MODELING LEVEL-OF-SERVICE FACTORS IN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ROUTE CHOICE

A combined revealed preference (RP) and stated preference (SP) survey that was done in the Helsinki, Finland, metropolitan area to reveal the importance of different level-of-service (LOS) factors in public transportation is described. The study was done as a route choice survey between origin-destination zone pairs with two route alternatives that had differences in total travel time, number of transfers, possibility of getting a seat, walking and waiting times, and fare. A separate SP game of transfer environment was also done. The SP study was undertaken among the RP respondents. The levels of the SP attributes were tailored according to the trip in the RP survey. The RP and SP data were analyzed together using structured-tree-type logit models to adjust the variances in different data sets. According to the study results one transfer equals about 10 min of door-to-door travel time, and passengers are willing to travel 15 min longer to get a seat for the trip. The experiences from the use of a tailored postal survey in a SP study were quite positive. However, regardless of study method a very careful definition of the attributes and attribute levels is needed. The results of the survey are quite in line with other similar studies reported in the literature and give an estimate of the passenger response to the public transportation LOS attributes included in the study

Assessing the impact of integrated traus modal urban transport pricing on modal split

There is increasing interest in the use of pricing measures to improve the efficiency of urban transport systems. In particular, pricing is often seen as a key element in strategies designed to bring about changes in modal split, encouraging the use of public transport while attempting to restrain use of the private car. The European Commission, as part of the Urban Transport sub-programme of the 4 the Framework Transport Programme (Pricing and Financing Section), has funded Project TransPrice (Trans-Modal Integrated Urban Transport Pricing for Optimum Modal Split) which aims to address the issue of integrated trans-modal transport pricing, towards achieving optimum modal split and relieving congestion in urban areas. This paper reports the results of travel behaviour research and simulation modelling for a series of alternative trans-modal pricing and integrated payment scenarios, drawing from work carded out in eight European cities. The range of pricing measures considered covers road use charging (including cordon pricing, area licensing and expressway tolls), public transport fares and parking charges. The broader strategies involve the introduction of integrated transport payment systems (including smart card technology) and enhanced travel conditions for those changing mode (including park- and-ride, public transport priorities and HOV lanes)

ICT Infrastructures for Environmental and Earth Sciences

E-Infrastructures play an increasingly important part in the provision of digital services to environmental researchers and other users. The availability of reliable networks, storage facilities, high performance and high throughput computers and associated middleware and services to ease their utilisation all contribute to enabling research and its exploitation. Their relevance, possible use and utilisation to date are described

Intelligent transportation system with diverse semi-autonomous vehicles

It is becoming increasingly likely that in the future most vehicles will be semi-autonomous with communication capabilities and will possess diverse speed capabilities. The aim of this paper is to describe the creation of an integrated traffic simulation system for such settings. While behaviours such as crossing, overtaking, etc. are trivially exhibited, the implemented system includes an intelligent traffic lights operating system, dynamic speed limits for speed lanes, lane reservation, road reservation, density regularization or traffic jam avoidance, replanning for blockages and re-routing under slow traffic conditions