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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
11

An assessment of the effectiveness of speed humps as a traffic calming measure for accident reduction in Durban

Monyatsi, Lemohang 16 February 2021 (has links)
EThekwini municipality has been allocating millions of rands each year for speed humps as a traffic calming measure, to curb rat-running and ensure pedestrian safety in the city. Since 2012, the city has spent R42.1 million of its capital budget on speed humps. Despite all traffic calming efforts, there hasn't been significant changes in the city's total accidents. Between 2000 and 2015, the city's total crashes has never been below 50 000 per annum. In terms of injuries, the same trend can be observed. Person injuries have been increasing year-on-year since 2012. To date, there hasn't been a study conducted by EThekwini Municipality to assess the effectiveness of these speed humps implemented across the city. At the moment, despite the city's annual commitment to implement traffic calming, particularly in the form of speed humps, the city does not have an idea as to whether traffic calming measures put in place are successful or not, or whether they are effecting any changes at all. This research, therefore, aims to use information available to assess changes in specific roads, i.e. roads that have been traffic calmed. The study will look at these numbers which are key performance indicators before and after the implementation of speed humps. This study will assess the impact of reactive (responsive to requests) traffic calming in the form of speed humps using accident data. The assessment will look at changes relating to the number of crashes before and after implementation of speed humps, it will also focus on changes in the severity of accidents involved. The research will study changes in relation to the types of accident involved particularly pedestrians. These key performance indicators (KPIs) will be used to assess changes and answer the question of effectiveness.
12

A study into Healthcare Service Location Problems, Location and Allocation in the Inanda area

Naidoo, Krishantha 23 February 2021 (has links)
Inanda is a predominantly rural area located on the northern coast of the province of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. It is bordered by the areas of Phoenix, Verulam and Tongaat. In the context of healthcare accessibility in the Inanda area, the research aimed at investigating the problem in service location planning. This was done by investigating level of accessibility to existing healthcare facilities available to the residents of Inanda. Following the classification of accessibility problems, recommendations were made on where the facility locations can be improved or expanded to provide better accessibility in terms of location-allocation. Literature that has been reviewed focused on geographic location, GIS and accessibility measures, spatial accessibility, models used to test accessibility, service location planning and accessibility measures and metrics so as to provide a background and precedent for the service location planning carried out in the research. The research aimed to confirm that accessibility to the healthcare facilities is indeed a problem and to propose alternative strategies to overcome the accessibility problems identified. The access to healthcare service locations is dependent on a number of factors. Some of these factors include travel time and distance, available capacity at facilities, existing road network, and provision or lack thereof of an efficient public transport system. This accessibility to the health service locations was assessed by using available GIS information on healthcare facilities and using accessibility analysis to identify problems in terms of the services location as well as additional location-allocation of current and additional facilities. The analysis was based on the assumption that all service locations have unlimited capacity. Flowmap was used as the tool to analyse the GIS data and conduct various accessibility models. The different models were Expansion Model Analysis, Relocation Model Analysis, Catchment Area and Clinic Allocation Analysis, Catchment Profile, Market share of Supply Locations, Regular Proximity Count, Average Distance in Competition, Proximity Count in Competition, Lowest Mean Trip Cost Alternate, Second Best Catchment Distance and Pareto Cover Set. The results of the research showed that while the locations of the existing healthcare facilities are not ideal, most are accessible to the majority of the Inanda residents. The information on actual capacity available at each of the locations was not available at the time of the research being carried out and would be worthwhile to research in the future.
13

Application of rules of transportation planning based on principles of transport justice developed by Karel Martens in Windhoek

Nashilongo, Mweneni 23 February 2021 (has links)
Transportation planning over the years focused on providing mobility for car users. The focus on mobility has left people who cannot afford automobiles without access to different activities within their societies. The lack of access, in turn, resulted in social exclusion. In the book ‘Transport Justice' Martens showed that the distinct social meaning of the transport good lies in the accessibility. And therefore, accessibility should be the focus of transportation planning to mitigate lack of access and in turn social exclusion. Moreover, Martens developed principles of justice for transportation planning which focuses on identifying groups of people experiencing accessibility shortfalls to help planners focus resources towards those people who are socially excluded due to inadequate transportation systems. This paper aimed to use the principles of justice for transportation planning to identify population groups experiencing insufficient accessibility in the City of Windhoek by assessing potential mobility and accessibility in the city. Additionally, the paper aimed to evaluate how well the rules apply to a small city with a different land use and transport system to the Amsterdam case study from the book ‘Transport Justice'. To assess the transport system, the population of Windhoek was divided into groups based on location, income, and modal split. The accessibility levels and potential mobility levels for each population group per mode were then determined using four accessibility measures and the Potential Mobility Index (PMI-score). The groups were then assigned under 50%, 30%, and 10% accessibility thresholds based on their respective accessibility levels. Under each threshold, groups that contributed the most to the unfairness of the transportation system were identified and ranked based on their respective Accessibility Fairness Index scores (AFI). The results showed that most public transport dependent population groups contributed to the Windhoek transportation system unfairness. These groups are located in Havana, Okuryangava, Wanaheda, and Goreangab at the fringes of the city with low-income residents. Even with limited data, the application of the principles to Windhoek yielded an insightful overview of accessibility in within the city that showed gross inequalities in accessibility to jobs between the car owners and public transport users and between low income and high income earners. The application of the principles of justice for transportation planning produced comprehensible insight on the effects of the transportation system on accessibility to employment in Windhoek. The insight has shown that theory and principles developed by Martens can be useful in the African context where there are significant disparities in accessibility.
14

A Location - Allocation Model For Pedestrian Footbridge infrastructure: A Case Study on the South Africa's National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) Network in Gauteng

Mabe, Malesiba Millicent 04 February 2021 (has links)
Road fatalities are one of the leading causes of unnatural deaths in developing countries, such as South Africa. According to the Road Traffic Management Corporation (2017), the number of road traffic fatalities were recorded to be 11 676 in the year 2016 and 42.6% of these road traffic fatalities involved pedestrian. According to the National Road Safety Strategy 2016 – 2030 most pedestrian crashes are due to illegal pedestrian crossings mainly across high speed roads (highways) (Department of Transport, 2011). The research study aims to develop a geo-spatial model to determine the most suitable location to allocate pedestrian footbridge infrastructure along the South African National Road Agency Limited (SANRAL) network in Gauteng Province. Previously road planning and design in South Africa followed international best practices, with development of the highway road system mainly orientated to serve motorised transport by primarily providing infrastructure for vehicular traffic along the highways , as pedestrians and highways were not expected to coexist in any proximity to each other. The presence of pedestrians along highways can no longer be ignored and there is a great need to overcome the highly fragmented spatial planning formed by the apartheid policies. For most non-motorised transport (NMT) users in South Africa, highways offer the shortest and most efficient direct routes, but also represent a major obstacle for many pedestrians who are separated by them. Limited studies on the location and allocation of the pedestrian footbridge for pedestrians are reported in the literature, further research in this field should be considered, especially along the SANRAL network where there are high number of residential areas along high-speed roads, this behaviour is unique and common in South Africa. Based on a literature review the factors affecting the location and allocation of pedestrian footbridges were identified, the following were factors identified: population density (serviced by the pedestrian footbridge), land use activities, socio-economic characteristics of the population (e.g. Gender, employment, race, and income level), crash hotspots/statistics (along the route), distance to access bridge and vehicle traffic volume along the route. From these factors spatial data was gathered to carry out spatial multi-criteria analyses (SMCA). The results from the spatial analysis showed that high population densities adjacent to highway, accessibility and land use are key in the location of pedestrian footbridge. The results also show that there is a strong correlation between: land use diversity, socio-economic, crash hotspots/statistics (along the route), vehicle traffic volume and population density (serviced by the pedestrian footbridge). The higher an area has these factors, the Higher the Pedestrian Footbridge location index (high pedestrian footbridge location demand), hence the recommendation to allocate in those locations.
15

Quantifying MyCiTi supply usage via Big Data and Agent Based Modelling

Willenberg, Darren January 2017 (has links)
The MyCiTi is currently generating large volumes of raw transactional information in the form of commuter smartcard transactions, which can be considered Big Data. Agent Based modelling (ABM) has been applied internationally as a means of deriving actionable intelligence from Big Data. It is proposed that ABM can be used to unlock the hidden potential within the aforementioned data. This paper demonstrates how to go about developing and calibrating a MATSim-based ABM to analyse AFC data. It is found that data formatting algorithms are critical in the preparation of data for modelling activities. These algorithms are highly complex, requiring significant time investment prior to development. Furthermore, the development of appropriate ABM calibration parameters requires careful consideration in terms of appropriate data collection, simulation testing, and justification. This study serves as strong evidence to suggest that ABM is an appropriate analysis technique for MyCiTi data systems. Validation exercises reveal that ABM is able to calculate on board bus usage and system behaviour with a strong degree of accuracy (R-squared 0.85). It is however recommended that additional research be conducted into more detailed calibration activities, such as fine-tuning agent behaviour during simulation. Ultimately this research study achieves its explorative objectives of model development and testing, and paves a way forward for future research into the practical applications of Big Data and ABM in the South African context.
16

Rat-running through Walmer Estate, University Estate and Upper Woodstock during the PM peak period

Tarrant, Adrian Joshua January 2016 (has links)
Urban sprawl remains as a remnant of previous Apartheid legacy policies and has a daily impact on the majority of South African commuters: large, densely populated residential areas (i.e. informal settlements) are generally located on the periphery of towns or cities, far away from areas of employment. As a result, a large number of commuters have to travel great distances to-and from work on a daily basis, and those making use of private vehicles have to accept very high levels of congestion for a large part of their journey. Certain motorists, therefore, carefully select routes, in an attempt to bypass some of this congestion experienced on the arterials and highways, to minimise their travel time and many times this is achieved through the practice of rat-running. This minor dissertation proposes to quantify the number of rat-runners and to identify the routes that the motorists use when moving through a pre-defined study area, with a view towards developing an effective solution to this problem. To achieve this, it is necessary to explore the root causes behind rat-running and investigate what has been done elsewhere to, successfully, mitigate this problem. This information was used to derive a number of proposed mitigating measure alternatives, applicable to the study area's current rat-running where, after a final decision, a preferred solution and the way forward was established. Problem Description The existing Cape Town CBD is positioned in a unique location: the topography of the City, i.e. the position of Table Mountain (and other mountain ranges) and the Atlantic Sea (coastline) means that the majority of the population lives to the east of the CBD, with very few residential opportunities available to the west. As such, there are a limited number of road-based routes to access and exit the City's Central CBD, to and from these east-lying areas which results in significant peak period congestion issues on the City's road network. In fact, results from a study undertaken by GPS manufacturer Tomtom (2014) show that the Cape Town road network is the most congested in the country. It is anticipated that the above-mentioned conditions make it attractive/possible for vehicles leaving the CBD during the PM peak period to rat-run through the immediately adjacent suburban areas, in an attempt to bypass the excessive levels of congestion currently experienced on the major routes. This practice creates major health, safety and economic problems for the affected communities and is a cause for major unhappiness as a result of the associated deterioration in their overall quality of life.
17

Should the City of Cape Town plan for fully autonomous vehicles?

Attwood, Craig 12 January 2022 (has links)
Background The City of Cape Town's Comprehensive Integrated Transport Plan (CITP) 2018 to 2023 identifies public transport as the key driver to changing the spatial form of Cape Town, with all its urban inefficiencies and social inequality. A key element to building sustainable communities is the establishment of Transit Oriented Developments (TODs) at the right locations along the rail and BRT transport corridors. However, the Metrorail railway service in Cape Town, which should be the backbone of the public transport system, has collapsed because of issues with safety, reliability, vandalism and comfort. This has forced commuters to opt for other modes of transport, mainly private vehicles and minibus taxis (MBTs), which has contributed to Cape Town becoming the most congested city in South Africa. Autonomous vehicles have been touted as the elixir for the problems of road safety and congestion. Along with their ability to find the most efficient routes they are anticipated, inter alia, to be able to free up road space by decreasing the following distance between vehicles Aim The aim of this dissertation is to describe an autonomous vehicle, review the current status of the industry in the evolution towards driverless cars, and predict how autonomous vehicles will be able to penetrate and impact the road transport network of South Africa, with a particular emphasis on Cape Town and the MBT industry. Method The research method included a literature study of the research and development happening in the Global North and how this would benefit South Africa, along with a Delphi Survey of a panel of experts in the field of South African road transport. Findings The literature review and Delphi survey produced the following propositions: • The high-stakes competition between car manufacturers and technology companies to produce the first driverless car that will be legally allowed to drive on all roads, will ensure that this will happen – however the timeline is not so clear. • When it does happen, the condition of the road reserve will be one of the factors in preventing driverless cars from operating freely. The quality of the road infrastructure, only 20% South Africa's roads are paved, and the unpredictability of other road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and, in South Africa, livestock, will mean that there will probably always have to be someone behind the wheel of an autonomous vehicle even if it is legally self-driving. • The MBT industry in South Africa does not receive an operating subsidy from the Government but it is an extremely powerful and influential informal public transport provider, often at odds with the lawmakers and the traffic authorities. It is important that the Government and the MBT industry aim to form a working partnership so that the road transport industry can take advantage of the obvious benefits of this new technology. • Because the Government is ensuring that public transport is given priority over private transport, it is unlikely that it will consider the huge investment in the road infrastructure that is needed to support self-driving vehicles. But, if the Government and the MBT industry could find a way for the MBT industry to become a formal part of the public transport system, it may then consider portioning some of its public transport budget for road infrastructure upgrades to support autonomous MBTs. • The evolutionary road to fully autonomous vehicles (Level 5) is long. There are already cars on the road in the Global North that have autonomy Level 2, and some between Level 2 and 3 (Level 2+), with technology that allows the cars to change lanes, keep a safe distance from surrounding cars, etc.. As communication is from vehicle to vehicle, Level 2 and 2+ vehicles do not require the huge capital outlay for the infrastructure and communications network that would be necessary for Level 3, 4 and 5 vehicles. No MBT in South Africa has any form of autonomy, and, with 3 out of the 36 people killed daily on the road involved in accidents with MBTs, it is imperative that the Government finds a way for the industry to benefit from the safety aspects of autonomy Levels 2 and 2+. • One of the major threats of the 4th Industrial Revolution is job losses. Historically, MBT, e-hailing and metered taxi drivers have been known to violently defend their livelihoods when faced by competition for their passengers. The arrival of driverless vehicles will certainly be a threat to their jobs, and it is likely that the drivers will resort to any means possible to prevent this from happening. However, prevailing conditions, such as the poor condition of the road reserve and the lack of government resources and financial input, means that these changes are not imminent, and, in the meantime, structures can be put in place to soften the impact that autonomy will have on job losses in the taxi industry. Conclusions Should the City of Cape Town plan for fully AVs? Yes. Features found in Levels 1 and 2 should become mandatory in all vehicles on the road. Planning can be done in phases, initially to support vehicles at Levels 1, 2 and 2+, by improving the road infrastructure such as lane markings and defining kerbsides, and then, more improvements for Level 3 and the finally for Levels 4 and 5 installing the telecommunications network and upgrading the whole road reserve. Cyclists and pedestrians are a major hinderance in the evolution of AVs, their unpredictable behaviour is very difficult for the vehicle's software to process. NMT is an important part of the future of Cape Town's transport system and the upgrades and extensions to pathways should be carried out with the intention of limiting the interaction with AVs. There are some benefits for South Africa being behind in the adoption of AVs in that they can learn from mistakes made by the many international cities that are presently going through the roll out of AVs. In the meantime, priority should be given by the City, to working alongside the Government, to restoring and improving the rail service to a level that will attract commuters back to this mode of transport to reduce the unsustainable pressure on the roads. Although the evolution to driverless cars is unpredictable, it is important that all levels of government engage with as many stakeholders and affected parties as possible before putting legislation in place. This is an important time in the history of road transport and every effort needs to be made to get the maximum benefit out of all the positive impacts that this technology will bring.
18

Upgrading of Milner and Klipfontein Road Southbound Approach to alleviate traffic issues

Barnes, Faragh 27 July 2021 (has links)
Introduction The population of the world is increasing at a rate of 1.07% each year. In order to accommodate this growth, quality and efficiency of services need to be improved. This includes improving the quality and efficiency of the transportation services, as a country's sustainability is reliant upon these systems. In many countries, the increase in population has congested the CBD areas, forcing people to migrate outside of the CBD. This has resulted in urban sprawl. However, the apartheid era has resulted in urban sprawl in South Africa, which left many people living along the periphery, close to the industrial areas and a distance away from the CBD. One of the biggest challenges people living outside of the CBD area experience, is a poor and unreliable public transport system. It is difficult for people to access other areas and this has increased the number of private vehicles on the road. According to a list of the top 10 countries with the highest public transport ridership, that was developed by Worldatlas.com (2019), Kenya has the highest public transport ridership. Of the total population, 63% of the people use public transport. Furthermore, the other 9 countries mentioned have ridership volumes ranging from 53% to 57%. This proves that 40% to 50% of the population in other countries is still using private vehicles above public transport and this is still considered high. Research Problem The use of private vehicles in South Africa has been on the rise. As a result, the congestion levels on the roads have increased. This has resulted in longer travel times, busier roads and an increase in road accidents as drivers spend more time travelling to and from destinations. Milner and Klipfontein Road is located in Mowbray. The intersection is surrounded by a shopping mall, a hospital, a clinic, a school and a number of other amenities. Therefore, the traffic travelling through this intersection daily is relatively high. The southbound approach of Milner and Klipfontein Road intersection, however, has the highest volume of traffic operating through the intersection daily, as it connects the M5 highway (Class 2) and Raapenberg Road (Class 3) to Klipfontein Road (Class 3). The southbound approach is a three-lane approach, of which one lane is a short turning lane. With high volumes of traffic operating through this approach daily, the road tends to get very congested, especially during the peak period. The high congestion levels have resulted in a number of other issues, which include longer travel times from Alexandra and Raapenberg Road intersection to Milner and Klipfontein Road intersection, vehicles struggling to change lanes due to limited gap length available and spilling of traffic onto Raapenberg Road. This study will, therefore, focus on finding suitable measures to assist with alleviating the congestion as well the other issues currently being experienced along the southbound approach of Milner and Klipfontein Road. Literature Review It is important to manage the transport system as this affects the economy of the country. There are two types of traffic congestion and they are either recurrent or non-recurrent. Traffic congestion is a result of having too many vehicles on the road i.e. when the demand is larger than the supply. It is, therefore, necessary to improve the quality of a road or an intersection. There are three types of intersection designs and they include: priority control, traffic signals and rotary movement control. It is important to determine the most efficient way for an intersection to operate by determining the way in which conflicting volumes will be served. To avoid undesirable delays and deal with large volumes of traffic, signalised or rotary movement is often preferred. At signalised intersections, it is important to measure the effectiveness of an intersection by evaluating its performance and the design of the signal process as this can affect the time of travel, choice of route, mode of transport and If the route will be completed. To measure the effectiveness of the signalised intersection, the following elements must be assessed: the capacity, the volume to capacity ratio, the delay and the queue length. The Level of Service (LOS) also plays an important role in determining the operation of the intersection and provides the engineer or designer with information related to the type of flow or movement at each approach and intersection. The signal design plays an important role in the operation of the intersection too. It is important to ensure that the signal timing is correct as this can affect the flow of traffic. There are different signal controls that can be implemented, and they include, semi actuated, fully actuated and fixed timing. To retime a signalised intersection is considered the most cost-effective method of redesign. Phasing of the intersection is important as this can affect the level of service of operation of the intersection. To determine which phasing is necessary, the following must be assessed: the number of road accidents, the sight distance available, the geometry of the road, speeds of vehicles, the total volumes and the operation of the intersection. Unsignalised intersections are generally not preferred as volumes and speeds differ at each approach. High accident statistics are expected. This affects the overall capacity and operation of an intersection. Rotary movement control which refers to roundabouts or traffic circles, can handle larger volumes of traffic and reduce conflicting movements. They are therefore, considered much safer than other forms of at-grade intersections. The literature review will provide more detail regarding traffic congestion, intersection design and measuring the effectiveness of an intersection. Data collection and Analysis The site investigation was undertaken on 20 February 2019 between the AM peak (6:00 and 8:30) and the PM peak (16:00 and 18:30), to determine the extent of the traffic congestion currently being experienced, along the southbound approach of Milner and Klipfontein Road. Based on the findings, the PM peak period was considered the “worst case scenario”. A traffic count was not required; as previous traffic count data was available from the City of Cape Town records. A full traffic count was completed in 2017 for the entire intersection. A travel time survey was undertaken on Wednesday, 24 July 2019 between 16:00 and 18:00. The runs were calculated at 10-minute intervals. The data obtained from this survey was validated against the traffic count survey to determine whether the data obtained from City of Cape Town records, was indeed correct. It should be noted that the travel time survey was only completed during the PM peak, as the majority of traffic travel along that approach (direction towards home), during the PM peak. It was also confirmed to be the time of day when traffic was the worst. During the process of the travel time survey, a separate survey was completed to determine the direction in which vehicles were travelling. The vehicles were monitored from where they entered the southbound approach (M5 highway or Raapenberg Road), whether they stayed in the lane they entered the approach or whether they changed lanes. This survey would determine the destination of travel. Furthermore, vehicles changing lanes, were also further monitored, to determine if they were undertaking this movement legally or illegally. A solid white line, located approximately 200m away from the signalized Milner and Klipfontein intersection, separates the two lanes entering from M5 highway and Raapenberg Road. It prevents vehicles from changing lanes when unsafe to do so. The data was captured in Sidra and Junction to assess the delay and level of service at the intersection and specifically along the southbound approach of Milner and Klipfontein Road intersection. Results and findings The southbound approach is a three-lane approach. It comprises of a left lane, which is used for straight ahead movements and left turning movements, a middle lane used for straight ahead movements and a short right turn lane. The traffic count data that was obtained from the City of Cape Town records for 2017, established that a high volume of traffic passed through Milner and Klipfontein Road intersection daily. The peak periods of the day had a variation in the volumes of traffic along each approach, except for the southbound approach, which had high volumes of traffic at both peak periods. Majority of the traffic enters from either M5 highway or Raapenberg Road and exits onto Milner or Klipfontein Road eastbound. The signal phasing at the intersection comprises 4 phases, with no priority given to the southbound approach eastbound movements, even though the highest traffic volumes travelling in that direction. This has resulted in traffic congestion and a backlog of traffic onto Raapenberg Road. As a result, vehicles take longer than necessary to reach the intersection. The travel time survey investigated vehicles travelling from Alexandra and Raapenberg Road towards Milner and Klipfontein Road. The total distance is 1.2km in length. On average, a driver driving at a speed of 60km/hr. (length of road is short, and it bends), should take 3 minutes and 20 seconds to complete this stretch of road. This total time is inclusive of the signal system. It took vehicles more than 7 minutes to complete the 1.2km distance. The road accident statistics also indicate that a high number of accidents take place at Milner and Klipfontein Road intersection. Over the latest five-year period, a total of 256 accidents took place at the intersection. Of the 256 accidents, 53% of the accidents took place along the southbound approach. Furthermore, the directional survey also established that majority of the vehicles entering from both Raapenberg and the M5 highway, were travelling eastbound along Klipfontein Road. Majority of the vehicles changing lanes, have however, done this legally (not crossing the solid line). As a result, many vehicles were merged between two lanes, obstructing oncoming vehicles. It is evident from the results that there is a need for mitigating measures. High volumes of traffic are experienced along the southbound approach, with a high portion of this traffic wanting to make use of the left lane. Limited gaps are available for changing lanes, travel time is longer than expected and spilling of traffic is occurring on Raapenberg Road all due to high congestion levels along the southbound approach. It is therefore proposed that a roundabout be constructed at Milner and Klipfontein Road intersection to reduce conflicting movements, improve the delay and LOS of the intersection and reduce the issues currently being experienced along the southbound approach. Recommendations It is recommended that a proper design be completed to understand the proper effects in terms of operation of the intersection by implementation of a roundabout. Further research should be undertaken to determine the effect of the roundabout on the AM peak.
19

British waterborne domestic freight (BWDF) : the waterborne freight alternative to road transport in the UK, and its role in sustainable mobility

McNamara, Thomas January 2005 (has links)
Increasingly it has been recognised that there are many problems associated with the over-dependence on road haulage, and that along with the reality of congestion and gridlock on the EU road network, the external costs of road haulage in terms of the pollution roads inflict on society is now considered unsustainable in the long term. In response to this reality, both the EU and UK governments have developed policy advocating a transfer of freight from roads to the more environmentally friendly transport modes of water and rail. In essence this is an investigation and analysis of the economic, environmental and political issues which affect the diversion of freight from roads to water in the 21st century. Packer's 1994 "Roads to water" study examined the prospect of the viability of a significant modal switch from roads to water and highlighted a numbe of issues which he felt would adversley affect modal transfer. This thesis tests a number of these conclusions to see if they are still a barrier to conversion in 2004 as Packer suggested they were ten years earlier. This is achieved by the analysis of six different case studies, where it is felt that the traditional road haulage element could be transferred to water transport. An analysis of the pollution and external costs imposed on society by the road halulage element within these studies has been compared to an alternative BWDF option, and the results clearly show that water, in every case is considerably more environmentally friendly than road. In addition to this, the research has established a number of other results pertaining to these studies. These include the compariosn of the operation costs of both modes, the number of LGV kilometres eradicated by the modal transfer and the reduction of fuel used. The conclusion of this analysis is that, in one year, 33,594 long distance road haulage journeys could be eradicated from UK roads. It also concluded that the distance generated by long distance road haulage would reduce from 6,084,091 kms to 422,837 kms local (short distance) haulage, a reduction of 5,661,254 kms. In addition, 2,055 tonnes of fuel would be reduced to 139 tonnes saving 1,916 tonnes per annum, and road halulage pollution would fall from 9,051 tonnes per annum to 630 tonnes eradicating 8,421 tonnes of land based pollution. In terms of external costs it also concluded that the external costs imposed on society would reduce by £751,520 per annum.
20

A further study of transportation problems on South African university campuses

Wall, Kevin Charles January 1978 (has links)
This thesis surveys the transportation problems of universities in RSA, and solutions proposed thereto. The transportation problems referred to are problems of access to and egress from the campus; internal circulation on the campus (whether of vehicles or pedestrians); and parking on the campus. Universities were asked to rank in priority order a series of problem statements. Using their replies as a base, a questionnaire was drawn up, and was posted to all eleven White universities, plus the Universities of Durban-Westville and the Western Cape. Information requested included population figures in various staff/student and resident/commuter categories, parking demand and provision, modal split, public transport supply and use, and measures to cope with future increase in traffic. Despite a very satisfactory response, there remain gaps in the data, especially on the question of modal split. Visits were paid to most of the universities planning and administrative staff were interviewed. A comparison with a similar study, done in 1970/1971, yields information on trends. Particularly, it is encouraging to note the improvement in the scope and standard of transportation planning on some of the campuses. Overseas information which could make a contribution to a better understanding of the RSA situation was gathered by means of a questionnaire survey and a literature survey. The countries selected for this purpose, by reason of the similarity of key socio-economic characteristics of their population to RSA data were Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Additional information was gathered, by means of a limited literature survey and a few visits, from universities in UK and USA. This information was critically assessed on its applicability to RSA needs. From this mass of information, factors that influence campus transportation problems are seen to emerge. In the light of this understanding, generalised solutions that are proposed from time to time for the transportation problems at particular universities are commented on in the thesis.

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