What happens to travel behaviour when the right to park is removed?

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd What happens to travel behaviour when the right to park at a destination is removed? This question, fundamental to travel demand management and land-use planning, has only been partially addressed in the literature so far. The impacts on travel to the destination concerned have been studied, but not the impacts on wider travel behaviour. This paper reports on a natural experiment related to destination parking, where a university removed the right of most undergraduates living off-campus to park on its main suburban campus. A survey was conducted to compare the travel behaviours of two groups of undergraduate students: the first group started before and the second group started after the introduction of the parking restriction (n = 858). The survey captured licence-holding, car availability during the term and vacation periods, and the mode of transport used to travel to campus and for the last trip to another location. The parking restriction was associated with a fall in the modal share of driving to campus of nine percentage points. Car availability during term-time fell by 14 percentage points and licence-holding fell by nine percentage points. The policy change was associated with greater changes amongst females than males. Overall, the results suggest that removing the right of young adults to park at a frequent destination delayed their acquisition of driving licences and cars. These findings may explain part of the fall in licence-holding observed amongst young adults in Great Britain in recent decades

Applying Geographic Information System Methodologies to Estimate the Catchment Area Accessibility of Park-and-Ride Facilities

Park and Ride (P&R) systems play a potentially important role in transportation planning to decrease the undesirable effects of private cars in the Central Business District (CBD). In order to achieve this objective, an essential component to be investigated is the catchment areas of these P&R facilities. However, a limited number of studies have applied the Geographic Information System (GIS) to study the spatial boundary accessibility of the catchment areas of P&R. This study aims to analyze the spatial boundary accessibility of the catchment areas of P&R facilities using three GIS methods. The first method uses geometric shapes to analyze the catchment areas of P&R facilities according to regular shapes, such as parabolas or circles. The market area is the second method used to analyze travel time via the tool ArcGIS Network Analyst to determine the catchment area of P&Rs. Finally, the dynamic accessibility method determines how accessible a facility can be through a study of the spatial boundary accessibility of P&Rs based on the travel time and distance between zones and P&R. The result shows that the static methods identify the spatial boundary accessibility through the calculation of the size of the shape of each P&R separately, while the dynamic method identifies the level of accessibility in detail for all P&R and also the accessibility of each zone to reach a facility. In conclusion, the dynamic accessibility method presents better accuracy than static methods in order to estimate the spatial boundary accessibility of the catchment area of P&Rs

Environmentally sustainable toll design for congested road networks with uncertain demand

This article proposes a new road toll-design model for congested road networks with uncertain demand that can be used to create a sustainable urban transportation system. For policy assessment and strategic planning purposes, the proposed model extends traditional congestion pricing models to simultaneously consider congestion and environmental externalities due to vehicular use. Based on analyses of physical and environmental capacity constraints, the boundary conditions under which a road user on a link should pay either a congestion toll or an extra environmental tax are identified. The sustainable toll design model is formulated as a two-stage robust optimization problem. The first-stage problem before the realization of the future travel demand aims to minimize a risk-averse objective by determining the optimal toll. The second stage after the uncertain travel demand has been determined is a scenario-based route choice equilibrium formulation with physical and environmental capacity constraints. A heuristic algorithm that combines the sample average approximation approach and a sensitivity analysisbased method is developed to solve the proposed model. The upper and lower bounds of the model solution are also estimated. Two numerical examples are given to show the properties of the proposed model and solution algorithm and to investigate the effects of demand variation and the importance of including risk and environmental taxation in toll design formulations. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.postprin

Optimal location and size of logistics parks in a regional logistics network with economies of scale and CO2 emission taxes

This paper proposes a model to address the design problem of a regional logistics network. In the proposed model, the decision variables include the location and size of logistics parks. The interaction between the logistics authority and logistics users as well as the effects of economies of scale and CO2 emission taxes on the logistics network design are explicitly considered. The proposed model is formulated as a bi-level formulation, in which the upper level aims to maximize total social welfare of the system by determining the optimal location and size of logistics parks with CO2 emission taxes consideration, whereas the lower level describes the logistics users’ choices for service routes. A heuristic solution algorithm is presented to solve the proposed model, and a numerical example is given to illustrate the applications of the proposed model and solution algorithm. The findings show that the optimal location and size of logistics parks depend on the realized logistics demand and the level of the economies of scale. The CO2 emission taxation can help to improve the total social welfare of the system and drive the logistics users to choose greener transportation modes. First published online 28 January 201

Modeling and optimization of multimodal urban networks with limited parking and dynamic pricing

Cruising-for-parking constraints mobility in urban networks. Car-users may have to cruise for on-street parking before reaching their destinations. The accessibility and the cost of parking significantly influence people's travel behavior (such as mode choice, or parking facility choice between on-street and garage). The cruising flow causes delays eventually to everyone, even users with destinations outside limited parking areas. It is therefore important to understand the impact of parking limitation on mobility, and to identify efficient parking policies for travel cost reduction. Most existing studies on parking fall short in reproducing the dynamic spatiotemporal features of traffic congestion in general, lack the treatment of dynamics of the cruising-for-parking phenomenon, or require detailed input data that are typically costly and difficult to collect. In this paper, we propose an aggregated and dynamic approach for modeling multimodal traffic with the treatment on parking, and utilize the approach to design dynamic parking pricing strategies. The proposed approach is based on the Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram (MFD), which can capture congestion dynamics at network-level for single-mode and bi-modal (car and bus) systems. A parsimonious parking model is integrated into the MFD-based multimodal modeling framework, where the dynamics of vehicular and passenger flows are considered with a change in the aggregated behavior (e.g. mode choice and parking facility choice) caused by cruising and congestion. Pricing strategies are developed with the objective of reducing congestion, as well as lowering the total travel cost of all users. A case study is carried out for a bi-modal city network with a congested downtown region. An elegant feedback dynamic parking pricing strategy can effectively reduce travel delay of cruising and the generic congestion. Remarkably, such strategy, which is applicable in real-time management with limited available data, is fairly as efficient as a dynamic pricing scheme obtained from system optimum conditions and a global optimization with full information about the future states of the system. Stackelberg equilibrium is also investigated in a competitive behavior between different parking facility operators. Policy indications on on-street storage capacity management and pricing are provided

A model for evaluation of transport policies in multimodal networks with road and parking capacity constraints

This paper presents a model for evaluation of transport policies in multimodal networks with road and parking capacity constraints. The proposed model simultaneously considers choices of travelers on route, parking location and mode between auto and transit. In the proposed model, it is assumed that auto drivers make a simultaneous route and parking location choice in a user equilibrium manner, and the modal split between auto and transit follows a multinomial logit formulation. A mathematical programming model with capacity constraints on road link and parking facilities is proposed that generates optimality conditions equivalent to the requirements for multimodal network equilibrium. An augmented Lagrangian dual algorithm embedded by partial linearization approach is developed to solve the proposed model. Numerical results on two example networks are presented to illustrate the proposed methodology. The results show that the service level of transit, parking charges, road link and parking capacities, and addition of a new parking location may bring significant impacts on travelers' behavior and network performance. In addition, transport policies may result in paradoxical phenomenon. © Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2007.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

A Dynamic Network Approach for Multimodal Urban Mobility:Modeling, Pricing and Control

Recent advances in traffic flow theory at the network level, namely the Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram (MFD), reveals the existence of well-defined laws of congestion dynamics at aggregated levels. The same knowledge for multimodal networks however is limited. It is critical to understand how urban space can be allocated and managed for multimodality. The objective is to develop aggregated modeling and optimization approaches, which will contribute on the knowledge of congestion dynamics in cities of different structures and mode usages, and ultimately facilitate the design of efficient and equitable urban transport policies. Building on the knowledge of the single-mode MFD theory, a bi-modal MFD model considering the effect of mode conflict is proposed for mixed networks of buses and cars. A system-level model is developed for multiple-region city network. The flow dynamics among regions are described by a regional level flow conservation law. A non-linear optimization framework is performed to optimize space allocation, minimizing the total passenger cost, given certain demand, city structure and road facility. Then, parking limitation is integrated in the proposed multi-modal system model, where vehicles cruising for parking are also integrated. The extra delay of cruising is captured by a geometric distribution related to the time-dependent parking availability and estimated at the aggregated level. The delay cost to other users is also estimated via the bi-modal MFD, and it shows the effect of cruising on all travelers who do not require parking. Optimal parking pricing policies for on-street and garage parking are obtained through the optimization framework, as well. The existence of a three-dimensional MFD (3D-MFD) for mixed bi-modal networks is investigated and analyzed via micro-traffic simulation studies. A 3D-MFD relates vehicular production of a network (flow, travel distance) to the density of cars and buses, where the impact of each mode on network performance can be directly observed. To further compare the modal impact on performance, the Bus-Car Unit equivalent value is estimated, indicating that this value is state- and mode-composition dependent rather than deterministic. In addition to the conventional vehicle-flow-based analysis, a passenger 3D-MFD is derived which provides a different perspective of the flow characteristics in bi-modal networks. Simulation study on 3D-MFD based perimeter-control shows promising performance in real-time control. The final part of the thesis concerns the MFD-controlled congestion pricing. Feedback-type control mechanisms are proposed to determine and adjust the time-dependent tolls, based on congestion level as expressed by the MFD. One pricing scheme also considers userâs adaptation to the toll cost, allowing a great flexibility in toll adjustment, and deals with the promotion of public transport usage. The performance of the pricing schemes is investigated in an existing agent-based model where the complex travel behavior in real-life is reasonably reproduced. Results demonstrate that the pricing schemes are effective in congestion reduction. Remarkably, smooth behavioral equilibrium in long-term operation is found under such pricing schemes. Furthermore, user heterogeneity with respect to value-of-time is introduced in the agent-based model. By realizing and treating this heterogeneity, pricing strategies can achieve even higher efficiency and equitable benefit

Urban Modality

This thesis proposes a framework for evaluating the mobility potential and performance of urban areas in the city region, as an instrument to support urban development that contributes positively to regional sustainable mobility objectives. The research takes a quantitative approach, modelling and measuring the characteristics of a city-region and of its individual urban areas, in terms of travel patterns and socioeconomic characteristics of the resident population, and in terms of built environment characteristics. It then explores how the built environment defines the affordances of urban areas for travelling by particular modes of transport, i.e. its walk-ability, cycleability, drive-ability and transit-ability, by developing a typology of what I call their ‘urban modality’. And finally the work combines this typology with the socio-economic characteristics of urban areas to determine their sustainable mobility potential and performance. It focuses on the case of the Randstad region of the Netherlands and its VINEX neighbourhoods, which are an emblematic example of new urban areas created under a policy programme with sustainable mobility objectives. A key stance in this work is the understanding that the location of an urban area in the region can be indicative of its population’s travel patterns, because the built environment (infrastructural) and socio-economic characteristics are interrelated and present strong regional spatial patterns. What types of urban areas support sustainable travel patterns, and what are their spatial characteristics? How do new neighbourhoods compare to the best performing urban areas, and to other areas of the same ‘modality’ type? These are some of the questions addressed in this study. There are two main contributions of this research: the methods for building and analysing integrated multimodal network models, and the framework for contextual performance evaluation using urban area typologies. The integrated multimodal network model combines the various mobility infrastructure networks and the buildings’ land use to create a detailed description of the region, using open spatial data and open source Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technologies. The network model’s spatial analysis covers local urban form indicators, such as street layout, network density and land use mix, as well as regional indicators of multimodal accessibility and network configuration (its structure), to give a holistic profile of urban areas across modes and scales of travel. The analysis results go through exploratory data mining and classification procedures to identify urban form typologies of urban areas. It is shown that there is a relation between this ‘urban modality’ of urban areas and the travel patterns of their residents, measured as a set of sustainable mobility indicators related to mode share and distance travelled. For this reason, ‘urban modality’ offers the possibility for ex-ante evaluation of sustainable mobility potential of planned urban areas. Furthermore, when combined with the socio-economic profile of the resident population, ‘urban modality’ defines a context for the ex-post evaluation of sustainable mobility performance of existing urban areas. The evaluation of suburban areas together with the more central historical urban areas gives invariably a high score in sustainable travel to the central areas, and rates the suburban areas negatively. On the other hand, the evaluation of sustainable mobility performance in the context of suburban areas of the same type allows the finer distinction of underperformers that have scope for improvement, and overachievers that provide examples of (relative) success. This contextual evaluation can become a decision support instrument for “hard” and “soft” planning measures involving sustainable mobility targets. Applying this method to the set of VINEX neighbourhoods of the Randstad leads to the conclusion that despite being planned following the same policy objectives, the neighbourhoods have different types of ‘urban modality’, thus present different levels of sustainable mobility potential. Neighbourhoods identified as underperformers within their context can be targeted for soft measures related to transport services, technology and individual attitudes to travel, to fulfil the potential of their ‘urban modality’ type. However, if this potential is not deemed satisfactory or if they already overachieve, only by retrofitting a set of infrastructure and land use characteristics will lead to a different ‘urban modality’ type, and a change in potential. Such a change can be lengthy, costly and sometimes impossible to implement ex-post. The thesis is based on a collection of published articles in peer-reviewed academic publications, with the first and last chapters providing an overview of the research and of its findings, and defining the main narrative thread