason that a one size fits all approach to transport regulation and infrastructure and service delivery just doesn\u27t work for the remote and regional areas of Australia. The Need for a National Strategy The aim of the National Remote and Regional Transport Strategy is to provide some practical solutions to the issues and challenges faced by transport system providers and users so that this important area of Australia can continue to grow and contribute to Australia\u27s wellbeing. The Council will discuss the final Strategy and its implementation at its meeting in November 2015

Informatisation of transport process using GPS navigation system

Nowadays, internal business processes are one of the crucial factors of firms’ competitive advantage achievement, which is becoming increasingly important, not only on local but also on global markets. Firms’ performance improvement depends to a large extent on its flexibility, adjustability and especially ability to manage internal business processes. Hence, use of information technology is among the fundamental elements of business process change, which not only improve competitiveness but also assure long term development and growth of the firm. For all these reasons, the main purpose of this article is firstly to establish that use of information technology is feasible in all industries, explain what possible obstacles for successful informatisation are, and which are major advantages after its implementation. Secondly, within theoretical aspect we present broaden view of informatisation in logistics, whilst practical example illustrates successful informatisation of transport process with adoption of GPS (Global Positioning System) in a transport firm. Furthermore, in this article we are also introducing a case study of three transport firms describing process flow before and after implementation identifying enhanced information quality, service quality and communication as a foremost advantages and achievements after informatisatio

Conditions for State and Control Constraint Activation in Coordination of Connected and Automated Vehicles

Connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) provide the most intriguing opportunity to reduce pollution, energy consumption, and travel delays. In earlier work, we addressed the optimal coordination of CAVs using Hamiltonian analysis. In this paper, we investigate the nature of the unconstrained problem and provide conditions under which the state and control constraints become active. We derive a closed-form analytical solution of the constrained optimization problem and evaluate the solution using numerical simulation

Examination of Regional Transit Service Under Contracting: A Case Study in the Greater New Orleans Region, Research Report 10-09

Many local governments and transit agencies in the United States face financial difficulties in providing adequate public transit service in individual systems, and in providing sufficient regional coordination to accommodate transit trips involving at least one transfer between systems. These difficulties can be attributed to the recent economic downturn, continuing withdrawal of the state and federal funds that help support local transit service, a decline in local funding for transit service in inner cities due to ongoing suburbanization, and a distribution of resources that responds to geographic equity without addressing service needs. This study examines two main research questions: (1) the effect of a “delegated management” contract on efficiency and effectiveness within a single transit system, and (2) the effects of a single private firm—contracted separately by more than one agency in the same region—on regional coordination, exploring the case in Greater New Orleans. The current situation in New Orleans exhibits two unique transit service conditions. First, New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA) executed a “delegated management” contract with a multinational private firm, outsourcing more functions (e.g., management, planning, funding) to the contractor than has been typical in the U.S. Second, as the same contractor has also been contracted by another transit agency in an adjacent jurisdiction—Jefferson Transit (JeT), this firm may potentially have economic incentives to improve regional coordination, in order to increase the productivity and effectiveness of its own transit service provision. Although the limited amount of available operation and financial data has prevented us from drawing more definitive conclusions, the findings of this multifaceted study should provide valuable information on a transit service contracting approach new to the U.S.: delegated management. This study also identified a coherent set of indices with which to evaluate the regional coordination of transit service, the present status of coordination among U.S. transit agencies, and barriers that need to be resolved for regional transit coordination to be successful