William Young

A Stated preference freight mode choice model

Transport policy aims to assist the transport system to work more efficiently and effectively. An understanding of the reasons why people choose to move freight in a certain manner is critical to the development of appropriate policies. This article outlines a data collection approach and the development of a disaggregate mode choice model applicable to the analysis of freight shipper decision making. It focuses on the choice between rail and road in Java, Indonesia. The model indicates that safety, reliability and responsiveness are major attributes influencing rail/road freight mode choice. Transport policies aimed at improving these dimensions should increase the attractiveness of rail transport.

A MEASURE OF LINKED-TRIP ACCESSIBILITY

The concept of accessibility has been variously interpreted as being the “nearness to places,” the “nearness to activities” and more recently the “ease of participating in activities.” With each of these qualitative interpretations, there has also been a variety of quantitative definitions of accessibility. This paper shows that many of the proposed definitions of accessibility can in fact be gathered together to form a spectrum of accessibility measures. These measures differ with respect to the factors included in their formulation and their degree of behavioural interpretation. Existing measures of accessibility are shown to be deficient in one major aspect. That is, they assume that for any one measure of accessibility there is but one origin of trips. Thus, in estimating the accessibility of a point within a region it is assumed that all potential trips, which contribute to the accessibility of that point, start from that single point. In view of the considerable amount of evidence demonstrating the ...

A NON-TRADEOFF DECISION MAKING MODEL OF RESIDENTIAL LOCATION CHOICE

This paper presents the results of an application of a non- tradeoff decision making model to residential location choice. The model, referred to as an elimination- by- aspects model, provides a behaviourally acceptable mechanism for new residents to sift through the large number of alternatives and attributes that are present in residential location decisions. The mechanism deals with complex multi- attribute choices, by following a tree like decision making process using the most important attributes first, the decision maker successively eliminates alternatives which fall below a certain level. The model was applied to the location decisions of a number of new residents in outer suburban Melbourne. It was found to provide a good explanation of the decisions. Furthermore the residents decisions were found to be sensitive to variations in the accessibility to schools, shops and the type of dwelling the respondent could afford. (Author/TRRL)

Signal treatments to reduce heavy vehicle crash-risk at metropolitan highway intersections.

Heavy vehicle red-light running at intersections is a common safety problem that has severe consequences. This paper investigates alternative signal treatments that address this issue. A micro-simulation analysis approach was adopted as a precursor to a field trial. The simulation model emulated traffic conditions at a known problem intersection and provided a baseline measure to compare the effects of: an extension of amber time; an extension of green for heavy vehicles detected in the dilemma zone at the onset of amber; an extension of the all-red safety-clearance time based on the detection of vehicles considered likely to run the red light at two detector locations during amber; an extension of the all-red safety-clearance time based on the detection of potential red-light runners during amber or red; and a combination of the second and fourth alternatives. Results suggested safety improvements for all treatments. An extension of amber provided the best safety effect but is known to be prone to behavioural adaptation effects and wastes traffic movement time unnecessarily. A green extension for heavy vehicles detected in the dilemma zone and an all-red extension for potential red-light runners were deemed to provide a sustainable safety improvement and operational efficiency.

Data And Parking Simulation Models

Discrete event parking simulation models aim to replicate travel and parking behaviour. Parking behaviour relies on driver behaviour and its interaction with the land-use, transport, vehicle and human systems. In order to understand the parking system it is necessary to understand how drivers, vehicles and the road environment interact. This system can never be fully understood nor modelled, however, as technology creates new methods of collecting and synthesising data and increases the power and speed of computer systems it is possible to increase the accuracy, reliability and applicability of simulation models. This paper outlines some of the present limitations in discrete event simulation models and data, and then explores the interaction between data collection, model accuracy and the validity of models. It highlights some of the recent developments in technology and indicates how these can be used to improve many aspects of travel and parking simulation models.

An inter urban freight mode choice model

The Australian railway research and development organisation is conducting a study with one of its objectives being to determine factors affecting freight mode use. Part of this has included the development and calibration of freight mode choice models. This paper outlines the results obtained from the application of an elimination by aspects (eba) model to this task. The paper describes the theoretical background to the eba model, within the context of a general choice process, and then describes the results of the model when applied to three samples of shippers involved in regional freight transport (a).

A NEW METHODOLOGY FOR ALLOCATING ROAD SPACE FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT PRIORITY

This paper details a new method for assessing the impact of reallocating road space to public transport. The approach is developed as part of a research project being conducted in Melbourne, Australia, for the local roads management authority, VicRoads. The paper includes a review of prior approaches in this area and identifies a new methodology that evaluates a full range of benefits and costs of public transport priority schemes in order to identify appropriate road space reallocation. Recent findings are reported on the application of this approach and how revised warrants, using a more comprehensive approach to valuing the full benefits and costs of priority schemes for reallocation of road space in relation to bus lanes, would look.

MODELLING SHOPPING CENTRE TRAFFIC MOVEMENT (2): MODEL APPLICATION

This paper is the second in two papers that investigate the application of a discrete event simulation model to the study of the impact changes in the design of shopping facilities have on traffic patterns. The model will allow planners to determine how the location of shops and the design of parking and traffic systems interact. The model looks at the totality of the trip, incorporating movement along the road system with movement in the parking lot. Importantly, the interaction between each of these elements and the layout of shops in the centre will influence the route choice taken by parkers. This paper extends the calibration and validation process discussed earlier by considering the application of the model to particular situations.

Verifying and validating a land use - transport - environment model

This paper verifies and validates an urban land use‐transport‐environment educational model, CityPlan, developed by the authors. CityPlan is designed as an educational tool for analysing interactions between urban land use, transport and the environment. To ensure the model can replicate existing cities, verification and validation of the model are required before its application. Verification of the model was carried out using data for the city of Adelaide, Australia. Estimated parameters from the verification study are then applied to another Australian city, Melbourne, to validate the model. The validation of the model has shown that CityPlan can replicate data describing city growth over the study period at a reasonable accuracy level. CityPlan has been applied in various institutions and organisations in Asia, Europe and North America. The application of the model has shown that CityPlan is a very useful tool to assist people in understanding the complexity of land use, transport and environmental in...

Educating planners in testing of alternative strategies for cities of different sizes

Transport, land use and the environment are interrelated. Changes in one will, in time, impact the other. The need to understand this relationship is increasing in importance as environmental problems increase and cities change. Further, the complexity of the interaction and the range of policy options that can be used to refine it require an understanding of the time scale and sensitivity of responses to policy changes. Understanding the interaction requires study and education. The study reported here aims to assist in the education process through the development of the land use, transport and environment interaction package: LAND (Location of Activities and Network Development).