Scheduling trains is a hard problem where current solutions typically create timetables that create undesirable amounts of delay for the trains that use them. This study considers the fact that conventional timetables, which only use fixed intervals to schedule trains, might not be optimal for minimising the delay and travel time of passengers. In this study, we compare this ”simple” timetable with timetables generated via a fuzzy controller which has access to information about the flow of passengers throughout the day. The hypothesis is that this fuzzy controller therefore becomes more ”intelligent”. We evaluate the performance using a custom-built simulator that measures the average delay and travel time of the passengers. We conclude that the fuzzy controller can generate timetables that quickly adapt to passenger demands and show favourable resource usage over the simple timetable. However, more research is needed on the input variables and their usage within the fuzzy controller to further optimise the performance. / Schemaläggning av tåg är ett svårt problem och nuvarande lösningar skapar ofta tidtabeller med oönskade mängder förseningar. Den här rapporten behandlar faktumet att enkla tidtabeller, som enbart använder fasta intervaller för tågens avgång, kanske inte är optimala för att minimera antalet förseningar samt resenärers restid. Den här studien jämför enkla tidtabeller, med fasta intervall, med tidtabeller som skapats av en fuzzy controller som har tillgång till information om passagerarflödet. Hypotesen är att fuzzy controllern på så sätt blir mer intelligent. Rapporten utvärderar hur bra tidtabellerna presterar med hjälp av en simulator som mäter genomsnittlig försening och restid för passagerarna i simulationen. Slutsatsen som dras är att en fuzzy controller kan generera tidtabeller som kan anpassa sig till passagerarflödet samt att denna uppvisar gynnsam resursanvändning i jämförelse med den enkla tidtabellen. Dock framhävs behovet av ytterligare forskning på indatavariabler och dess användning inom fuzzy controllern för att vidare kunna optimera dess prestanda.

<p>The distance between home and work has increased in recent decades. By the development of infrastructure and public transport, jobs farther from home have become more accessible and this development has in turn increased commuting. Commuting travellers often pass over administrative boundaries which often serve as borders for public transport pricing. Also the market control prices. Research shows that travel times and costs significantly affect commuting choice. Many people have an upper limit of 60 minutes commuting distance between home and work. How commuting costs affect the individual's choice of commuting will vary depending on the individual's income and housing costs. The aim of our study was to see how public transport costs and travel times may vary geographically. GIS, Geographic Information System was used to make a network analysis which showed time distances and travel costs on maps. We also examined whether there was a link between towns accessibility by public transport and housing market which we did with help of correlation and regression analysis. In order to answer our questions we started from a study area consisting of Uppsala County with its surrounding commuting area. The maps showed how accessibility to larger towns varies among the smaller towns. The access is often best between bigger towns while there is less accessibility between smaller towns. The distance to bus stops or railway station also has a significant effect on how long the total travel time will be. Urban areas with access to rail services had the best opportunities to reach larger cities and that give also better access to labour market. From our study of the Uppsala County with a monocentric structure, we could indicate a link between accessibility to the bigger cities and housing prices in the surrounding towns. The higher commuting costs and longer travel time to the central place the lower the housing prices. A similar study of Stockholm which has a polycentric structure showed that the relationship between accessibility and house prices not are applicable to all regions. Here we can conclude that housing markets depends on many other factors than access to rapid public transport. House prices can depend on things like closeness to nature and water.</p> / <p>Avståndet mellan bostad och arbete har ökat under de senaste decennierna. Utvecklingen av infrastruktur och kollektivtrafik har lett till att arbetsplatser längre från hemmet har blivit mer tillgängliga och denna utveckling har i sin tur bidragit till en ökad arbetspendling i samhället. Pendlingsresenärer passerar ofta över administrativa gränser och dessa gränser styr ofta över kollektivtrafikens prissättning men även efterfrågan kan styra priset. Forskning visar att restider och kostnader i hög grad påverkar pendlingsvalet. Många människor föredrar ett pendlingsavstånd, mellan hem och arbete på högst 60 minuter. Hur pendlingskostnader påverkar individens val till pendling varierar bland annat beroende på individens inkomst och boendekostnader.</p><p>Syftet med vår studie var att se hur kollektivtrafikens kostnader och restider kan variera geografiskt. GIS, Geografiska Informationssystem, användes vid utförandet av en nätverks- och kostnadsanalys vilket visade tidsmässigt avstånd och kostnad på kartor. Vi undersökte också om det fanns ett samband mellan orters tillgänglighet med kollektivtrafik och bostadsmarknaden genom att utföra korrelations- och regressionsanalyser. För att svara på våra frågeställningar utgick vi från ett undersökningsområde bestående av Uppsala län med pendlingsomland.</p><p>Kartbilderna visade tydligt hur tillgängligheten till större städer varierar mellan olika orter och att tillgängligheten ofta är bäst mellan större tätorter medan det är sämre tillgänglighet mellan mindre tätorter. Avståndet till hållplatser har också betydande påverkan på hur lång den totala restiden blir. Tätorter med tillgång till järnvägstrafik hade det bästa möjligheterna att nå större tätorter och därmed blir arbetsmarknaden större för dessa orter. Från vår studie över Uppsala län som kan anses ha monocentrisk struktur kunde vi även tyda ett samband mellan tätorters tillgänglighet till centralorten och orternas bostadspriser. Ju högre pendlingskostnad och längre restid till centralorten desto lägre var orternas bostadspriser. En likadan studie över Stockholm som har en mer polycentrisk struktur visade dock att detta samband mellan tillgänglighet och bostadspriser inte gäller för alla regioner. Här kan vi dra den slutsatsen att bostadsmarknaden styrs av många andra faktorer än tillgång till snabb kollektivtrafik och att vissa områdens bostadspriser mer styrs av exempelvis närhet till natur och vatten.</p>

The distance between home and work has increased in recent decades. By the development of infrastructure and public transport, jobs farther from home have become more accessible and this development has in turn increased commuting. Commuting travellers often pass over administrative boundaries which often serve as borders for public transport pricing. Also the market control prices. Research shows that travel times and costs significantly affect commuting choice. Many people have an upper limit of 60 minutes commuting distance between home and work. How commuting costs affect the individual's choice of commuting will vary depending on the individual's income and housing costs. The aim of our study was to see how public transport costs and travel times may vary geographically. GIS, Geographic Information System was used to make a network analysis which showed time distances and travel costs on maps. We also examined whether there was a link between towns accessibility by public transport and housing market which we did with help of correlation and regression analysis. In order to answer our questions we started from a study area consisting of Uppsala County with its surrounding commuting area. The maps showed how accessibility to larger towns varies among the smaller towns. The access is often best between bigger towns while there is less accessibility between smaller towns. The distance to bus stops or railway station also has a significant effect on how long the total travel time will be. Urban areas with access to rail services had the best opportunities to reach larger cities and that give also better access to labour market. From our study of the Uppsala County with a monocentric structure, we could indicate a link between accessibility to the bigger cities and housing prices in the surrounding towns. The higher commuting costs and longer travel time to the central place the lower the housing prices. A similar study of Stockholm which has a polycentric structure showed that the relationship between accessibility and house prices not are applicable to all regions. Here we can conclude that housing markets depends on many other factors than access to rapid public transport. House prices can depend on things like closeness to nature and water. / Avståndet mellan bostad och arbete har ökat under de senaste decennierna. Utvecklingen av infrastruktur och kollektivtrafik har lett till att arbetsplatser längre från hemmet har blivit mer tillgängliga och denna utveckling har i sin tur bidragit till en ökad arbetspendling i samhället. Pendlingsresenärer passerar ofta över administrativa gränser och dessa gränser styr ofta över kollektivtrafikens prissättning men även efterfrågan kan styra priset. Forskning visar att restider och kostnader i hög grad påverkar pendlingsvalet. Många människor föredrar ett pendlingsavstånd, mellan hem och arbete på högst 60 minuter. Hur pendlingskostnader påverkar individens val till pendling varierar bland annat beroende på individens inkomst och boendekostnader. Syftet med vår studie var att se hur kollektivtrafikens kostnader och restider kan variera geografiskt. GIS, Geografiska Informationssystem, användes vid utförandet av en nätverks- och kostnadsanalys vilket visade tidsmässigt avstånd och kostnad på kartor. Vi undersökte också om det fanns ett samband mellan orters tillgänglighet med kollektivtrafik och bostadsmarknaden genom att utföra korrelations- och regressionsanalyser. För att svara på våra frågeställningar utgick vi från ett undersökningsområde bestående av Uppsala län med pendlingsomland. Kartbilderna visade tydligt hur tillgängligheten till större städer varierar mellan olika orter och att tillgängligheten ofta är bäst mellan större tätorter medan det är sämre tillgänglighet mellan mindre tätorter. Avståndet till hållplatser har också betydande påverkan på hur lång den totala restiden blir. Tätorter med tillgång till järnvägstrafik hade det bästa möjligheterna att nå större tätorter och därmed blir arbetsmarknaden större för dessa orter. Från vår studie över Uppsala län som kan anses ha monocentrisk struktur kunde vi även tyda ett samband mellan tätorters tillgänglighet till centralorten och orternas bostadspriser. Ju högre pendlingskostnad och längre restid till centralorten desto lägre var orternas bostadspriser. En likadan studie över Stockholm som har en mer polycentrisk struktur visade dock att detta samband mellan tillgänglighet och bostadspriser inte gäller för alla regioner. Här kan vi dra den slutsatsen att bostadsmarknaden styrs av många andra faktorer än tillgång till snabb kollektivtrafik och att vissa områdens bostadspriser mer styrs av exempelvis närhet till natur och vatten.

Safety and congestion are ever present and increasingly severe transportation problems in urban areas throughout the nation and world. These phenomena can have wide-ranging consequences relating to safety, the economy, and the environment. Adverse weather conditions represent another significant challenge to safety and mobility on highways. Oregon is not immune from either of these global issues. Oregon Route (OR) 217, to the southwest of the downtown Portland, is one of the worst freeways for congestion in the state and is also subject to the Pacific Northwest's frequently inclement and unpredictable climate. High crash rates, severe recurrent bottlenecks and highly unreliable travel times continuously plague the corridor, making it a major headache for the thousands of commuters using it every day. In an effort to more effectively combat both congestion and adverse weather, transportation officials all over the world have been turning to increasingly technological strategies like Active Traffic Management (ATM). This can come in many forms, but among the most common are variable speed limit (VSL) systems which use real-time data to compute and display appropriate reduced speeds during congestion and/or adverse weather. After numerous studies and deliberations, Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) selected Oregon Route (OR) 217 as one of the first locations in the state to be implemented with an advisory VSL system, and that system began operation in the summer of 2014. This thesis seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of this VSL system through the first eight months of its operation through an in-depth and wide-ranging "before and after" analysis. Analysis of traffic flow and safety data for OR 217 from before the VSL system was implemented made clear some of the most prevalent issues which convinced ODOT to pursue VSL. Using those issues as a basis, a framework of seven specific evaluation questions relating to both performance and safety, as well as both congestion and adverse weather, was established to guide the "before and after" comparisons. Hypotheses, and measures of effectiveness for each question were developed, and data were obtained from a diverse array of sources including freeway detectors, ODOT's incident database, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The results of the various "before and after" comparisons performed as a part of this thesis indicate that conditions have changed on OR 217 in a number of ways since the VSL system was activated. Many, but not all, of the findings were consistent with the initial hypotheses and with the findings from other VSL studies in the literature. Certain locations along the corridor have seen significant declines in speed variability, supporting the common notion that VSL systems have a harmonizing effect on traffic flow. Crash rates have not decreased, but crashes have become less frequent in the immediate vicinity of VSL signs. Flow distribution between adjacent lanes has been more even since VSL implementation during midday hours and the evening peak, and travel time reliability has seen widespread improvement in three of the corridor's four primary travel lanes during those same times. The drops in flow that generally occur upstream of bottlenecks once they form have had diminished magnitudes, while the drops in flow downstream of the same bottlenecks have grown. Finally, the increase in travel times that is usually brought about by adverse weather has been smaller since VSL implementation, while the decline in travel time reliability has largely disappeared.

Autonomes Fahren (AF) wird potenziell die Präferenzen für die im Auto verbrachte Zeit stark beeinflussen und dementsprechend den Wert der Reisezeit, der ein Schlüsselelement von Kosten-Nutzen-Analysen im Verkehr ist. Die Untersuchung dieses Aspekts des AF ist daher entscheidend für die Analyse potenzieller Auswirkungen der Technik auf die zukünftige Verkehrsnachfrage. Trotz der steigenden Anzahl an Studien zu diesem Thema, gibt es noch erhebliche Forschungslücken. Der Fokus der Dissertation ist die potenziellen Änderungen des Reisezeitwerts, die durch das AF entstehen, zu messen sowie ihre Determinanten zu analysieren. Es wurden sowohl qualitative Ansätze als auch quantitative Methoden verwendet. Dabei wurden zwei Konzepte von AF betrachtet: privates und geteiltes autnomes Fahrzeug. Die Ergebnisse der Analysen zeigen einen niedrigeren Wert der Reisezeitersparnis beim AF im Vergleich zum manuellen Fahren, allerdings nur auf Pendelwegen. Das private Fahrzeug wird als eine attraktivere Option als ein geteiltes Fahrzeug wahrgenommen, jedoch unterscheiden sich die Nutzerpräferenzen für geteilte Fahrzeug stark zwischen den durchgeführten Studien. Individuelle Charakteristiken, wie Erfahrung mit Fahrassistenzsystemen, beeinflussen stark die Wahrnehmung der Zeit im AF; andere sozio-demographischen Faktoren, wie Alter und Geschlecht haben vor allem einen indirekten Effekt auf den Reisezeitwert indem sie Einstellungen potenzieller Nutzer beeinflussen. Die Verbesserung des Fahrterlebnisses durch das AF und das Vertrauen in die Technik sind wichtige Determinanten der Reisezeitwahrnehmung. Fahrvergnügen und andere wahrgenommene Vorteile vom manuellen Fahren gleichen in einem gewissen Ausmaß den Nutzen vom AF aus. Es wurden Reisezeitwerte für unterschiedliche potenzielle Nutzersegmente berechnet. Abschließend wurden politische Implikationen, Empfehlungen für die Entwicklung von AF sowie Empfehlungen für künftige Studien und potenziellen Forschungsgebiete abgeleitet. / Autonomous driving will potentially strongly affect preferences for time spent in a vehicle and, consequently, the value of travel time savings (VTTS). As VTTS is a key element of cost-benefit analysis for transport, these interrelations are crucial for analysing the potential impact of the technology on future travel demand. Despite the increasing number of studies dedicated to this topic there are still many unanswered questions. The focus of the thesis is to measure potential changes in the VTTS resulting from the introduction of autonomous driving and analyse their determinants. Qualitative approaches and quantitative methods were used. Two concepts of AVs were considered: a privately-owned AV (PAV) and a shared AV (SAV). The analysis results suggest lower VTTS for autonomous driving compared to manual driving, but only on commuting trips. A PAV is perceived as a more attractive option than an SAV, but user preferences for SAVs vary between the conducted studies. Individual characteristics, such as experience with advanced driver assistance systems, strongly affect the perception of time in an AV; other socio-demographic factors, such as age and gender, affect mode choices and the VTTS mainly indirectly by influencing the attitudes of potential users. The improvement in travel experiences due to autonomous driving and trust in the technology are important determinants of the perception of travel time. Enjoyment of driving and other perceived benefits of manual driving partially counterbalance the utility of riding autonomously. VTTS for different potential user segments were calculated. In conclusion, several policy implications, development recommendations for AVs as well as recommendations for future studies and potential research avenues are derived from the findings.

Cette thèse se penche sur les modèles de choix, des distributions sur des ensembles d'alternatives. Les modèles de choix sur les processus décisionnels de Markov (MDP) peuvent décomposer de très grands espaces alternatifs en procédures étape par étape conçues pour non seulement combattre la malédiction de la dimensionnalité mais aussi pour mieux refléter la dynamique sous-jacente. La première partie est consacrée à l'estimation du temps de trajet dans le cadre de la modélisation du choix de chemin. Les modèles de choix de chemin sont des modèles de choix sur l'ensemble des chemins utilisés pour modéliser le flux de circulation. Intuitivement, le temps de trajet est l'une des caractéristiques les plus importantes lors du choix des chemins, mais les temps de trajet ne sont pas toujours connus. En revanche, le cadre classique suppose que ces deux étapes sont séquentielles, car les temps de trajet des arcs font partie de l'entrée du processus d'estimation du choix de chemin. Pourtant, les interdépendances complexes signifient que ce modèle de choix de chemin peut complémenter toute observation lors de l'estimation des temps de trajet. Nous construisons un modèle statistique pour l'estimation du temps de trajet et proposons de marginaliser les caractéristiques non observées. En utilisant ces idées, nous montrons que nous sommes capables d'apprendre des modèles de choix de chemin sans observer de chemins réels et à différentes granularités. La deuxième partie se concentre sur les échecs des MDP régularisés et comment la régularisation peut avoir des effets secondaires inattendus, tels que la divergence dans les chemins stochastiques les plus courts ou des fonctions de valeur déraisonnablement grandes. Les MDP régularisés ne sont rien d'autre qu'une application des modèles de choix aux MDP. Ils sont utilisés dans l'apprentissage par renforcement (RL) pour obtenir, entre autres choses, un modèle de choix sur les trajectoires possibles pour l'apprentissage par renforcement inverse, transférer des connaissances préalables au modèle, ou obtenir des politiques qui exploitent tous les objectifs dans l'environnement. Ces effets secondaires sont exacerbés dans les espaces d'action dépendants de l'état. Comme mesure d'atténuation, nous introduisons deux transformations potentielles, et nous évaluons leur performance sur un problème de conception de médicaments. / This thesis delves on choice models, distributions on sets of alternatives. Choice models on Markov decision processes (MDPs) can break down very large alternative spaces into step-by-step procedures designed to not only tackle the curse of dimensionality but also to reflect the underlying dynamics better. The first part is devoted to travel time estimation as part of path choice modeling. Path choice models are choice models on the set of paths used to model traffic flow. Intuitively, travel time is one of the more important features when choosing paths, yet travel times are not always known. In contrast, the classical setting assumes that these two steps are sequential, as arc travel times are part of the input of the path choice estimation process. Yet the intricate interdependences mean that that path choice model can complement any observation when estimating travel times. We build a statistical model for travel time estimation and propose marginalizing the unobserved features. Using these ideas, we show that we are able to learn path choice models without observing actual paths and at different granularity. The second part focuses on the failings of regularized MDPs and how regularization may have unexpected side effects, such as divergence in stochastic shortest paths or unreasonably large value functions. Regularized MDPs are nothing but an application of choice models to MDPs. They are used in reinforcement learning (RL) to get, among other things, a choice model on possible trajectories for inverse reinforcement learning, transfer prior knowledge to the model, or to get policies that exploit all goals in the environment. These side effects are exacerbated in state-dependent action spaces. As a mitigation, we introduce two potential transformations, and we benchmark their performance on a drug design problem.

The mental health concerns in Sweden have been increasing since the beginning of the 2000’s, where Skåne County in the southern parts of Sweden has shown to be slightly higher in a proportion of reported cases in comparison to other regions. To address the growing need for psychiatric healthcare, the health services of the region of Skåne (Region Skåne) have introduced a psychiatric ambulance unit as a part of first responders. The Prehospital Acute Psychiatry (PAP) ambulance is manned by health care professionals trained in mental health issues. The goal of Region Skåne is to reach 90% of the population within 20 minutes and 99% of the population within 35 minutes. This case study aims to provide valuable and useful information to the decision-makers in Region Skåne when placing additional PAP ambulance units. A PAP ambulance placed in an ambulance station uses an optimisation model previously created and is based on data and travel time analysis. The data analysis consists of K-Means clustering and Linear regression, to find similarities in the data as well as trends in the number of cases. The travel time analysis and the area and population coverage is based on 20, 35, and 60 minutes travel time from a station. The travel time is dependent on the road conditions as well as population density when considering ambulance stations for additional PAP ambulances. Malmö, Helsingborg, and Kristianstad/Hässleholm PAP stations are shown to be optimal choices, due to favourable road conditions and densely populated regions. Ambulances placed in these stations can cover much ground while also being able to attend to a major portion of the population. The data analysis also shows that it is beneficial to place ambulances in these stations, due to an increasing trend of mental illness cases in these areas symbolising a medium to a high number of cases in relation to the rest of Skåne.