Decision making process and factors routing

Thesis (S.M. in Transportation)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2013.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (pages 124-131).This research studies the decision-making process and the factors that affect truck routing. The data collection involved intercept interviews with truck drivers at three rest area and truck stops along major highways in North America. The computerized survey solicited information on truck routing decisions, the identity of the decision-makers, the factors that affect routing and sources of information consulted in making these decisions. Stated Preferences (SP) experiments were conducted, where drivers' choice behaviour between two hypothetical scenarios were observed and modeled. 252 drivers completed the survey, yielding 1121 valid SP observations. This data was used to study the identity of routing decision makers for various driver segments and the sources of information used both in pre-trip planning and en-route. A random effects logit model was estimated using the SP data. The results show that there are significant differences in the route choice decision-making process among various driver segments, and that these decisions are affected by multiple factors beyond travel time and cost. These factors include shipping and driver employment terms, such as the method of calculation of pay and bearing of fuel costs and tolls.by Yichen Sun.S.M.in Transportatio

Motor Carrier Scheduling Practices and Their Influence on Driver Fatigue

The primary objective of this report is to develop a better understanding of how the scheduling practices of motor carrier firms affect driver fatigue. The basis of this empirical research is a commercial driver fatigue model that includes driving environment (i.e., regularity of time, trip control, and quality of rest), economic pressures exerted on drivers (from customers, carriers, and the drivers themselves) and company safety practices as key factors in explaining driver fatigue. The model utilizes two measures of fatigue: frequency of close calls due to fatigue and driver perceptions of fatigue as a problem. Crash involvement is used to evaluate general safety performance. Three separate studies were conducted. First, the influence of driving environments alone on fatigue among over-the-road truck drivers was tested through a survey of 502 drivers at five geographically dispersed truck stops. A typology of driving environments was developed and the percent of drivers in each category was determined. It was found that a large number of drivers are in the “high fatigue risk” categories. Regression analysis identified starting the work week tired and longer than expected loading and unloading time as significantly related to both measures of fatigue. Regularity of time, regularity of route, and hours of uninterrupted sleep were each statistically significant factors for one fatigue measure. Next, the complete model was tested on a random sample of 279 drivers at 116 trucking companies and 122 drivers at 66 motor coach companies, which was then stratified on the basis of safety performance (i.e., SAFESTAT ratings). Data for these two studies were generated from surveys of drivers, safety directors, dispatchers, and top management at the sample firms. In the truck company study, starting the workweek tired was the single most significant factor related to fatigue. Other significant fatigue-influencing factors were difficulty in finding a place to rest and shippers’ and receivers’ scheduling requirements (including loading and unloading). Company safety practices that mitigated driver fatigue were carrier assistance with loading and unloading, carrier efforts to minimize nighttime driving, and driver voluntary attendance at corporate safety and training meetings. In the motor coach company study, the most significant factors related to driver fatigue were starting the work week tired, driving tired to make a good income, and pressure on drivers to accept trips. Two safety measures – drivers’ perceptions of their company’s safe drivingculture and policies, or attempts to minimize nighttime driving – mitigated some of the factors that adversely affect driver fatigue

Algorithms for bundling and pricing trucking services: Deterministic and stochastic approaches

Bundling and pricing trucking services is an important strategic decision for carriers. This is helpful when they consider the incorporation of new businesses to their networks, look for economic and optimal operations, and develop revenue management strategies. Reverse combinatorial auctions for trucking services are real-world examples that illustrate the necessity of such strategies. In these auctions, a shipper asks carriers for quotes to serve combinations of lanes and the carriers have to bundle demand and price it properly. This dissertation explores several dimensions of the problem employing state-of-the-art analytical tools. These dimensions include: Truckload (TL) and less-than-truckload (LTL) operations, behavioral attributes driving the selection of trucking services, and consideration of deterministic and stochastic demand. Analytical tools include: advanced econometrics, network modeling, statistical network analysis, combinatorial optimization, and stochastic optimization. The dissertation is organized as follows. Chapter 1 introduces the problem and related concepts. Chapter 2 studies the attributes driving the selection of trucking services and proposes an econometric model to quantify the shipper willingness to pay using data from a discrete choice experiment. Chapter 3 proposes an algorithm for demand clustering in freight logistics networks using historical data from TL carriers. Chapter 4 develops an algorithmic approach for pricing and demand segmentation of bundles in TL combinatorial auctions. Chapter 5 expands the latter framework to consider stochastic demand. Chapter 6 uses an analytical approach to demonstrate the benefits of in-vehicle consolidation for LTL carriers. Finally, Chapter 7 proposes an algorithm for pricing and demand segmentation of bundles in LTL combinatorial auctions that accounts for stochastic demand. This research provides meaningful negotiation guidance for shippers and carriers, which is supported by quantitative methods. Likewise, numerical experiments demonstrate the benefits and efficiencies of the proposed algorithms, which are transportation modeling contributions

Railroad Deregulation and Rail Rates: A Disaggregated Analysis

This investigation first provides a highly disaggregated study of deregulated railroad rates for seventeen commodities. The results indicate that the Staggers Rail Act fundamentally altered the way in which rail carriers price their services. Rates now adhere more closely to incurred costs and exhibit a heightened sensitivity to the presence of both intermodal and intramodal competition. The model is then extended to accommodate the possibility of shipper responses to changed carrier behavior. The results of this extension suggest that shippers have responded eagerly to altered railroad behavior by changing the characteristics of their shipments. Together, the changes in railroad behavior and shipper responses to these changes have produced lower railroad rates for the movement of many commodities. At the same time, there is no evidence that rates for even a single commodity have been made higher by deregulation

Highway Safety Research, Development, and Technology Transfer

Late in 1987, the Federal Highway Administration assembled a seven-member panel which, guided by a primary contractor, Harrison Boyd & Associates, was charged with the task of developing a recommended five-year research, development, and technology transfer program for highway safety starting in the 1990s. As a part of the task, each panel member prepared an individual position paper to stimulate and focus panel discussions and, ultimately, to provide the basis for a consensus paper. This represents one such individual paper. Although it is believed that significant safety gains can be achieved in the 1990s and beyond simply by more extensive implementation of known and proven crash countermeasures, this position paper focuses on research activity, the generation or extension of information related to the enhancement of road safety. Quantum improvement in road safety as a result of highly focused new research appears unlikely. Accordingly, in the quest to achieve significant additional gains, the recommended approach tackles the road safety problem on a broad front, examining a wide variety of factors contributing to travel hazard and building incrementally on existing knowledge. Furthermore, emphasis has been placed on activities likely to yield results that, if implemented, could be expected to generate short-term gains, perhaps within a period as short as five or fewer years. Certainly no claim can ever be made that a specific research program will generate knowledge adequate to sustain high levels of travel safety over long periods of time. The recommended five-year research program is simply an immediate, short-term phase of a continuing process that seeks to retain or enhance a high level of personal safety in face of endless changes in human activity patterns and the highway systems built to accommodate them

Quantification of the Business Benefits of Positive Train Control

The purpose of this analysis is to quantify the \u201cbusiness benefits\u201d of Positive Train Control (PTC for the Class I freight railroad industry1. Positive Train Control is a concept, rather than a single technology or system. It can include many different capabilities, covering a range of railroad functions. The three components of PTC are the on-board computer (OBC) with Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) location capability, a dedicated wireless digital data link between locomotives and a control center, and the central office hardware and software at the control center

The Existence and Use of Benefit Segments in the Irish Sea Ferry Market

In the last thirty years segmentation has been recognised as a fundamental concept in the understanding of a market. This research undertakes a benefit segmentation of the passenger and freight, sea and air transport markets between Great Britain and Ireland (both Northern Ireland and Eire). In so doing, two areas which have been under-researched are addressed; segmentation in a transport market and the Irish sea passenger and freight market. The dominant features of the Irish sea passenger and freight markets are identified; seasonality in the passenger market and imbalance in the freight market. The concept of segmentation is applied to the short-sea passenger and freight market and a conceptual model for the research is developed. Extensive data collection in the passenger markets takes place over a twelve month period. Four surveys are conducted on board ferries (on the Larne- Stranraer, Holyhead-DunLaoghaire and Fishguard-Rosslare routes) and in airport departure lounges (Belfast City airport, Belfast International airport and Dublin airport) at three monthly intervals. Two postal surveys are conducted in the freight market, one addressed to shippers of goods and the other to carriers. Two sets of analyses are conducted. The first is concerned with presenting an overall profile of the markets and identifying areas where differences occur in the markets. This structural variation is found to exist in the ferry passenger market and to a lesser extent, in the air passenger market. The second set of analyses undertakes a benefit segmentation of the markets. Benefit segments (groups of passengers and freight customers who choose the service for similar reasons) are constructed for car and foot passengers on each route, business and non-business passengers at each airport, freight shippers, freight agents purchasing air transport services and freight agents purchasing sea transport services. The differing transport service needs of the segments are discussed and comparisons made. The segments are profiled in terms of independent variables. Travel behaviour, buying behaviour and demographic characteristics are used to profile segments in the passenger market. Product characteristics, transport service characteristics and company characteristics are used to profile benefit segments in the freight market. The benefit segments may be used to guide resource allocation for the ferry company by suggesting how the results of the benefit segmentation may influence the marketing mix variables.Sealink Stena Line Ltd

An Empirical Analysis of Factors Affecting Autonomous Truck Adoption

Autonomous vehicles have the potential to revolutionize the transportation industry. The segment of truck transportation is no exception. Autonomous vehicles have the potential to improve trucking safety, to increase shipping velocity, and to decrease costs. Additionally, autonomous trucks could be an important tool to help alleviate the ongoing driver shortage that the trucking industry is contending with. Autonomous truck adoption is not guaranteed. Transportation equipment decisions are market-based, and autonomous trucks must present a compelling business case to transportation professionals. As such, it is imperative to understand the decision-making factors that drive transportation solution adoption, and how autonomous trucks could take advantage of those factors to be a competitive force in the transportation marketplace. It is also important to understand the potential effects that autonomous trucks could have on industry as well, so that companies can develop contingency plans to deal with these effects. This study uses Grounded Theory to analyze semi-structured interviews with twelve professionals from the transportation industry. A conceptual model detailing major factors that affect transportation decisions and propositions about autonomous trucks\u27 effects on industry are presented, along with a discussion. The dissertation concludes with an identification of avenues of future research to further the information uncovered in this study, and to address its limitations