Search Results (15)

In the context of big data and intelligent connectivity, optimizing scheduled bus dispatch can enhance urban transit efficiency and passenger experience, which is vital for the sustainable development of urban transportation. This paper, based on existing fixed bus stops, integrates traditional demand-responsive transit and travel booking models, considering the spatiotemporal variations in scheduled travel demands and passenger flows and addressing the combined scheduling issues of fixed-capacity bus models and skip-stop strategies. By leveraging intelligent connected technologies, it introduces a dynamic grouping method, proposes an intelligent connected bus dispatching model, and optimizes bus timetables and dispatch control strategies. Firstly, the inherent travel characteristics of potential reservation users are analyzed based on actual transit data, subsequently extracting demand data from reserved passengers. Secondly, a two-stage optimization program is proposed, detailing passenger boarding and alighting at each stop and section passenger flow conditions. The first stage introduces a precise bus–traveler matching dispatch model within a spatial–temporal–state framework, incorporating ride matching to minimize parking frequency in scheduled travel scenarios. The second stage addresses spatiotemporal variations in passenger demand and station congestion by employing a skip-stop and bus operation control strategy. This strategy enables the creation of an adaptable bus operation optimization model for temporal dynamics and station capacity. Finally, a dual-layer optimization model using an adaptive parameter grid particle swarm optimization algorithm is proposed. Based on Beijing’s Route 300 operational data, the simulation-driven study implements contrasting scenarios of different bus service patterns. The results demonstrate that this networked dispatching system with dynamic vehicle grouping reduces operational costs by 29.7% and decreases passenger waiting time by 44.15% compared to baseline scenarios. Full article

With the continuous increase in car ownership, alleviating traffic congestion and reducing carbon emissions have become key challenges in urban traffic management. This study constructs a multi-agent model to evaluate the impact of various traffic optimization interventions on citizens’ travel behavior and traffic carbon emission levels. Different from previous mathematical models, this model integrates computer technology and geographic information systems, abstracting travelers as agents with self-control capabilities who can make independent decisions based on their own circumstances, thus reflecting individual differences in travel behavior. Using the real geographical and social environment of the high-density travel area in Xiaodian District, Taiyuan City as a case study, this research explores the overall improvement in the urban transportation system through the implementation of multiple traffic optimization interventions, such as a parking reservation system, the promotion of the park-and-ride mode, and the optimization of public transportation services. Studies have demonstrated that, compared to reducing bus fares, travelers exhibit a greater sensitivity to waiting times. Reducing bus departure intervals can increase the proportion of park-and-ride trips to 25.79%, surpassing the 19.19% increase observed with fare adjustments. A moderate increase in the proportion of reserved parking spaces can elevate the public transport load to 49.85%. The synergistic effect of a combined strategy can further boost the public transport share to 50.62%, while increasing the park-and-ride trip proportion to 33.6%, thereby highlighting the comprehensive benefits of implementing multiple strategies in tandem. When the parking reservation system is effectively implemented, carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced from over 800 kg to below 200 kg, and the proportion of vehicle cruising can decrease from over 20% to under 15%. These results underscore the critical role of the parking reservation strategy in optimizing traffic flow and advancing environmental sustainability. Full article

Public transportation is essential for improving urban mobility, enhancing travel quality, reducing reliance on private vehicles, and alleviating traffic congestion. However, inadequate public transportation in outer Melbourne is a significant issue limiting urban development. While existing research primarily focuses on walking distance to define service catchments, commuters in transit-disadvantaged or outlying urban areas often drive to transit, noted as the park-and-ride mode. This research uniquely examines drive-distance catchments for park-and-ride transit accessibility in outer Melbourne, using spatial SQL and GIS techniques to provide a detailed, multi-dimensional analysis of population coverage, parking capacity, and accessibility gaps. This approach fills a gap in the existing literature by offering adaptable insights and approaches to other outer urban areas with transit disadvantages. The findings underscore the necessity for targeted enhancements in public transportation in outer Melbourne: Most of the outer residents concentrate near the train stations, though significant spatial gaps exist; The general accessibility status of residential mesh blocks is found; Parking capacity varies with high tension found at certain stations. This study contributes insights to create more equitable and sustainable transportation systems by providing a detailed spatial analysis of current transit coverage and identifying critical gaps. Full article

In recent years, electric vehicles (EVs) have become increasingly popular, bringing about fundamental shifts in transportation to reduce greenhouse effects and accelerate progress toward decarbonization. The role of EVs has also experienced a paradigm shift for future energy networks as an active player in the form of vehicle-to-grid, grid-to-vehicle, and vehicle-to-vehicle technologies. EVs spend a significant part of the day parked and have a remarkable potential to contribute to energy sustainability as backup power units. In this way, EVs can be connected to the grid as stationary power units, providing a range of services to the power grid to increase its reliability and resilience. The available systems show that EVs can be used as alternative energy sources for various network systems like smart grids, microgrids, and virtual power plants besides transportation. While the grid–EV connection offers various contributions, it also has some limitations and effects. In this context, the current study highlights the power system impacts and key contributions of EVs connected to smart grids. Regarding the power system impacts in case of EV integration into smart grids, the challenges and difficulties are categorized under the power system stability, voltage/current distortions, load profile, and power losses. Voltage/current distortions like sags, unbalances, harmonics, and supraharmonics are also detailed in the study. Subsequently, the key contributions to the smart grid in terms of energy management, grid-quality support, grid balancing, and socio-economic impacts are explained. In the energy management part, issues such as power flow, load balancing, and renewable energy integration are elaborated. Then, the fault ride-through capability, reactive power compensation, harmonic mitigation, and grid loss reduction are presented to provide information on power quality enhancement. Lastly, the socio-economic impacts in terms of employment, net billing fees, integration with renewable energy sources, and environmental effects are elucidated in the present study. Full article

The modern urban transportation service network could be split into unrestricted and restricted networks depending on whether travelers face limitations in route selection. Along with the continuous expansion of the city, it is difficult for travelers to find a more reasonable travel solution when confronted with such a complex transportation service network, which combines both unrestricted and restricted networks, especially for the park-and-ride (P&R) travel mode. This paper addresses the issue of route analysis in modern urban transportation service systems to provide travelers with reasonable travel solutions based on multiple types of transportation services. An improved A* algorithm is proposed to address the optimal path analysis for restricted networks to provide reasonable travel solutions for public transportation trips. Furthermore, by establishing the topological relationship between restricted and unrestricted networks, this paper presented an improved A* algorithm based on hybrid networks that solves the optimal path analysis problem for P&R trips, bringing convenience to many urban travelers. Full article

Regulating the curbside usage of delivery vehicles and ride-hailing services as well as micromobility has been a challenge in the last years, a challenge which might worsen with the increase of autonomous vehicles. The contribution of the research outlined in this paper is an evaluation method of the land use of on-demand meal delivery services such as Deliveroo and UberEats. It evaluates the effect parking policies, operating strategy changes, and scheduling options have on the land consumption of bicycle couriers and sidewalk automated delivery robots (SADRs). Various operating strategies (i.e., shared fleets and fleets operated by restaurants), parking policies (i.e., parking at the restaurant, parking at the customer or no parking) and scheduling options (i.e., one meal per vehicle, multiple meals per vehicle) are simulated and applied to New York City (NYC). Additionally, the time-area requirements of on-demand meal delivery services are calculated based on GPS traces of Deliveroo and UberEats riders in two UK cities. The simulation in the paper shows that SADRs can reduce the time-area requirements by half compared with bicycle couriers. The effect of operating strategy changes and forbidding vehicles to park at the customer’s home is small. Delivering multiple meals in one tour halves the time-area requirements. The time-area requirements based on GPS traces is around 300 m²·min per order. The study allows policymakers to learn more about the land use of on-demand meal delivery services and how these can be influenced. Hence, they can adjust their policy strategies to ensure that on-demand meal delivery services are provided in a way that they use land effectively, reduce external costs, improve sustainability and benefit everyone. Full article

Carpooling schemes for mutual cost benefits between the driver and the passengers has a long history. However, the convenience of driving alone, the increasing level of car ownership, and the difficulties in finding travelers with matching timing and routes keep car occupancy low. Technology is a key enabler of online platforms which facilitate the ride matching process and lead to an increase in carpooling services. Smart carpooling services may be an alternative and enrichment for mobility, which can help smart cities (SCs) reduce traffic congestion and gas emissions but require the appropriate architecture to support connection with the city infrastructure such as high-occupancy vehicle lanes, parking space, tolls, and the public transportation services. To better understand the evolution of carpooling platforms in SCs, bibliometric analysis of three separate specialized literature collections, combined with a systematic literature review, is performed. It is identified that smart carpooling platforms could generate additional value for participants and SCs. To deliver this value to an SC, a multi-sided platform business model is proposed, suitable for a carpooling service provider with multiple customer segments and partners. Finally, after examining the SC structure, a carpooling platform architecture is presented, which interconnects with the applicable smart city layers. Full article

Putrajaya is facing an increasing number of private car ownership and its usage. Integrated transportation infrastructure connecting the city with suburban areas and comparatively low-cost housing schemes are at the fringes of Putrajaya City. It creates a discrepancy between housing and employment attentiveness. Due to the attractiveness of jobs in the city centre, commuters’ travelling pattern is morning/evening peak hours, and it leads to traffic congestion on a few major artilleries leading to and from the city. In contrast, Putrajaya was designed to achieve a 70:30 modal split ratio. This policy was introduced to target 70% of the commuters towards a sustainable mode of transport as their mode choice. Currently, congestion in Putrajaya is due to the use of single-occupant vehicles (SOV). The SOV users cannot be convinced to use the park-and-ride services (P&RS) without understanding their travel behaviors. Therefore, the mode choice models (MCM) were developed through binary logit regression (BLR) approaches to determine the factors that influence the SOV travelers’ decisions to adopt the P&RS. As a result, several factors, which included the socio-demographic factors, travel time, travel expenses, environmental protection, avoiding stress, parking problems, vehicles sharing, and traveling directly, were found to be significant and will promote green development. Furthermore, the quality of the developed mode choice model was validated through the training and testing approach of logistic regression. Ultimately, this study can help stakeholders to encourage SOV users towards P&RS by overcoming these factors. Full article

Currently, congestion in Karachi’s central business district (CBD) is the result of people driving their cars to work. Consequently, a park and ride (P&R) service has proved successful in decreasing traffic congestion and the difficulty of finding parking spaces from urban centers. The travelers cannot be convinced to shift towards the P&R service without an understanding of their travel behavior. Therefore, a travel behavior survey needs to be conducted to reduce the imbalance between public and private transport. Hence, mode choice models were developed to determine the factors that influence single-occupant vehicle (SOV) travelers’ decision to adopt the P&R service. Data were collected by an adapted self-administered questionnaire. Mode choice models were developed through logistic regression modeling by using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 22. The findings concluded that more than 70%, specifically motorbike users, to avoid mental stress, and to protect the environment are willing to adopt the P&R service. Moreover, to validate the mode choice models, logit model training and a testing approach were used. In conclusion, by overcoming these influencing factors and balancing push and pull measures of travel demand management (TDM), SOV users can be encouraged to shift towards P&R services. Thus, research outcomes can support policymakers in implementing sustainable modes of public transportation. Full article

This paper investigates a distance-based preferential fare scheme for park-and-ride (P&R) services in a multimodal transport network. P&R is a sustainable commuting approach in large urban areas where the service coverage rate of conventional public transport modes (e.g., train and bus) is poor/low. However, P&R services in many cities are less attractive compared to auto and other public transport modes, especially for P&R facilities sited far away from the city center. To address this issue, this paper proposes a distance-based preferential fare scheme for P&R services in which travelers who choose the P&R mode get a discount. The longer the distance they travel by train, the better the concessional price they get. A multimodal transport network equilibrium model with P&R services is developed to evaluate the impacts of the proposed distance-based fare scheme. The travelers’ mode choice behavior is modeled by the multinomial logit (MNL) discrete choice model, and their route choice behavior is depicted by the user equilibrium condition. A mathematical programming model is then built and subsequently solved by the outer approximation method. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the proposed distance-based preferential fare scheme can effectively motivate travelers to use a P&R service and significantly enhance the transport network’s performance. Full article

In order to reduce the pressure on urban road traffic, multi-modal travel is gradually replacing single-modal travel. Park and ride (P + R) and kiss and ride (K + R) are effective methods to integrate car transportation and rail transit. However, there is often an imbalance between supply and demand in existing car occupant transfer facilities, which include both P + R and K + R facilities. Therefore, we aim to conduct a research on P + R and K + R facilities’ collaborative decision. It first classifies car occupant transfer facilities into types and levels and sets the service capacity of each category. On the premise of ensuring the occupancy of parking spaces, our model aims to maximize the intercepted vehicle mileage and transfer utility and establishes an optimal decision model for car occupant transfer facilities. The model collaboratively decides the facilities in terms of location selection, layout arrangement, and overflow demand conversion to balance the supply and demand. We choose Chengdu as an example, apply the multi-objective optimization model of car occupant transfer facilities, give improved schemes, and further explore the influence of the quantity of facilities on the optimization objectives. The results show that the scheme obtained by the proposed model is significantly better than the existing scheme. Full article

This research aimed to use the extended theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to determine whether it can explain users’ intention to use the bus-based park-and-ride (P&R) facilities in Putrajaya, Malaysia. This research introduced a new predictor related to the use of P&R facilities, namely trust. The survey involved 437 respondents. A structural equation model is used to show that trust positively influence the attitude and perceived behavioural control (PBC) towards the use of P&R facilities. However, the intention to use P&R facilities is not profoundly influenced by trust and subjective norm. Results also revealed that attitude, subjective norm, and PBC have a strong positive influence on the intention to use P&R facilities. In addition, several policy recommendations are discussed in this study. All things considered, the theory of planned behaviour was able to predict users’ intention to use P&R facilities in Malaysia. It is hoped that this research would increase researchers’ interest in conducting further investigation in this field and that the model is beneficial to service providers in helping them identify the factors that increase the number of P&R users. Full article

This article presents a behavioural analysis of tourists visiting a leisure area in the north of Spain to evaluate their reaction when faced with a series of tariffs and alternative transport modes to estimate potential income for reinvestment in sustainable mobility policies. The active involvement of the different groups affected by the changes has led to a series of policies able to generate income for financing a new urban transport service, park and ride installations and their associated vehicles. These changes resulted in a noteworthy improvement in the quality of life of the local residents and an improved, less intense tourist experience. Full article

As suburbanization and unprecedented population aging are converging, enhanced personal mobility for suburban residents is required. In this study, a collaborative scheme involving park-and-ride services associated with public transport and a shared autonomous vehicle system are proposed. Two residential areas in the Nagoya metropolitan region, Japan, are considered: a residential area at the outer edge of a subway line and a commuter town with a nearby railway station. Three user groups are assumed: park-and-ride commuters who park shared autonomous vehicles at the station and take the train to their workplaces; inbound commuters who disembark from trains at the station and use the vehicles to reach their workplaces within the target area; and elderly and disabled residents, who use shared autonomous vehicles for trips within the target area. The system performance is investigated through agent-based simulation. The results suggest that, in the edge case, approximately 400 shared autonomous vehicles can facilitate more than 10,000 trips at an appropriate level of service. For the commuter town, fewer than 400 vehicles can provide rapid responses with a wait time of approximately 5 min for more than 5000 trips per day. Thus, the proposed system can feasibly provide a quick response service. Full article

China has a historic system of wide cycle tracks, many of which are now encroached by cars, buses and bus stops. Even with these conditions, college students still bicycle. On campuses, students park their bikes on facilities ranging from kick-stand-plazas to caged sheds with racks, pumps and an attendant. In other countries, including Canada, some of the newer cycle tracks need to be wider to accommodate an increasing number of bicyclists. Other countries will also need to improve their bike parking, which includes garage-basement cages and two-tiered racks. China could provide lessons about cycle tracks and bike parking. This study applied the Maslow Transportation Level of Service (LOS) theory, i.e., for cycle tracks and bike parking, only after the basic needs of safety and security are met for both vehicle occupants and bicyclists can the higher needs of convenience and comfort be met. With random clustering, a self-administered questionnaire was collected from 410 students in six dormitory buildings at Peking University in Beijing and an environmental scan of bicycle parking conducted in school/office and living areas. Cycle tracks (1 = very safe/5 = very unsafe) shared with moving cars were most unsafe (mean = 4.6), followed by sharing with parked cars (4.1) or bus stop users (4.1) (p < 0.001). Close to half thought campus bike parking lacked order. The most suggested parking facilities were sheds, security (guard or camera), bicycle racks and bicycle parking services (pumps, etc.). If parking were improved, three quarters indicated they would bicycle more. While caged sheds were preferred, in living areas with 1597 parked bikes, caged sheds were only 74.4% occupied. For the future of China’s wide cycle tracks, perhaps a fence-separated bus lane beside a cycle track might be considered or, with China’s recent increase in bike riding, shared bikes and E-bikes, perhaps cars/buses could be banned from the wide cycle tracks. In other countries, a widened cycle track entrance should deter cars. Everywhere, bike parking sheds could be built and redesigned with painted lines to offer more space and order, similar to car parking. Full article