Thesis (MScEng)--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: It is argued that an understanding of variability is central to the modelling of travel behaviour and the assessment of policy impacts and is not the peripheral issue that it has often been considered. There is a growing need to assess multi-day data to assess the distribution of user charges for road pricing, or patterns of public transport usage as well as improve the ability to identify mechanisms behind travel behaviour for modelling purposes. Drawing on studies worldwide, in conjunction with a review of the literature, the thesis first examines the relevance for using multi-day data, then discusses the methodology and results of a five week survey undertaken specifically for this study, makes a comparison of the findings with that observed in other studies, and finally discusses issues relating to the application of the data and future research possibilities. Previous studies have shown that behaviour which makes up the daily travel pattern can be highly repetitious in nature but that observing an individual’s behaviour on a single day might not be representative of their routine travel and that this behaviour varies across demographic segments and driver gender. This paper examines day-to-day travel behaviour variability of a residential area, Summer Greens, located in Cape Town (South Africa) using a travel dataset collected recently in November/December 2006. The survey technique employed was the recording of numberplates of all exiting vehicles from 06:00 to 10:00, weekdays from Monday to Friday over a period of five weeks. A total of 5677 vehicles undergoing 44 743 trips was observed and analysed. This research replicates and extends previous work dealing with day-to-day variability in trip-making behaviour that was conducted with data collected by Del Mistro and Behrens (2006) in Buitengracht Street, Cape Town CBD, in July/August 2005. The present research extends the earlier work by including departure time variations as well as conducting the observations during both a school period (3 weeks) and consecutive holiday period (2 weeks). Further, the thesis presents a method to measure day-to-day variability using the available data surveyed. This thesis finds a considerable difference in school and holiday traffic volumes as expected, but that despite this, certain identical travel behaviour patterns (such as vehicle appearance frequencies, following week repeat proportions etc.) is observed during both these periods. It was found that the peak hour for both school and holiday periods occurred during the same time period and greater traffic volume variability was found to occur on Fridays during the holiday period than in the school period. Traffic volumes across all weeks appeared to decrease from Monday to Wednesday and “bounce back” on Thursday and Friday consistent with the findings of another international study. It was found that motorists exhibited more departure time freedom during the holiday period with average holiday departure times much later than during the school period. Departure times were also observed to gradually become later from Monday to Friday during both the school and holiday periods with Thursday and Friday departure times significantly different to the other weekdays. The proportion of unique vehicles observed was found to increase with time of day and the resulting impact of this on the effectiveness of Variable Message Sign (VMS) applications is also discussed. The research concludes by applying the findings to determine the impact of a hypothetical congestion pricing scheme on traffic volumes. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die argument is dat ‘n begrip vir variasie sentraal staan tot die modellering van reisgedrag en die assessering van beleidsimiplikasies, en is dus nie net n nagedagte soos wat gereeld gedink word nie. Daar is ‘n toenemende behoefte om multi-dag data te analiseer om die verspreiding in gebruikerskostes te bestudeer vir die waardasie van paaie, of om verhoudings in publieke vervoergebruik uit te lig, asook, vir die verbetering van die vermoë om die meganismes agter reisgedrag te identifiseer vir modelleringsdoeleindes. Die tesis bestudeer eerstens die relevansie van die gebruik van multi-dag data in samewerking met die literatuurstudie, gebaseer op studies wêreldwyd onderneem. Tweedens bespreek dit die metodologieë en resultate van ‘n vyf-week lange opname wat spesifiek vir hierdie studie onderneem is en tref vergelykings met die resultate verkry deur vorige studies. Dit bespreek dan die probleme wat voortspruit uit die toepassing van die data en ook toekomstige moontlikhede tot verdere navorsing. Vorige studies het getoon dat die gedrag wat tydens daaglikse reispatrone voorkom van nature hoogs herhaaldelik is. Wanneer ‘n individu se gedrag observeer word op ‘n enkele dag is dit egter nie noodwendig verteenwoordigend van sy/haar roetine reisgedrag nie en dat hierdie gedrag afhanklik is van demografiese faktore en die geslag van die bestuurder. Hierdie tesis bespreek die variasie in dag-tot-dag reisgedrag van ‘n residensiële gebied, Summer Greens, in Kaapstad (RSA) deur gebruik te maak van ‘n datastel wat onlangs saamgestel is (November/Desember 2006). Die data is ingesamel deur ‘n opname te doen van die nommerplate van alle uitgaande voertuie tussen 06:00 en 10:00, weeksdae van Maandag tot Vrydag, oor ‘n periode van vyf weke. A totale aantal voertuie van 5677 wat 44 743 ritte onderneem het, is waargeneem en ‘n analise is uitgevoer. Die navorsing herhaal en brei uit op vorige werk wat die dag-tot-dag variasie in ritopwekking bestudeer. Del Mistro en Behrens (2006) het data bestudeer wat ingesamel is in Julie/Augustus 2005 in Buitengrachtstraat, in die Kaapse Middestad (RSA). Die huidige navorsing brei uit op hierdie werk deur die variasie in vertrektyd in te sluit asook om waarnemings te doen tydens die skoolperiode (3 weke) en die daaropvolgende vakansieperiode (2 weke). ‘n Metode word ook aangebied om die dag-tot-dag variasie te meet deur middel van die beskikbare data wat ingesamel is. Hierdie tesis vind ‘n merkwaardige verskil in die skool en vakansie verkeersvolumes, soos verwag kan word, maar ten spyte daarvan bestaan daar sekere identiese reisgedragspatrone (byvoorbeeld die frekwensies waarteen ‘n voertuig voorkom, weeklikse herhaling van proporsies, ens.) gedurende beide hierdie periodes. Die bevinding is dat die spitsuur vir skool- en vakansieperiodes gedurende dieselfde tydsperiode plaasvind en dat verkeersvolumes groter variasie toon op Vrydae gedurende die vakansieperiode, as die skoolperiode. Dit wil blyk of verkeersvolumes gedurende al die weke afneem van Maandag tot Woensdag en dan “terug spring” op Donderdae en Vrydae. Hierdie bevinding is in ooreenstemming met resultate van ‘n ander internasionale studie. Motoriste het ‘n neiging getoon tot groter vryheid in terme van vertrektye tydens die vakansieperiode, met die gemiddelde vakansie vertrektye heelwat later as gedurende die skoolperiode. Vertrektye is ook gevind om geleidelik later te word van Maandag tot Vrydag gedurende beide die skool en vakansieperiodes, met Donderdag en Vrydag se vertrektye wat merkwaardig verskil van ander weeksdae. Die verhouding uniek waargenome voertuie het volgens hierdie navorsing se bevindinge toegeneem met die tyd van die dag en die gevolglike impak hiervan op die effektiwiteit van sogenaamde “Vehicle Message Sign” toepassings word bespreek. Die navorsing sluit dan af deur die bevindinge toe te pas om die impak te bepaal wat ‘n hipotetiese kongestieprysskema op verkeersvolumes het.

published_or_final_version / Civil Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Urban Planning / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning

Exclusive bus lanes and the Transit Signal Priority are often not effective in saturated peak-traffic conditions. An alternative way of providing priority for transit can be queue jumpers, which allows buses to bypass and then cut out in front of waiting queue by getting an early green signal. Utah Transit authority deployed Bus Rapid Transit system at Salt Lake County, Utah along W 3500 S. This research evaluates the impacts of queue jumpers with TSP on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and private vehicular traffic. Four VISSIM models were developed for analysis : Basic scenario, no TSP with queue jumpers, TSP with no queue jumbers, and TSP with queue jumpers. In TQ scenario travel time was reduced between 13.2-19.82% with respect to basic scenario. At the same time, travel time of private traffic increased very little 0.38-3.28%. Two TSP strategies : green extension and red truncation are implemented in this research work. / by R.M. Zahid Reza. / Thesis (M.S.C.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

This study describes analytical model as one innovative way to simulate Light Rail Transit (LRT) operations and calculate vehicular, transit and person delays at LRT crossings through Microsoft Excel. Analytical model emulates LRT trajectories from field and use these trajectories to clearly define train and car phases through Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) logic, which is part of analytical model. Simulation of train trajectories and calculations of delays were done for different LRT strategies and estimated roadway condition, Testing and validation of analytical model were performed in one case study in Salt Lake City (UT). Results show that analytical model is capable of emulating LRT trajectories and estimating delay at isolated LRT crossing. However, analytical model is not capable of simulating different train strategies at two or more LRT crossings, at the same time. Finally, extracted strategy provides savings from $100.000 to $200.000 in study area, on annual basis for projected year. / by Nikola Mitrovic. / Thesis (M.S.C.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

This research investigates whether Transportation Network Companies (TNCs), such as Uber and Lyft, live up to their stated vision of reducing congestion by complementing transit and reducing car ownership in major cities. The objective of this research study is to answer the question: are TNCs are correlated to traffic congestion in the city of San Francisco? If found to be so, do they increase or decrease traffic congestion for the case of San Francisco? If and how TNC pickups and drop-offs impact traffic congestion within San Francisco? And finally, how does the magnitude of this measured command of TNCs on congestion compare to that caused by pre-existing conventional drivers of traffic and congestion change? Apart from answering these questions, it is also sought to establish a framework to be able to include TNCs, a seemingly fledgling mode of transportation but one that is demonstrably shaping and modifying extant transportation and mode choice trends, as part of the travel demand models estimated by any geographic jurisdiction. Traffic congestion has worsened noticeably in San Francisco and other major cities over the past few years. Part of this change could reasonably be explained by strong economic growth or other standard factors such as road and transit network changes. The sharp increase in travel times and congestion also corresponds to the emergence of TNCs, raising the question of whether the two trends may be related. Existing research has produced conflicting results and been hampered by a lack of data. Using data scraped from the Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) of two TNCs, combined with observed travel time data, this research finds that contrary to their vision, TNCs are the biggest contributor to growing traffic congestion in San Francisco. Between 2010 and 2016, weekday vehicle hours of delay increased by 62%, compared to 22% in a counterfactual 2016 scenario without TNCs. The findings provide insight into expected changes in major cities as TNCs continue to grow, informing decisions about how to integrate TNCs into the existing transportation system. This research also decomposes the contributors to increased congestion in San Francisco between 2010 and 2016, considering contributions from five incremental effects: road and transit network changes, population growth, employment growth, TNC volumes, and the effect of TNC pick-ups and Drop-offs. It is so done through a series of controlled travel demand model runs, supplemented with observed TNC data. The results show that road and transit network changes over this period have only a small effect on congestion, population and employment growth are important contributors, and that TNCs are the biggest contributor to growing congestion over this period, contributing about half of the increase in vehicle hours of delay, and adding to worsening travel time reliability. This research contradicts several studies that suggest TNCs may reduce congestion and adds evidence in support of a recent empirical analysis showing that their net effect is to increase congestion. This research gives transportation planners a better understanding of the causes of growing congestion, allowing them to more effectively craft strategies to mitigate or adapt to it.

Today, numerous alternative modes of mobility are emerging to provide a solution to the problems created by the automobile. This research envisions a future where transportation in urban areas will be dominated by small personal mobility devices (PMDs) instead of automobiles. This Intelligent Mobility System (IMS) would be a car-free zone where people travel by a shared-system of PMDs providing levels of mobility greater than walking but less than a car. This research effort focuses on the operational aspects of this future system by studying PMD performance characteristics as inputs for a computer simulation model of an IMS environment. Therefore, the primary objective of this research is to evaluate the operations of PMDs that are currently used in a variety of settings. GPS recorders are used to log speed and location data each second of pedestrian, bicycle, Segway, and electric cart trips. Segway speed and acceleration are analyzed using three factors, sidewalk width, surface quality, and pedestrian density to study their effect on Segway speed. Pedestrians have the lowest mean speed and the most narrow speed distribution. Segways, bicycles and electric carts have increasingly faster mean speeds and wider speed distributions, respectively. Segways and bicycles were found to have similar acceleration distributions. Segways seem to provide a level of speed and mobility between that of pedestrians and cyclists, meaning that Segways might capture new users by providing a level of mobility and convenience previously unseen. Narrow sidewalk widths, poor sidewalk quality, and heavy pedestrian density all decreased Segway speeds. The researchers suspect that surface quality is likely an independent constraint for Segway speed and that sidewalk width and pedestrian density interact to limit Segway speeds under certain conditions. This research concludes that these external factors may affect PMD speed and should be considered when analyzing PMD mobility, especially in an IMS setting.

This study assessed the desirability for High-Occupancy/Toll (HOT) lanes in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) through stated preference and revealed traffic volume data gathering and analysis techniques. 4,000 surveys, distributed in five sample areas, asked respondents how much they would be willing to pay to escape congestion in eight unique trip conditions. Stated preference results found considerable public support for HOT-lanes in the GTA. In six out of eight trip conditions, a majority of respondents preferred to pay to travel in express lanes rather than endure congestion. Respondent willingness to pay (WTP) mean values varied considerably by trip condition. Willingness to pay to escape congestion was influenced by trip characteristics and driver factors. Trip urgency, traffic speed, and freeway trip distance were found to be statistically significant trip characteristic indicators of WTP. Previous exposure to electronic tolling and annual household income were found to be significant driver factor indicators of WTP in most trip conditions. Respondent gender and freeway travel frequency were found to be statistically significant driver factor indicators of WTP in some trip conditions. The presence of Hwy 407-ETR, an electronically tolled by-pass to Hwy 401, allowed for an examination of the effects of Hwy 401 volume and trip urgency on driver choice to use the tolled alternative. Results indicated that trip urgency and Hwy 401 volume were correlated with Hwy 407 throughput share. During periods of high trip urgency and high Hwy 401 volume, a substantial proportion of Hwy 401/407 corridor drivers chose to pay approximately $0.20/km to escape congestion.

This study assessed the desirability for High-Occupancy/Toll (HOT) lanes in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) through stated preference and revealed traffic volume data gathering and analysis techniques. 4,000 surveys, distributed in five sample areas, asked respondents how much they would be willing to pay to escape congestion in eight unique trip conditions. Stated preference results found considerable public support for HOT-lanes in the GTA. In six out of eight trip conditions, a majority of respondents preferred to pay to travel in express lanes rather than endure congestion. Respondent willingness to pay (WTP) mean values varied considerably by trip condition. Willingness to pay to escape congestion was influenced by trip characteristics and driver factors. Trip urgency, traffic speed, and freeway trip distance were found to be statistically significant trip characteristic indicators of WTP. Previous exposure to electronic tolling and annual household income were found to be significant driver factor indicators of WTP in most trip conditions. Respondent gender and freeway travel frequency were found to be statistically significant driver factor indicators of WTP in some trip conditions. The presence of Hwy 407-ETR, an electronically tolled by-pass to Hwy 401, allowed for an examination of the effects of Hwy 401 volume and trip urgency on driver choice to use the tolled alternative. Results indicated that trip urgency and Hwy 401 volume were correlated with Hwy 407 throughput share. During periods of high trip urgency and high Hwy 401 volume, a substantial proportion of Hwy 401/407 corridor drivers chose to pay approximately $0.20/km to escape congestion.