A Worldwide State-of-the-Art Analysis for Bus Rapid Transit: Looking for the Success Formula

This paper’s intended contribution, in terms of providing an additional angle in the existing Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) state-of-the-art knowledge spectrum, is a dual one. On the one hand, it provides a detailed description of the mode, re-defining BRT as an overall concept by identifying, discussing, and categorizing in a systematic way its strengths and its weaknesses in comparison with rail-based solutions and conventional bus services. On the other hand, it presents in detail a number of selected scheme-oriented applications from around the world, looking into some of the basic ingredients behind BRT’s success (or failure) stories. This is a scientific effort that could inform the reader about the current status of BRT internationally and about the challenges and opportunities that exist when trying to materialize BRT’s potential as an effective urban passenger solution that could challenge the merits of more conventional mass-transit options

The Implementation of Financing Strategies in Urban Rapid Transit Infrastructure: How Could Chinese Cities Do Better?

Urban rapid transit infrastructure have been expanding at an exploding speed in Mainland China. Government subsidy used to be the sole fiscal support to the transit development for a long time. Now the government is facing enormous burden to support the expansion on its own. The major problems are the shortage of construction and revenue-expenditure gap in funding. Therefore, the municipalities are seeking to introduce foreign financing strategies to the transit funding to build a more profitable financing platform. Hong Kong MTR has been a popular model among mainland cities for its “Rail + Property” model and efficient internal management. However, under current context, it is really difficult to completely copy the success of Hong Kong. Therefore, the implementation has shown several variations. Beijing Metro adds a parallel system to the existing one, which are under the operation of Public-Private Partnership with Hong Kong MTR Company. Wuhan, while paving the avenue for “Rail + Property”, employed Finance Lease to utilize the existing facilities to collect construction funding, which made time for property auction and development adjunct to and atop of the transit line. In analyzing the implementation process of the two cases, the thesis found out the strategies of implementing financing strategies in Chinese mainland cities, and illustrated the context and the incentives for the variations. By reviewing the case of Wuhan and Beijing, the thesis analyzed how the two cities made localized adaptions, their contracts in the two implementations, and the key part that contributed to reaching the expected effects. In finding a working principal from these two cases, the thesis also analyzed the problems in implementation caused by the government role, the financing platform of metro company, and the mechanism of implementation

Methodology for urban rail and construction technology research and development planning

A series of transit system visits, organized by the American Public Transit Association (APTA), was conducted in which the system operators identified the most pressing development needs. These varied by property and were reformulated into a series of potential projects. To assist in the evaluation, a data base useful for estimating the present capital and operating costs of various transit system elements was generated from published data. An evaluation model was developed which considered the rate of deployment of the research and development project, potential benefits, development time and cost. An outline of an evaluation methodology that considered benefits other than capital and operating cost savings was also presented. During the course of the study, five candidate projects were selected for detailed investigation; (1) air comfort systems; (2) solid state auxiliary power conditioners; (3) door systems; (4) escalators; and (5) fare collection systems. Application of the evaluation model to these five examples showed the usefulness of modeling deployment rates and indicated a need to increase the scope of the model to quantitatively consider reliability impacts

Automated Transit Networks (ATN): A Review of the State of the Industry and Prospects for the Future, MTI Report 12-31

The concept of Automated Transit Networks (ATN) - in which fully automated vehicles on exclusive, grade-separated guideways provide on-demand, primarily non-stop, origin-to-destination service over an area network – has been around since the 1950s. However, only a few systems are in current operation around the world. ATN does not appear “on the radar” of urban planners, transit professionals, or policy makers when it comes to designing solutions for current transit problems in urban areas. This study explains ATN technology, setting it in the larger context of Automated Guideway Transit (AGT); looks at the current status of ATN suppliers, the status of the ATN industry, and the prospects of a U.S.-based ATN industry; summarizes and organizes proceedings from the seven Podcar City conferences that have been held since 2006; documents the U.S./Sweden Memorandum of Understanding on Sustainable Transport; discusses how ATN could expand the coverage of existing transit systems; explains the opportunities and challenges in planning and funding ATN systems and approaches for procuring ATN systems; and concludes with a summary of the existing challenges and opportunities for ATN technology. The study is intended to be an informative tool for planners, urban designers, and those involved in public policy, especially for urban transit, to provide a reference for history and background on ATN, and to use for policy development and research

Promoting Intermodal Connectivity at California’s High Speed Rail Stations

High-speed rail (HSR) has emerged as one of the most revolutionary and transformative transportation technologies, having a profound impact on urban-regional accessibility and inter-city travel across Europe, Japan, and more recently China and other Asian countries. One of HSR’s biggest advantages over air travel is that it offers passengers a one-seat ride into the center of major cities, eliminating time-consuming airport transfers and wait times, and providing ample opportunities for intermodal transfers at these locales. Thus, HSR passengers are typically able to arrive at stations that are only a short walk away from central business districts and major tourist attractions, without experiencing any of the stress that car drivers often experience in negotiating such highly congested environments. Such an approach requires a high level of coordination and planning of the infrastructural and spatial aspects of the HSR service, and a high degree of intermodal connectivity. But what key elements can help the US high-speed rail system blend successfully with other existing rail and transit services? That question is critically important now that high-speed rail is under construction in California. The study seeks to understand the requirements for high levels of connectivity and spatial and operational integration of HSR stations and offer recommendations for seamless, and convenient integrated service in California intercity rail/HSR stations. The study draws data from a review of the literature on the connectivity, intermodality, and spatial and operational integration of transit systems; a survey of 26 high-speed rail experts from six different European countries; and an in-depth look of the German and Spanish HSR systems and some of their stations, which are deemed as exemplary models of station connectivity. The study offers recommendations on how to enhance both the spatial and the operational connectivity of high-speed rail systems giving emphasis on four spatial zones: the station, the station neighborhood, the municipality at large, and the region

Institutional and organizational features of cross-border cargo traffic in the post-soviet space integration terms. Part I

The article covers the technical, technological, institutional, and organizational barriers of cross-border transportation of cargo. The study uses an institutional approach as a methodological alternative to other approaches. The study touches on institutional and organizational problems of border crossing checkpoints arrangement, the consequences of the application of unified transport documents and the introduction of electronic communication forms. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of demonstrative actions and the daily practice of reducing the time of customs procedures and reducing transaction costs of cross-border cargo traffic. Herewith it is indicated that the most effective way to improve the efficiency of cross-border transportation of cargo suggests simultaneous implementation of technical and institutional innovations. Emphasis is placed on identifying the institutional and organizational features of the international road transportation of cargo, in particular, the problems of the evolution of the guaranteed customs duties payment institute, the permission system in the implementation of cross-border cargo traffic. The fact that the state support of national entrepreneurs requires a mechanism to ensure the parity of Russian and foreign carriers, at least in the field of cargo transportation for state needs, with the involvement of credit resources of government-linked banks is highlighted. It is underlined that the first step towards improving the institutional environment of international road transportation should envisage the elimination of all informal (shadow) relations in this sphere. The article identifies institutional features of cargo transportation in specific areas such as deliveries by road to China through Kazakhstan, and the challenges and prospects for the use and development of transit potential of Kaliningrad Region. The article shows institutional and organizational characteristics of combined transportation in cross-border traffic. The article concludes that the development of cross-border transportation of cargo and the implementation of transport and transit potential of EAEU member states may and should become a powerful source of income for business entities, budgets of all levels and households, as well as the driving force of industrial and technological upgrading and institutional and organizational evolution of economic systems of the countries and integration associations.The article has been prepared with the support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Project № 15-06-06939 a «Modelling the cyclical evolution of mutual influence of the national transport system and the state of the markets of goods (services), labor and capital in terms of integration and global instability»)

Integrated Multimodal Transportation Dashboard

Na área dos sistemas de transportes atualmente existem vários sistemas inteligentes que permitem a monitorização, controlo e outras funções relevantes para um dado tipo de transportes. Entretanto, o tratamento individualizado dos diferentes modos, não favorece a geração de políticas e mecanismos integrados de gestão de transporte multimodal; são pouquíssimas as soluções que juntam diferentes tipos de transportes numa só aplicação. Surgiu, portanto, a necessidade dum painel de monitorização multimodal, que permitirá unir vários tipos de sistemas de transportes e fornecerá a visão geral para a observação se todos os sistemas estão funcionais e operantes a um nível de serviço aceitável. Uma vez que tais sistemas fornecem serviços e dados de alcance diferente e com os níveis de qualidade e detalhes variáveis, a detecção de funcionamento abnormal dum sistema é um desafio que requer a identificação, aplicação, adaptação ou criação de métricas de funcionamento normal para cada sistema de transportes, tendo como base os dados fornecidos por protocolos utilizados por ITSs integrados na solução. Este problema é abordado por projeto "Integrated Multimodal Transportation Dashboard" ou Painel Integrado de Monitorização de Transportes Multimodais em Portugues que tem como objetivo a elaboração dum protótipo funcional de uma ferramenta para a monitorização de transportes multimodais.At present time there exist various intelligent systems in Transportation area that permit monitoring, control and other relevant functionalities for a given transport means. However, individual solutions for different transport means don't favor multimodal transport management; there are a very few solutions that combine different transport types in one application. Therefore, a need for a multimodal supervision dashboard arouse - a dashboard that would permit to combine transportation systems of different types and that would provide a comprehensive view in order to observe whether all the systems are functional and operating at an acceptable Level of Service (LOS). Since these systems supply services and data of different scope and varied detail and quality levels, the detection of an abnormal functioning of a certain transportation system is a challenge. It requires identification, application, adaptation or creation of metrics for each transportation system functioning. The metrics should be based on the data supplied by the protocols used by the ITSs integrated in the solution. This problem is addressed by the project "Integrated Multimodal Transportation Dashboard" and has as an aim the elaboration of a functional prototype of a tool for the monitoring of multimodal transports