Public transit is a key method for increasing sustainability in the transportation sector; transit can decrease emissions harmful to the environment and increase social equity by providing improved mobility. Given the limited resources available to build and operate public transit, it makes sense to meet multiple sustainability goals simultaneously. Transit that is accessible by non-motorized means and serves multiple trip types can potentially reduce vehicle usage and increase mobility for everyone. This research assesses whether transit systems with high non-motorized access rates and non-work trip usage are meeting social and environmental goals and what factors impact non-work and non-motorized access rates. Eight criteria were used to choose 17 metropolitan regions that represent a range of transit conditions in the US. Non-parametric correlations were calculated between non-work usage and non-motorized access and a dataset of 30 continuous and 11 categorical variables that measure regional characteristics, transit efficiency, land use, rider demographics, and transit operations and design. In-depth case studies, including site visits and interviews, were done for Denver, Colorado; Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; and Sacramento, California. The correlations and case studies both confirm that transit system with high non-work usage and non-motorized access are not meeting social or environmental sustainability goals. These systems primarily serve low-income riders, are less well funded, and provide limited service. Only systems with higher per capita funding levels meet social goals and higher funding is correlated to higher income riders. However, having higher income riders does not imply that social goals are met. Regional policies regarding operations and design of transit can increase usage for non-work trips and non-motorized access and are necessary to ensure both social and environmental goals are met.

A framework is proposed for determining the least expected cost path in a schedule-based time-expanded public transit network where travel times, and thus bus arrival and departure times at stops, are stochastic. Transfer reliability is incorporated in a label-correcting algorithm with a penalty function for the expected waiting time when transferring that reflects the likelihood of making a successful transfer. The algorithm is implemented in transit assignment on an Austin, Texas test network, using actual bus arrival and departure time distributions from vehicle location data. Assignment results are compared with those of a deterministic shortest path based on the schedule and from a calibrated transit assignment model. Simulations of the network and passenger paths are also conducted to evaluate the overall path reliability. The reliable shortest path algorithm is found to penalize transferring and provide paths with improved transfer and overall reliability. The proposed model is realistic, incorporating reliability measures from vehicle location data, and practical, given the efficient shortest path approach and application to transit assignment. / text

In multi-modal transit networks with several intersecting lines and modes, travel through the network typically requires one or more transfers among transit lines and modes, and as such transfer time is a significant component of transit travel time from the perspective of passengers. Accordingly, efficient transfers are very important to increase the attractiveness and productivity of transit service. This study presents two approaches for the provision of efficient transfers: schedule coordination and real-time CP (Connection Protection) control. The coordination of transit schedules can reduce transfer time significantly. This dissertation develops an optimization model for generating transit timetables that minimize transfer-related times. The model attempts to find an optimal timetable by shifting the existing timetable and/or adding holding time to the timetable to minimize delays associated with transfers from a feeder route to a receiving route. Analytical models are developed to estimate the waiting time of the transfer passengers, and also to determine the influence of the schedule modification on the waiting times of non-transfer passengers. The developed model is evaluated through a case study, and the results show that the model reduces effectively the total transfer and waiting times through the modification of the current schedule. However, even though timetables among intersecting lines may be properly coordinated, an operational control method is necessary to maintain coordinated transfers, which may occasionally be disrupted due to unexpected delays of transit vehicles. A promising approach is to utilize real-time CP control. It involves holding a transit unit in order to wait for another transit unit that is planned to provide a coordinated transfer but has been delayed. This study also develops a CP model to apply a holding control to a receiving run in order to protect the scheduled connection. It incorporates the probabilistic nature of transit operations in formulating a cost function, and accordingly makes more robust decisions for control. The developed model is evaluated and compared with previous models to demonstrate its ability to improve transfer efficiency and reduce the waiting times of affected passengers.

In multi-modal transit networks with several intersecting lines and modes, travel through the network typically requires one or more transfers among transit lines and modes, and as such transfer time is a significant component of transit travel time from the perspective of passengers. Accordingly, efficient transfers are very important to increase the attractiveness and productivity of transit service. This study presents two approaches for the provision of efficient transfers: schedule coordination and real-time CP (Connection Protection) control. The coordination of transit schedules can reduce transfer time significantly. This dissertation develops an optimization model for generating transit timetables that minimize transfer-related times. The model attempts to find an optimal timetable by shifting the existing timetable and/or adding holding time to the timetable to minimize delays associated with transfers from a feeder route to a receiving route. Analytical models are developed to estimate the waiting time of the transfer passengers, and also to determine the influence of the schedule modification on the waiting times of non-transfer passengers. The developed model is evaluated through a case study, and the results show that the model reduces effectively the total transfer and waiting times through the modification of the current schedule. However, even though timetables among intersecting lines may be properly coordinated, an operational control method is necessary to maintain coordinated transfers, which may occasionally be disrupted due to unexpected delays of transit vehicles. A promising approach is to utilize real-time CP control. It involves holding a transit unit in order to wait for another transit unit that is planned to provide a coordinated transfer but has been delayed. This study also develops a CP model to apply a holding control to a receiving run in order to protect the scheduled connection. It incorporates the probabilistic nature of transit operations in formulating a cost function, and accordingly makes more robust decisions for control. The developed model is evaluated and compared with previous models to demonstrate its ability to improve transfer efficiency and reduce the waiting times of affected passengers.

Many cities today are contemplating major investments in rail transit systems, especially Light Rail Transit (LRT), to address two significant planning issues which have characterized North American metropolitan growth patterns: increasing automobile use and decentralizing population and employment. Proponents of these systems argue that by building rail transit, travel behaviour and land use patterns can be changed. The experience in cities which have built these systems is mixed, but transportation and land use outcomes typically go hand-in-hand: San Diego, Denver, and Portland have increased transit ridership and intensification in station areas, whereas Buffalo and Cleveland have had minimal change occur as a result of investments in LRT. Calgary, Alberta presents an interesting case as its LRT system, first opened in 1981, generates tremendous ridership but has had relatively modest land use change in station areas. This thesis aims to understand why intensification has been so marginal at many stations, and to uncover what are the unique facets of Calgary???s experience which shaped this outcome. The approach taken is to examine the evolution of the City of Calgary???s planning philosophy towards transportation and land use since the need for rapid transit was first identified in 1966. This evolution is also placed within the context of the particularly severe cyclical economic forces that influenced both the city???s growth and policy planning approaches taken to manage this growth. The research finds that the combination of transportation and land use policy, in conjunction with market forces, which existed during the design, construction and operation of the first three LRT lines favoured intensification in Calgary???s downtown and low-density decentralization in suburban areas. However, the evolution of planning policy and market forces indicate that this less likely to be true in the future, both in the near and long term. The City is transitioning from a highly centralized mono-centric city to a poly-centric and increasingly multi-modal metropolitan region. The LRT, and other transit service, will be a key means of facilitating and managing this transformation.

Urban areas are currently facing challenges in terms of traffic congestion due to city expansion and population increase. In some cases, physical solutions are limited. For example, in certain areas it is not possible to expand roads or build a new bridge. Therefore, making public transpiration (PT) affordable, more attractive and intelligent could be a potential solution for these challenges. Accuracy in bus running time and bus arrival time is a key component of making PT attractive to ridership. In this thesis, a dynamic model based on Kalman filter (KF) has been developed to predict bus running time and dwell time while taking into account real-time road incidents. The model uses historical data collected by Automatic Vehicle Location system (AVL) and Automatic Passenger Counters (APC) system. To predict the bus travel time, the model has two components of running time prediction (long and short distance prediction) and dwell time prediction. When the bus closes its doors before leaving a bus stop, the model predicts the travel time to all downstream bus stops. This is long distance prediction. The model will then update the prediction between the bus’s current position and the upcoming bus stop based on real-time data from AVL. This is short distance prediction. Also, the model predicts the dwell time at each coming bus stop. As a result, the model reduces the difference between the predicted arrival time and the actual arrival time and provides a better understanding for the transit network which allows lead to have a good traffic management.

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar os processos licitatórios para a concessão do transporte coletivo municipal por ônibus, ocorridos na cidade de Porto Alegre, durante o ano de 2014, visando identificar o porquê de ambos processos terem restado desertos. Para tanto, buscou-se, ao longo desse estudo de caso, subsídios que justificassem o desinteresse, por parte da iniciativa privada, em prover estes serviços. Através de pesquisa a literatura e da análise de casos de Londres (UK), França e Japão, buscou-se reunir tais subsídios. A conclusão que se obteve é de que as grandes barreiras de entrada; o grande tempo de contrato a ser firmado; o risco de receita ao operador privado, em um contexto em que o poder público determina as especificações dos serviços a serem prestados; a ausência de informações completas sobre os serviços a serem prestados; as indefinições sobre a integração tarifária do sistema metropolitano, e sobre a implantação do metrô e do BRT; podem estar entre as justificativas do desinteresse da iniciativa privada em concorrer nos certames ofertados pelo Poder Público. / This study aims to analyze the bidding process for the granting of the municipal public transport by bus, occurred in the city of Porto Alegre during the year 2014 to identify why both processes have no bidders. Therefore, we sought, throughout this case study, subsidies to justify the lack of interest on the part of the private sector in providing these services. Through research the literature and analysis of cases of London (UK), France and Japan, we sought to gather such subsidies. The conclusion obtained is that large entry barriers; the big time contract to be signed; the risk of revenue to the private operator, in a context in which the government determines the specifications of the services to be provided; the absence of complete information on the services to be provided; the uncertainties on tariff integration of the metropolitan system, and for the implementation of the metro and BRT; may be among the reasons of the private sector unwillingness to compete in contests offered by the Government.

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar os processos licitatórios para a concessão do transporte coletivo municipal por ônibus, ocorridos na cidade de Porto Alegre, durante o ano de 2014, visando identificar o porquê de ambos processos terem restado desertos. Para tanto, buscou-se, ao longo desse estudo de caso, subsídios que justificassem o desinteresse, por parte da iniciativa privada, em prover estes serviços. Através de pesquisa a literatura e da análise de casos de Londres (UK), França e Japão, buscou-se reunir tais subsídios. A conclusão que se obteve é de que as grandes barreiras de entrada; o grande tempo de contrato a ser firmado; o risco de receita ao operador privado, em um contexto em que o poder público determina as especificações dos serviços a serem prestados; a ausência de informações completas sobre os serviços a serem prestados; as indefinições sobre a integração tarifária do sistema metropolitano, e sobre a implantação do metrô e do BRT; podem estar entre as justificativas do desinteresse da iniciativa privada em concorrer nos certames ofertados pelo Poder Público. / This study aims to analyze the bidding process for the granting of the municipal public transport by bus, occurred in the city of Porto Alegre during the year 2014 to identify why both processes have no bidders. Therefore, we sought, throughout this case study, subsidies to justify the lack of interest on the part of the private sector in providing these services. Through research the literature and analysis of cases of London (UK), France and Japan, we sought to gather such subsidies. The conclusion obtained is that large entry barriers; the big time contract to be signed; the risk of revenue to the private operator, in a context in which the government determines the specifications of the services to be provided; the absence of complete information on the services to be provided; the uncertainties on tariff integration of the metropolitan system, and for the implementation of the metro and BRT; may be among the reasons of the private sector unwillingness to compete in contests offered by the Government.

abstract: Driving under the influence (DUI) is a problem in American society that has received considerable attention over recent decades from local police agencies, lobby groups, and the news media. While punitive policies, administrative sanctions and aggressive media campaigns to deter drinking and driving have been used in the past, less conventional methods to restructure or modify the urban environment to discourage drunk driving have been underused. Explanations with regard to DUIs are policy driven more often than they are guided by criminological theory. The current study uses the routine activities perspective as a backdrop for assessing whether a relatively new mode of transportation - an urban light rail system - in a large metropolitan city in the Southwestern U.S. can alter behaviors of individuals who are likely to drive under the influence of alcohol. The study is based on a survey of undergraduate students from a large university that has several stops on the light rail system connecting multiple campuses. This thesis examines whether the light rail system has a greater effect on students whose routines activities (relatively unsupervised college youth with greater access to cars and bars) are more conducive to driving under the influence of alcohol. An additional purpose of the current study is to determine whether proximity to the light rail system is associated with students driving under the influence of alcohol, while controlling for other criminological factors / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Criminology and Criminal Justice 2014

O presente trabalho tem por objetivo analisar os processos licitatórios para a concessão do transporte coletivo municipal por ônibus, ocorridos na cidade de Porto Alegre, durante o ano de 2014, visando identificar o porquê de ambos processos terem restado desertos. Para tanto, buscou-se, ao longo desse estudo de caso, subsídios que justificassem o desinteresse, por parte da iniciativa privada, em prover estes serviços. Através de pesquisa a literatura e da análise de casos de Londres (UK), França e Japão, buscou-se reunir tais subsídios. A conclusão que se obteve é de que as grandes barreiras de entrada; o grande tempo de contrato a ser firmado; o risco de receita ao operador privado, em um contexto em que o poder público determina as especificações dos serviços a serem prestados; a ausência de informações completas sobre os serviços a serem prestados; as indefinições sobre a integração tarifária do sistema metropolitano, e sobre a implantação do metrô e do BRT; podem estar entre as justificativas do desinteresse da iniciativa privada em concorrer nos certames ofertados pelo Poder Público. / This study aims to analyze the bidding process for the granting of the municipal public transport by bus, occurred in the city of Porto Alegre during the year 2014 to identify why both processes have no bidders. Therefore, we sought, throughout this case study, subsidies to justify the lack of interest on the part of the private sector in providing these services. Through research the literature and analysis of cases of London (UK), France and Japan, we sought to gather such subsidies. The conclusion obtained is that large entry barriers; the big time contract to be signed; the risk of revenue to the private operator, in a context in which the government determines the specifications of the services to be provided; the absence of complete information on the services to be provided; the uncertainties on tariff integration of the metropolitan system, and for the implementation of the metro and BRT; may be among the reasons of the private sector unwillingness to compete in contests offered by the Government.