Thesis (M. S.)--Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. / Committee Chair: Meyer, Michael; Committee Member: Amekudzi, Adjo; Committee Member: Garrow, Laurie. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

Two interesting challenges have been created in the traditional transportation planning process through recent adoption of more interactive roles by Federal, State and local transportation agencies and of those representing the communities being impacted by proposed transportation projects. First, the decision-making groups that formerly included solely transportation and related professionals now consist of professionals from state and local agencies and other stakeholders impacted by those proposed projects. Furthermore, the economic justification methodologies commonly used, such as the benefit/cost ratio, no longer provide a sufficient means for evaluation since they now must take account of non-quantifiable or qualitative impacts, such as local quality of life and sustainable development. These new challenges require a new way of thinking, and a new methodology to handle them. A new methodology is required not only to take qualitative performances into consideration, but also to accommodate the diversities created by those in the decision-making process. This research focuses on the alternative evaluation stage as it often demonstrates the above challenges. The objective of the proposed methodology is to develop "a continuous process of learning and understanding through communicative means by virtue of a fair and open framework in developing the group consensus rather than relying solely on the STATUS QUO." The new methodology that combines the advantages of three unrelated components is proposed to reduce the complexities in complex decision situations. The three components include the conflict resolution model (SANTA), the analytical method (AHP), and the group decision support system (GDSS). The proposed methodology also explores a new way to take advantage of the Internet which allows decision makers to make their decisions from any where at any time. A small-scaled pilot study was set up to test the methodology and the software developed according to the framework outlined by the proposed methodology. Many benefits are discovered by the participants' observations without their prior knowledge about the methodology and the software. Those benefits include Flexibility, Accessibility, Transparency, and Efficiency, or FATE. There are two possible applications of this new methodology, i.e., in real-world problem-solving situations and as a learning tool. / Graduation date: 2003

Efficient public transportation provides economic and social opportunities that increase accessibility to markets and employment as well as providing investment benefits. Key challenges to the U.S. public transportation industry include developing modes and increasing the availability of public transportation in a manner that meets the needs of individual users in a cost effective manner. A problem facing public transportation officials is the need to understand the factors that influence consumer decision-making and consumer attitudes toward public transportation. Feedback regarding experiences as well as expectations from commuters provides information for developing and improving public transportation. Thus, decision-making factors of end-users are keys to improving supply, growth, and understanding utilization of public transportation. Public transportation officials seek to improve the public transportation experience for commuters by increasing modes and benefits of the systems. The decision-making factors of the end-users require identification and examination in order to provide a high quality and efficient experience for commuters. The research questions of interest in the current dissertation are: (1) What are the decision-making factors affecting commuters’ attitudes toward public transportation? and (2) How do the end-user decision-making factors affect the supply of public transportation? The purpose of this research is to extend the current body of knowledge about decision-making factors by developing and testing a new theoretical model to measure the attitudes of public transportation end-users. This study has its theoretical foundation in the theory of planned behavior, theory of reasoned action, and rational choice theory. To understand how public transportation is affected by decision-making factors, it is necessary to analyze the relationships among the decision factors and attitudes. The findings of this study contribute by building theory and having implications for practice. This study employs a mixed methodology of qualitative and quantitative research. More specifically, the development of a framework and testing of that framework via collection of data using a survey instrument, semi-structured interviews, and data scraping of customer comments underpin the methodology employed in this study. To this end, Essay 1 develops a conceptual framework of decision-making factors that affect the supply of public transportation based on the extant literature. The integrated framework developed is operationalized using a survey to test a model that depicts the framework within the context to which the study was situated. The results of the structural model using PLS provide insights for the development of public transportation. Essay 2 involves two phases in the methodology. First, the study develops a causal loop that depicts the operationalized conceptual framework from Essay 1. Second, discussion panels were conducted to confirm the system dynamic causal loop visualization that was developed to fit the model. Finally, Essay 3 examines the conceptual framework developed and tested in the prior essays by analyzing electronic word of mouth (eWOM) of online comments. The third essay examines eWOM of current public transportation users that is available online. This eWOM data was examined using text mining and the resulting quantitative output was compared to the operationalized theoretical framework from the prior works. The results also illustrate the functionality of text analytics for confirmatory model assessment.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1981. / MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND ROTCH. / Vita. / Bibliography: leaves 329-333. / by Jonathan Edward David Richmond. / M.C.P.

The continuing evolution of urban travel patterns and changing policy goals and priorities requires that transportation researchers and practitioners improve their abilities to plan and forecast the demand for travel. Walking and bicycling - the primary forms of active travel - are generating increasing interest for their potential to reduce automobile use, save governmental and consumer costs, and improve personal and social health outcomes. Yet, current transportation planning tools, namely regional travel demand forecasting models, poorly represent these active travel modes, if at all. More broadly, travel models do an incomplete job of representing the decision-making processes involved in travel choices, especially those factors influencing walking and bicycling. In addition to limitations of data and statistical analysis methods, the research upon which modeling tools are based has yet to settle on a comprehensive theory of travel behavior that accounts for complex relationships around a variety of personal, social, and environmental factors. While modeling tools have explained travel primarily through economic theories, contributions from the geography and psychology fields prove promising. A few scholars have attempted to link these travel behavior explanations together, some with a focus on walking and bicycling, but these theories have yet to make a significant impact on travel modeling practice. This thesis presents a unifying interdisciplinary framework for a theory of travel decision-making with applications for travel demand modeling and forecasting and a focus on walking and bicycling. The framework offers a guide for future research examining the complex relationships of activities, built environment factors, demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, attitudes and perceptions, and habit and exploration on individual short-term travel decisions (with considerations of the influence of medium- and long-term travel-related decisions). A key component of the theory is a hierarchy of travel needs hypothesized to be considered by travelers in the course of their decision-making processes. Although developed to account for the factors that particularly influence decisions surrounding walking and bicycling, the framework is postulated to apply to all travel modes and decisions, including frequency, destination, mode, time-of-day, and route. The first section of the thesis reviews theories from the fields of economics, geography, psychology, and travel behavior that have a large influence on the development of the theory of travel decision-making. In the next and largest chapter, the components and relationships in this theory, including the hierarchy of travel needs, are defined and presented with supporting empirical evidence from travel behavior research. This thesis's final section views the theory of travel decision-making through the lens of applicability to travel demand modeling and forecasting. The state of current travel forecasting tools, travel behavior research, data, and analysis methods with respect to each aspect of the theory is reviewed. Research and data needs are identified. In closing, some opportunities for operationalizing the theory in travel demand models and using these transportation planning tools for analyzing walking, cycling, and other policies are hypothesized and discussed. This thesis, and the theory and applications discussed within, contribute to the academic study of travel behavior, the practical modeling of travel demand, and walking and bicycling research and planning.

Performance measurement and management have been evolving at state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) in recent years, and a variety of performance data is being utilized in different ways to guide decision-making processes. However, health considerations beyond air quality and safety are not yet being incorporated into performance management programs at state DOTs. Concurrently, Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) and other public health tools have seen increasing use among Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) and their stakeholders through collaboration with public health professionals. With the 2012 reauthorization of the surface transportation bill - Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21) - state DOTs and MPOs have the opportunity to consider health proactively in transportation decision making to address the environmental sustainability requirements of MAP-21. This study investigates the possibility for integration between transportation performance measurement and management and the HIA approach, identifying and explaining the linkages between the two previously isolated processes. The study draws from best practices in performance measurement/management at state DOTs and various examples of health-related activities among MPOs and other planning to inform a suggested approach for incorporating health considerations and metrics in transportation decision making. The suggested approach recognizes common goals of health and transportation agencies, which are well-aligned with national objectives, and emphasizes the role of multidisciplinary interagency collaboration and partnership. This approach is intended to be a resource for state DOTs and MPOs that are interested in extending their performance measurement/management activities to formally include health considerations, as it can ease many of the implementation issues currently faced when considering broader health impacts of transportation.

Infrastructure services are of fundamental importance to a country's economic and social well-being; however, decisions about such investments are complex, involving multiple actors, high levels of uncertainty and creating a multi-decadal lock-in to the choices made. Methodologies to assist with such decisions ('appraisal' methodologies) have developed to consider many of these complexities, yet they remain sector specific, ignoring interdependencies between infrastructure networks. Such methodologies thereby ignore the opportunities or vulnerabilities derived from these inter-relationships, simply assuming that cross-sectoral services will be provided, and ignoring the constraints created for future development. Furthermore, the siloed methodologies make calculation of the total system effects impossible, undermining strategic plans and obscuring any need (or ability to) prioritise across sectors. The work herein aimed to develop and demonstrate a strategic approach, capable of providing a more complete valuation of infrastructure investments by taking the interdependencies between the networks into account. In so doing, it examined the hypothesis that use of such a methodology could help deliver more robust outcomes. The work is founded on development of a common, cross-sector appraisal methodology: fifteen common, monetised infrastructure performance metrics, developed by reviewing the strategic priorities of infrastructure and the existing sectoral cost benefit analyses. This was integrated with best practice from portfolio, pathway and real option approaches to create a longer term, system focused analysis of the decision space. Testing the framework through a case study (the Thames Hub Vision), chosen specifically for its high number of sectors, diversity of impacts and magnitude of its interdependencies, it examines the information gained by the increased methodological complexity. The results demonstrate that current appraisal methods are indeed incomplete, with interdependencies creating additional value and the opportunity for increased robustness. Indeed, ignored system effects are found to be sufficient to reverse the result of the analysis and future effects enabled by the investments are found to be up to an order of magnitude greater than the direct impacts recorded by current appraisals. Furthermore, the response and sensitivity to uncertainty is shown to be affected by consideration of the system effects, both directly, through their application to multiple assets and indirectly, through interaction with the wider investment landscape. The proposed approach captures these values and relationships, allowing more informed decisions to be made. In addition, a decision support tool is developed providing the means to identify which opportunities stakeholders wish to maintain, how these can be created and which variables must be tracked to ensure the opportunities remain valid. The work therefore promotes a more active, strategic approach to infrastructure investment, allowing translation between national targets, regional stakeholder values and sector-specific technical requirements, to create a more holistic plan for a country's infrastructure networks.