Boosting livability requires providing transportation options that give individuals the ability to choose when and how they travel. Innovative M&O strategies can improve service reliability and help reduce congestion, improving the quality of travel for everyone.
We study the onset of congestion in multilayer networks where individuals change line along links with a time penalty (the walking layer) in addition to vehicle capacity constraints.
1. Connecting Communities
Large-scale transportation systems are complex and highly dynamic. Managing traffic flow and optimizing operations for safety, reliability, and efficiency is a challenge. But it’s also an opportunity to support livability, sustainability, and economic development in our communities. By incorporating strategies from each of the fundamentals, we can transform our transportation system to one that supports a range of mobility choices for all citizens.
The availability of data on human movement has facilitated, more than ever, the study of transportation systems. The research community can leverage this data to address critical questions related to livability and sustainable mobility, including travel time reliability, congestion mitigation, and the effects of emerging transportation technologies on society.
With transportation costs representing the second highest household expenditure, it is vital to provide households with a choice of affordable modes of transport that enable them to meet their daily needs on foot or bicycle, in public transit, or by car. To do so, cities need to provide a mix of infrastructure and operations that can be tailored to local conditions. In some cases, this may involve disincentives to through traffic to preserve quiet streets in residential neighborhoods or incentives for more pedestrians to help support town centers and local businesses. 大規模修繕
In other cases, it may involve providing real-time information about arrival times on a given route or at a specific stop that can be used to plan and execute trips. This could be done through displays in stations and bus stops, mobile apps, or text message systems. In all cases, it can help reduce uncertainty and perceived wait times and increase the likelihood that riders will make the trip.
From a computational standpoint, it is important that the simulation model can be solved in a reasonable amount of time for the purpose of real-time operation. The current literature focuses on reducing the computational time without compromising solution quality. To do so, this study develops a clustering framework that separates the transportation network into multiple layers based on vehicle and request locations. Each layer is then solved with an LP or ILP model to quickly match vehicles and requests.
3. Creating Jobs
In the developed world and in many developing countries, a dependable transport system is essential to economic development. Without a functioning, affordable, and sustainable transport system, people can’t access jobs, which leads to limited opportunity and poverty. Moreover, poor transportation systems and unsustainable urban sprawl make commuting costly, forcing low-income households to spend up to 30 per cent of their income on travel costs. Efficient, well-designed, and affordable public transit systems can help alleviate this problem by reducing transport costs and providing better accessibility to jobs.
During periods of financial stress, politicians often prescribe infrastructure investments intended to stimulate the economy in the short term by creating construction employment and foster longer-term economic growth by making the transport system more efficient. However, the results can be mixed. In the worst cases, projects may be wealth consuming rather than wealth-producing. For example, if they rely on costly technologies that are not proven to be effective, or service market sizes that are too small to produce significant economies of scale, they can be counterproductive, draining resources instead of increasing them.
By contrast, if the investment is wise from a productivity perspective, and can start quickly to move the economy back toward full employment, it can be highly productive in both the short and long run. In particular, investments in transportation can benefit from the fact that they can boost productivity by improving the availability of inputs (raw materials, parts, energy), expanding markets for diverse outputs (intermediate and finished goods), and facilitating labor market flows, particularly within a region. 大規模修繕
In addition, smart transportation investments can promote efficiency by minimizing wasted movement of both vehicles and passengers, and by reducing delays that increase the cost of travel. They can also promote livability by promoting multimodality, allowing passengers to switch modes during their trip to meet the needs of different travel purposes. In addition, a high degree of information flow can reduce congestion and uncertainty about arrival times, and allow passengers to plan accordingly. For example, a transit system that displays real-time information on upcoming bus and train departures can help passengers know when to leave home to avoid traffic congestion.
4. Reducing Carbon Emissions
One of the most important goals of modern transportation systems is to reduce carbon emissions. In the United States, the personal automobile is the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions, with each gallon of gas creating 20 pounds of CO2. Other sources of greenhouse gases include the production of vehicles and their parts, and the food that bicyclists and pedestrians consume during their commutes.
Various technologies are being developed to reduce these harmful emissions, including alternative fuels and electric vehicles, which use less fossil fuel than traditional cars. However, it is still necessary to reduce overall traffic and energy demand to decrease carbon emissions. This can be accomplished by improving urban design, encouraging modal shift, and developing innovative traffic management strategies.
A large number of countries and regions have committed to achieving carbon neutrality, and the transport sector has an important role in that effort. One way to achieve this goal is by shifting from cars and airplanes to buses, coaches, rail, and other public transit modes that have lower GHG emissions per passenger-kilometer.
Another way to reduce carbon emissions is by using intelligent transportation systems (ITS). ITS is an umbrella term for technologies that improve safety, efficiency, and accessibility in the transport system through real-time data collection, communication, and control. ITS includes everything from smart intersections and advanced traffic management to road pricing and automated vehicle guidance.
The ITS industry also has been working to develop dynamic ride-sharing models that can help reduce the number of vehicles on the road and their associated GHG emissions. These models are similar to the door-to-door services provided by taxi companies. In these models, a driver matches trip requests with drivers based on their location, speed, and distance from the rider’s destination.
In order to be effective, these systems must be able to process thousands of trips in real time. They must be able to assign drivers and passengers in an efficient manner, and they must be able to handle a variety of conditions such as traffic congestion and route availability.
Besides the technological solutions, people can take personal action to reduce their own carbon footprints. For example, by carpooling with just one other person, individuals can eliminate the need for a single vehicle on the road and cut their carbon emissions by half. The City of Seattle is working on over 130 actions to reduce greenhouse gases, and every individual can help by taking simple steps like biking or walking to work. This can help reduce traffic and congestion, save money, and improve air quality.