Addressing GHG emissions from land transport in a developing country

The number of motor vehicles in Malaysia is growing at a significant rate, from around 15 million in 2005 to around 25 million in 2014. Based on the National GHG Inventory as reported to UNFCC, as a whole the transport sector has consistently remained the second largest GHG emitting sector in the country, accounting for 20% of the country’s total GHG emissions in 2014 of which about 18% comes from road transportation. In this paper, a possible approach in addressing the GHG emissions from the land transport sector is presented. The avoid-shiftimprove strategy is employed to determine the possible measures to deal with mitigating the GHG emissions. Computation of GHG emissions for 2014 revealed that car is the vehicle with the biggest contribution, due to its large numbers and also VKT. Motorcycles, on the other hand, have relatively lower GHG contribution despite its huge numbers, while goods vehicle have significant GHG contribution despite its small number of vehicles. Public transport (both rail and bus) can significantly reduce GHG emission for each passenger-kilometer compared to other alternatives. Opting for smaller vehicle can also reduce GHG emissions. Another potential solution towards lower GHG emission is adoption of electric mobility and alternative fuel

Evaluation of Permanent Deformation of CRM-Reinforced SMA and Its Correlation with Dynamic Stiffness and Dynamic Creep

Today, rapid economic and industrial growth generates increasing amounts of waste materials such as waste tyre rubber. Attempts to inspire a green technology which is more environmentally friendly that can produce economic value are a major consideration in the utilization of waste materials. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of waste tyre rubber (crumb rubber modifier (CRM)), in stone mastic asphalt (SMA 20) performance. The virgin bitumen (80/100) penetration grade was used, modified with crumb rubber at four different modification levels, namely, 6%, 12%, 16%, and 20% by weight of the bitumen. The testing undertaken on the asphalt mix comprises the indirect tensile (dynamic stiffness), dynamic creep, and wheel tracking tests. By the experimentation, the appropriate amount of CRM was found to be 16% by weight of bitumen. The results show that the addition of CRM into the mixture has an obvious significant effect on the performance properties of SMA which could improve the mixture's resistance against permanent deformation. Further, higher correlation coefficient was obtained between the rut depth and permanent strain as compared to resilient modulus; thus dynamic creep test might be a more reliable test in evaluating the rut resistance of asphalt mixture

UTILIZATION OF WASTE PLASTIC BOTTLES IN ASPHALT MIXTURE

Nowadays, large amounts of waste materials are being produced in the world. One of the waste materials is plastic bottle. Generating disposable plastic bottles is becoming a major problem in many countries. Using waste plastic as a secondary material in construction projects would be a solution to overcome the crisis of producing large amount of waste plastics in one hand and improving the structure’s characteristics such as resistance against cracking on the other hand. This study aimed to investigate the effects of adding plastic bottles in road pavement. Marshall properties as well as specific gravity of asphalt mixture containing different percentages of plastic bottles were evaluated. Besides, Optimum Asphalt Content (OAC) was calculated for each percentages of plastic bottles used in the mix. The stiffness and fatigue characteristics of mixture were assessed at OAC value. Results showed that the stability and flow values of asphalt mixture increased by adding waste crushed plastic bottle into the asphalt mixture. Further, it was shown that the bulk specific gravity and stiffness of mixtures increased by adding lower amount of plastic bottles; however, adding higher amounts of plastic resulted in lower specific gravity and mix stiffness. In addition, it was concluded that the mixtures containing waste plastic bottles have lower OAC values compared to the conventional mixture, and this may reduce the amount of asphalt binder can be used in road construction projects. Besides, the mixtures containing waste plastic showed significantly greater fatigue resistance than the conventional mixture

Degree of Vehicle Overloading and its Implication on Road Safety in Developing Countries

The phenomenon of vehicle overloading is not new and has been discussed in relation to the adverse effects on road pavement damage, road safety and GHG emission. Although much has been said in the context of the more developed countries, there has not been much discussion on vehicle overloading in developing countries. In this study, the extent and degree of vehicle overloading in a developing country is established. Half of the 3-axle trucks were found to be overloaded and the degree of overloading is up to 101% of its legal weight limit! The effect of truck overloading on safety is discussed by establishing the relationship between truck stopping distance and gross vehicle weight for a certain travel speed. Comparison between actual overloading data for 2-axle, 3-axle and 4-axle trucks and the stopping distance illustrates the gravity of the situation which needs a comprehensive and effective strategy from the relevant agencies. Keywords: Road Safety, Vehicle Overloading, Traffic Accidents, Weigh-in-Motion, Stopping Distanc

Analysis of Feeder Bus Network Design and Scheduling Problems

A growing concern for public transit is its inability to shift passenger’s mode from private to public transport. In order to overcome this problem, a more developed feeder bus network and matched schedules will play important roles. The present paper aims to review some of the studies performed on Feeder Bus Network Design and Scheduling Problem (FNDSP) based on three distinctive parts of the FNDSP setup, namely, problem description, problem characteristics, and solution approaches. The problems consist of different subproblems including data preparation, feeder bus network design, route generation, and feeder bus scheduling. Subsequently, descriptive analysis and classification of previous works are presented to highlight the main characteristics and solution methods. Finally, some of the issues and trends for future research are identified. This paper is targeted at dealing with the FNDSP to exhibit strategic and tactical goals and also contributes to the unification of the field which might be a useful complement to the few existing reviews

Preliminary Study on Parking Control System for Proposed Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Area: Implementation Potential in Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ), Malaysia

Abstract: Rapid growth in the urbanised area presents many transportation and land use challenges for local and regional policy makers. As part of the key role in land use accessibility, parking management system is of significant importance to travelers making their travel decisions. It affects such diverse travel decisions as mode choice, trip destination choice and trip frequency. Transit Oriented Development (TOD) which offers a mix development of residential, retail, office and open space can respond to these challenges by supporting transit use. The combination of local pedestrian environment with access to CBD by transit would reduce the number of private vehicle dependency that will promote more environmentally friendly and sociable lifestyles. This study tries to look into the potential of parking control system in restricting the use of private vehicle within the proposed TOD area in Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ), Selangor, Malaysia