Modifying a high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane into a high occupancy/toll (HOT) lane generally involves allowing single occupant vehicles (SOVs) to travel on the free-flow HOV lane for a toll. This may entice some former transit riders to pay the toll to obtain the benefits of traveling in their own vehicle on the HOV lane. Thus, the introduction of a HOT lane has the potential to impact transit ridership, dramatically lowering the average vehicle occupancy of the lane. In 2003, surveys were distributed to park-and-ride bus passengers on the Katy Freeway and Northwest Freeway corridors in Houston. Passengers’ responses to questions regarding their trip characteristics, their socioeconomic characteristics, and stated preference scenarios were used to develop a mode choice model. To determine how transit passengers might react to a proposed HOT lane, HOT lane scenarios with varying tolls and travel time savings were simulated using this model. For all scenarios, only a small percentage of transit passengers were estimated to switch to driving alone on the HOV lane. Fewer people would switch during the peak period than during the off-peak period. Transit passengers shifting to SOV on the HOV lane would reduce the average vehicle occupancy (AVO) only about 1 percent to 2 percent. SOV drivers shifting from the general purpose lanes to the HOV lanes are likely to affect AVO much more. However, as long as free-flow conditions are maintained, this analysis shows that the HOV lane can be successfully adapted to a HOT lane and move more people, even if a few transit passengers choose to drive alone.

In the last thirty years, determined travelers have developed a new method of travel that allows them to receive the benefits of traveling on the HOV lane without forming traditional carpools. This new mode is known as casual carpooling (also known as ??slugging??). Casual carpools are impromptu carpools formed among strangers in order to meet the occupancy requirements of HOV lanes. In this research, survey respondent data from Houston, Texas were used to evaluate the behavior of casual carpool passengers. At the time of this research, there were approximately 500 casual carpool passengers in Houston each day during the morning peak period. These passengers gained time savings of up to 13 minutes over the alternative of driving alone on the main lanes. Statistical models were used to evaluate the factors that influence travelers to choose casual carpooling. The results of the analyses indicated that travelers on commute trips were more likely to casual carpool. The results also indicated that casual carpoolers in Houston made more trips per week, were between the ages of 25 and 34, and hadoccupations that were either professional/managerial or administrative/clerical. Additionally, Houston travelers that had incomes between $25,000 and $35,000 and were between the ages of 55 and 64 were significantly less likely to casual carpool. The research results provided insight into some of the factors that influenced the decision to casual carpool. It is important to understand the types of travelers that casual carpooled, and the information learned in these analyses can be used to better evaluate HOV and HOT lane use and performance. Casual carpool passengers can comprise a significant portion of HOV/HOT lane person movement and should be considered when considering HOV or HOT lane implementation. However, further research in this area is necessary to better understand these travelers.

Abstract Purpose – To study the possibility of using a NIR hardware solution to photograph individuals in a private vehicle as well as an analysis of its images. Method – A study of existing theories around the NIR-method’s performance in selected conditions and individual tests were performed to examine if the literature statements were valid for this study. Two empirical tests have been carried out, the first was carried out at Kapsch test track and the other outside the test track in a single stationary test. An interview which formed the basis for the assessment on the quality of empirical data with a focus on computer-based detection of the number of individuals in the vehicle. Findings – The results have demonstrated the potential of the NIR method’s performance in a fully automated detection system for the number of individuals inside the vehicle. Empirical data indicates that the method can depict individuals inside vehicles of sufficiently high quality, but it is greatly affected by reflections, weather and light conditions. Implications – Result supports the assumption that the NIR method using an external light source can be used to image the interior through a varying number of weather and lightning conditions. The study originated until the results suggested that a NIR-based hardware setup can create images with high enough quality for the human eye to be able to detect the number of individuals inside the vehicle.If the overall performance into account, it suggests that the main problem with the use of the hardware set is to maintain the quality of the whole sample and that the crucial variables for the method’s performance is the influence of light and reflection conditions. Limitations – The major limitations have been that we limited ourselves to a subjective analysis of the selection and assessment on the image features for computer-based detection of the number of individuals in the vehicle. We were limited to two tests, one in tough conditions where only the driver was in the vehicle and the second stationary test, where the focus was on the number of people in vehicles and light sources impact on the result.

Since the 1960’s, high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes have been successfully used as a travel demand management technique. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the use of high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes as an alternative to HOV lanes to help manage the increasing demand for travel. HOT lanes combine pricing and vehicle occupancy restrictions to optimize the demand for HOV lanes. As two of the four HOT lanes in the world, the HOT lane facilities in Houston, Texas received relatively low patronage after operating for over 6 years on the Katy Freeway and over 4 years on the Northwest Freeway. There existed an opportunity to increase the usage of these HOT lanes by allowing single-occupancy vehicle (SOV) travelers to use the lanes, for an appropriate toll. The potential SOV demand for HOV lane use during the off-peak periods from the Katy Freeway and Northwest Freeway general-purpose lane (GPL) travelers was estimated in this study by using the data collected from a 2003 survey of travelers on the Katy and Northwest Freeway GPLs who were not enrolled in QuickRide. Based on survey results, more travelers would choose to drive on the HOT lanes as SOV travelers during the off-peak periods when the facilities provided higher travel time savings and charged lower tolls. Two important factors influencing travelers’ use of the HOV lanes were their value of travel time savings (VTTS) and penalty for changing travel schedule (VPCS). It was found that respondents had VTTS approximately 43 percent of their hourly wage rate and VPCS approximately 3 percent of their hourly wage rate. Combining this information with current travel time savings and available capacity on the HOV lanes, it was found that approximately 2000 SOV travelers per day would pay an average toll of $2.25 to use the HOV lanes during the off-peak periods.

High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes are employed in many cities as a traffic congestion mitigation technique. These lanes are intended to provide a travel time benefit to carpools and buses, thus providing an incentive to form carpools or take transit. The time and frustration involved in finding and using HOV lane access points may act as a deterrent to HOV lane use. Thus, proper planning of HOV lane access may be able to improve convenience for potential users, increasing HOV lane utilization. By optimizing HOV lane volumes, high levels of service and trip reliability are ensured for those who carpool. Congestion is also reduced on General Purpose Lanes (GPLs) due to the diverted traffic. Public approval is tied to HOV lane utilization, which may be affected by access. Thus, HOV lane success may be determined in part by accessibility. This research investigated the possible relationship between the time required to access the HOV lane and travelers' choice of HOV lane as their mode. Additionally, the distance to HOV lane access points and the type of access point used were examined for their influence on HOV lane use rates. It was concluded that neither the type of HOV lane access point, nor the added time necessary to access the HOV lane were significant factors in HOV lane use rates. Instead, the convenience of carpool formation and the convenience of HOV lane access to traveler's origins and destinations were found to be the most important factors in HOV lane use rates. Specifically, the HOV lane use rate for the area 5 to 7 miles from the nearest HOV lane exit, which includes Downtown Houston, was much higher than the use rates for any other area.

This study aims to inquire into the pre-historic cult and the power structures in the folkland Värend, a region in present days Kronoberg County in Småland Sweden. The district Hovshaga is located at the northern outskirts of Växjö, the provincial capital. According to linguistic- and place name studies (toponymy) “hof” implies an Iron Age central place with a high probability of ritual cult presence.   The toponymy of this district serve as the outset of this inquiry, using archeological records and reports on Värend as my empiric material coupled with prehistoric place-name studies and studies of hierarchies, Norse mythology, phenomenology and a little bit of sociology I hope to make some of the social dynamics of Värend become visible.

I denna uppsats genomförs en intersektionell analys av Sarah J Maas bokserie Ett hov av taggar och rosor. Syftet är att analysera de två första böckerna, Ett hov av taggar och rosor och Ett hov av dimma och vrede utifrån ett intersektionellt perspektiv för att komma fram till hur tillgången till makt ser ut för Feyre. Jag undersöker hennes utveckling för att se hur hennes makt förändras från första till andra boken och för att komma fram till vilka likheter och skillnader som finns mellan alvernas rike och människornas land är ett intersektionellt utgångsläge relevant. För att komma fram till hur Feyres makt påverkas är det genus, klass- och rasperspektiv som kommer vara i fokus men ålder kommer också att diskuteras.  Det är intressant att studera Feyre som karaktär utifrån detta utgångsläge eftersom hon inte besitter de traditionella dragen hos kvinnan utan kan uppfattas vara normbrytande. Det är därför intressant att se hur hennes makt förändras mellan människorna och alvernas världar. Även att likställa förhållandet mellan alver och människor med rasism kan leda till intressanta reflektioner.  För att besvara mina frågeställningar utgår jag från en kvalitativ textanalys och har kommit fram till att Feyres makt förändras från första till andra boken. I första boken är hennes tillgång till makt begränsad från ett ras- och klassperspektiv medan hennes maktposition förändras förändras i andra boken både från ett genus, ras och klassperspektiv. I första boken är Feyres tillgång till makt begränsad som människa och fattig person men som kvinna finns inga begränsningar för henne. Det är inte förrän i andra boken som Feyres tillgång till makt ökar eftersom hon då förvandlas till en högalv. Feyre får då ett övertag som människor inte har och är starkare och snabbare samt besitter magiska krafter. I andra boken blir hon däremot begränsad som kvinna och individ och det är inte förrän hon lämnar vårhovet och kommer till natthovet som hennes makt förändras. I natthovet får Feyre chansen att anpassa sig efter sin kropp som högalv och lär sig att bemästra sina förmågor. Feyre intar dessutom rollen som höglady och styr natthovet tillsammans med höglorden. Feyres makt ökar således från flera aspekter.

Carpools can be comprised of family members (fampools), non-family members (non-fampools) or a combination of both. Overall, carpool mode share has decreased during the 1980's and 1990's, even as the policies were in place to encourage carpooling, but at the same time the share of fampools increased quite significantly. By analyzing the characteristics of fampools and non-fampools, we can better understand how policies may impact each group. One area of particular interest is the impact of managed lanes on the mode choice of fampools and non-fampools. For this research, survey data collected from both Houston and Dallas, Texas was used to investigate the mode choice of fampools and non-fampools on managed lanes. The survey data was weighted to better represent the traveler population. The weighted survey data was analyzed to better understand the characteristics of fampools and non-fampools. Non-fampools were formed more frequently in a week than fampools. The average carpool formation time was similar for both fampools and non-fampools at 6.4 minutes and 6.2 minutes, respectively. Fampools rated "drop off kids at school or day care" higher than non-fampools and non-fampools rated "sharing vehicle expenses" higher than fampools as the most important reason for the formation of their current carpool. A majority of travelers from both groups showed an interest in using managed lanes and "travel time reliability" was rated most important factor for this interest. Fampools and non-fampools were split into subgroups based on their current number of passengers. Among these four sub-groups, the majority of respondents were interested in using managed lanes. Random parameter logit models were developed for both fampools and non-fampools. For the fampools, the value of travel time savings was estimated to be $ 22.80 per hour. Non-fampools were not sensitive to the travel time. Different travel scenarios were simulated for both fampools and non-fampools. The results showed that with increased tolls on the managed lanes the decrease in carpool mode share on managed lanes was compensated by an increase in carpool mode share on the GPLs for both fampools and non-fampools. With an increased toll, both fampools and non-fampools showed less sensitivity to the toll cost. The estimated demand elasticity was fairly inelastic for both fampools and non-fampools.

High-Occupancy toll (HOT) lanes allow lower-occupant vehicles (LOVs) to use a HOV lane for a fee, while maintaining free travel to qualifying HOVs. HOT lanes are gaining interest throughout the country as a strategy for meeting multiple performance objectives in congested urban freeway corridors. Currently there are ten fully operational HOT lanes around the country in seven different states and this research examined the nine of them (excluding I-35 W). Even with only a handful of operational HOT lane projects, there is great diversity in terms of HOT lane design and operations. With HOT lane implementation there are many issues, including: toll rates, vehicle occupancy requirement, number of access points, and safety. This research examined (i) the different factors which lead to the development of the HOT lanes in their respective corridors (ii) the objectives of the HOT lanes (iii) changes made in the corridor due to HOT lane implementation (iv) the different impacts of the HOT lanes and (v) the extent to which the objectives of the HOT lanes were achieved. Using three pairs of HOT lanes with similar design and operational characteristics, comparisons were made to examine the impacts of the similar HOT lanes in two different corridors. With the strict registration requirement for HOV3+ on the I-95 Express Lanes there were indications that some carpoolers broke up in to lower occupancy vehicles. Tolled access for HOV2s on I-95 as well as the SR 91 Express Lanes resulted in lower usage of the Express Lanes by the HOV2s (fewer than 30 percent of the total corridor HOV2s) as compared to a conventional HOV lane (60 percent) where HOV2 access is free. The effect of availability of transit on the HOT lanes can also be seen from SR 91 as compared to I-95. On SR 91, the Express bus does not use the Express Lanes and there was almost no change in its ridership after the Express Lanes were implemented. However, on I-95, the Express bus uses the Express Lanes and travel time of buses decreased by 17 minutes due to Express Lanes implementation. The Express bus ridership also increased by 30 percent. On the SR167 and I-25 HOT lanes, the exogenous factors like gas prices and economic recession seemed to influence the usage of the HOT lanes. In both the HOT Lanes, carpool usage was positively correlated to the gasoline prices. On I-25, the increasing unemployment rate coincided with the decreasing toll paying travelers. On SR 167 there were also indications of mode shifts among the transit, carpool and toll paying SOVs due to fluctuating gas prices. With declining gas prices, the transit and carpool usage went down while toll paying users increased. An inverse relationship between the convenience of access points and the safety perceived by the HOT lane users was found. For example, I-15 Express Lanes in Salt Lake City reduced the access points from unrestricted with the previous HOV lanes to limited with the Express Lanes. As a result, more predictable merging led to an increase in the perceived safety of the Express lanes as well as the speed of the corridor. On the other hand, some carpoolers mentioned not using the Express Lanes anymore because of access inconvenience. The access inconvenience was also mentioned by previous carpoolers in HOV lanes on I-95 as one of the reasons for not using the Express Lanes. These findings underscore the importance of outreach programs during the planning process of the HOT lanes to minimize the confusion among the previous users of the HOV lanes and spreading awareness among them regarding the increased safety benefits.

While there are many proposals for fixing congestion between San Francisco and Oakland in California by adding a new bridge or tube, these solutions will take decades to implement even though a solution is needed now. This thesis assesses sixteen different strategies for reducing congestion in the short-term in the four categories of improving transit, promoting carpooling, implementing intelligent transportation systems practices, and incentivizing alternatives to using the Bay Bridge. Top priorities include HOV improvements on the West Grand Avenue and Powell Street onramps, altering WestCAT Lynx and BART transit services, partnering with rideshare apps to increase transit station accessibility (last mile problem), partnering with vanpool/minibus apps, promoting carpooling and implementing a citizen report system for carpool violators, shifting corporate cultures away from requiring employees to drive and drive alone, and lastly, altering land-use planning practices. To reach this conclusion, an inventory of current proposals and relevant research was compiled. Ridership and capacity data for the various modes of transportation across the bay were assessed for shortfalls and opportunities. Through this research and its resultant conclusions, focus can be placed on the best strategies to pursue in the near-term, while the Bay Area waits on a second bridge or tube in the long-term.