The politics of congestion mitigation

Most research on congestion overlooks the political context of traffic congestion and congestion mitigation policies. While failed congestion policies around the globe are products of misguided premises and flawed analyses, they are also the products of political processes that emphasize highly visible congestion relief projects and programs over actually relieving congestion. Accordingly, this paper makes and defends four propositions. First, that public officials tend to exaggerate the consequences of (widely unpopular) metropolitan traffic congestion for political gain. Second, that (widely popular) public transit investments are unlikely to meaningfully reduce congestion. Third, that public officials can cynically use congestion as a rationale for funding for high-profile, politically-popular transportation (and, increasingly, public transit) projects. And fourth, that the experience to date suggests that various forms of transport and parking pricing offer the best hope for meaningfully reducing congestion in the coming years.     

Congestion pricing,transit subsidies and dedicated bus lanes: Efficient and practical solutions to congestion

We analyze urban congestion management policies through numerical analysis of a simple model that: allows users to choose between car, bus or an outside option (biking); consider congestion interactions between cars and buses; and allow for optimization of frequency, vehicle size, spacing between stops and percentage of capacity to be dedicated to bus lanes. We compare resulting service levels, social welfare and consumer surplus for a number of different policies and find that: (i) dedicated bus lanes is a better stand-alone policy than transit subsidization or congestion pricing. The latter is marginally better than subsidization but has a negative impact in consumer surplus. (ii) Efficient transit subsidies are quite large since in many cases first-best transit price is negative; establishing dedicated bus lanes or implementing congestion pricing render subsidies unnecessary for high demand levels. (iii) Both subsidization and dedicated bus lanes would count with public support while congestion pricing would probably encounter opposition. (iv) Transit subsidies and/or congestion pricing do not induce large changes on optimal bus size, frequency, circulation speeds and spacing between stops in mixed-traffic conditions: dedicated bus lanes do. (v) In all cases analyzed, revenues from congestion pricing are enough to cover transit subsidies; the optimal percentage of capacity that should be devoted for bus traffic is around one third.     

Who could benefit from a bus rapid transit system in cities from developing countries? A case study from Kampala,Uganda

The present rapid urban growth of cities from developing countries causes negative externalities such as lagging infrastructure development. In combination with rapidly rising motorized vehicle use this leads to severe traffic congestion affecting the mobility of the urban residents. Therefore many urban governments are planning to improve their transport and mobility situations with mass rapid transit systems of which a bus rapid transit (BRT) is a rather easy system to implement at reasonable costs. However, due to high urban inequalities the effects of urban traffic and potential improvements of the urban transport system for the diverse group of urban residents can differ significantly. In our case study Kampala (Uganda) four main groups were identified through cluster analysis of socio-economic and residential data gathered through interviews: extreme poor, poor, middle income and rich. Each group experiences a different mobility with the extreme poor being the most vulnerable group. The planned BRT system aims to decrease the average travel time but risks to exclude the lowest income class since not enough attention is paid to the affordability of the system to all residents. Therefore we argue for a policy that works from bottom up and pays attention to the internal diversity of the population.     

Measuring railway network performance considering accessibility levels in cities worldwide

There is a growing acceptance of and interest in transit accessibility-based developments as a means to address urban challenges, such as automobile dependency, air pollution, urban sprawl, and congestion. Additionally, prompting car drivers to switch to public transit requires the construction of attractive and accessible public transit systems. Accordingly, it is necessary to measure railway network performance while considering accessibility, which indicates the potential opportunity of interaction. Thus, this study aims to develop a railway network performance index (RPI) to evaluate transit accessibility, with regard to differences in travel speed, and conduct a comparative analysis of 40 cities worldwide. The major findings are as follows. European cities have a high RPI, but cities in developing countries have relatively low RPI values, due to railway infrastructure shortages. Railway and station density have a positive relationship with RPI, but differences in RPI emerge between cities with the same infrastructure levels. This difference indicates the importance of efficient railway system connections between the distributions of populations and facilities. Overall, this study enhances understandings of transit accessibility and provides benchmark points that may be useful for decision-making processes, transportation investments, and land use policies.     

常规公交影响下的轨道交通吸引范围研究

根据我国城市轨道交通以常规公交换乘为主的现状，提出轨道交通和常规公交的关系定位，以及利用常规公交提高轨道交通辐射范围的观点。针对我国城市发展对轨道交通客流预测的影响，为解决一般方法存在的问题，在合理假设条件下，构建了常规公交影响下轨道交通站点吸引区域模型，并给出模型求解的算法步骤。     

轨道交通的无缝换乘规划

轨道交通一体化、换乘方便是提高轨道交通竞争力的主要途径。以南京为例,从轨道交通与不同交通方式的无缝换乘(SEAMLESS)、提高轨道交通结点换乘的方便性等方面提出了几点规划措施。     

Willingness to spend and road pricing rates

Using a theoretical model of urban transport system the paper examines the influence of distribution of willingness to spend within the urban population on road pricing rates. It shows that the rates that must be imposed in an urban area in order to maintain pollutant concentration and congestion due to traffic within acceptable levels is heavily dependent on the distribution of the urban population’s willingness to spend. This fact severely limits the reliability of any method for calculating road pricing rates based on theoretical analysis, so that an experimental approach seems necessary. The paper shows that a relation exists between the toll rate per kilometer of trip and the average traffic congestion, which is typical of each urban area and can be determined experimentally by successively imposing three different rates and measuring the corresponding congestion levels. The relation can then be used to determine the pricing scheme when the purpose of road pricing is to maintain both the congestion and the environmental effects due to urban traffic below acceptable thresholds. An example shows how the model can help policymakers in decision-making processes.     

城市交通投资与经济增长关系的实证分析

通过分析北京和纽约城市交通在道路交通设施、轨道交通设施、交通投资方面的发展现状,利用交通投资投入产出模型定量比较北京市与纽约市交通投资与经济增长的关系。研究结果表明:交通建设投资对经济的影响较大,交通业在国民经济中发挥着基础产业和服务业的作用;与纽约相比,北京交通建设投资对经济增长的影响更大,其影响着重于交通建设投资方面,纽约的城市交通设施建成后主要发挥的是服务业的特征。     

Bergen light rail – Effects on travel behaviour

Bergen is the second most populous city in Norway (280,000 inhabitants) and is situated along the west coast of the country. In 2010, the city reintroduced tram service with the opening of a new light rail line, after a gap of 45 years. This study documents the increase in public transit use in Bergen, both in terms of volume and market share, since the line was opened. Furthermore, it explores the effects of light rail transit on travel behaviour using Bergen as a case city. These goals are accomplished by combining and analysing data from different sources, including five travel surveys, and other data concerning building stock, population, business activity, commuting and traffic counts. The study identifies four potential driving forces for changes in travel behaviour: (1) the introduction of the light rail; (2) a new high-frequency bus network; (3) increased rates in the toll cordon system; and (4) changes in the urban structure. The study concluded that the introduction of light rail was the main driving force behind the growth in public transit use. The study also highlighted that transit use was highest in areas served by the light rail. The effects of the light rail investments are reinforced by an optimal location of the line with respect to potential users.     

北京城市轨道交通商业资源市场化运作探析

轨道交通能够为城市带来巨大的社会效益,节约社会资源和出行成本,提高交通效率。分析了国外城市轨道交通商业资源市场化运作经验,总结了北京城市轨道交通商业资源运作模式,研究提出了北京轨道交通资源创新与规模经营的构想,以进一步促进规模经营和创新经营的发展。     

Do firms flee traffic congestion?

Much transport policy aims to use congestion relief measures to support economic activity, but planners know relatively little about how individual firms respond to traffic congestion. This study helps fill this gap by exploring individual firm location responses to traffic congestion within the Philadelphia metropolitan area between 2003 and 2007. This study tests whether existing, basic-industry firms flee congested areas to minimize exposure to the congestion externality. Relocation responses are estimated and compared for five separate industries (finance and insurance, health care, manufacturing, real estate and leasing, and wholesale trade) using firm-level data collected by InfoUSA and obtained from ESRI. Results suggest that congestion influences firm location decisions, but that the scale of congestion is important. While firms appear to relocate out of areas with high regionally-scaled congestion, areas with high local congestion are associated with a lower likelihood of relocating. In sum, while regional congestion appears to be a drag, local congestion appears to function as an amenity – implying that there is truth in the competing notions among engineers and economists of congestion as a diseconomy and among urban designers of congestion as an amenity.     

城市轨道交通系统的管理体制及经营模式研究

在介绍国外城市轨道交通管理体制的基础上，对我国城市包括香港特区的轨道交通管理体制情况进行了分析，提出建立适合国情与地方实际的城市轨道交通管理体制。同时借鉴国内外城市轨道交通的经营模式，提出城市轨道交通的经营策略。     

Urban transport justice

Many cities in the world seek to establish more sustainable urban transport systems with a view to reduce accidents, congestion, air and noise pollution, and to improve social interactions, liveability and amenity values. Against this background, this paper frames urban transportation as an issue of justice: contemporary transport systems are characterized by injustice, as they tend to favour and prioritize motorized transport, accepting that considerable environmental and social burdens are put on more sustainable forms of transportation, other traffic participants and society as a whole. To conceptualize ‘urban transport justice’, the paper discusses three dimensions where injustices are apparent: Exposure to traffic risks and pollutants; distribution of space; and valuation of transport time. It is argued that public and political recognition of urban transport injustices provides significant argument for changes in urban planning, transport infrastructure development and traffic management.     

A random utility maximization (RUM) based measure of accessibility to transit: Accurate capturing of the first-mile issue in urban transit

The paper presents a random utility-based measure of accessibility to explain the first-mile issue in urban transit. A discrete access stop/station location choice model is used to calculate the expected maximum utility of transit access choices as the measure of the proposed access to transit measurement approach. It captures the effects of changes in various personal, sociodemographic, transportation and land-use variables on access to urban transit that are overlooked by conventional approaches of accessibility measurements (count-based cumulative opportunities measures and gravity-based measures). The proposed accessibility to transit measurement approach is empirically measured for the Greater Toronto Area and is integrated into an operational tool programmed in a GIS-based traffic assignment software, TransCAD 7.0. This allows comparing it to the conventional measures, and the results reveal that the conventional measures tend to over-estimate access to transit.     

北京市利用国铁资源发展都市圈市郊铁路构想研究

目前北京市交通拥堵日益严峻,对于国铁资源的利用方面,北京已经开行了3条市郊铁路,然而北京的国铁系统仍然没有为大规模的都市圈通勤需求提供应有的服务,存在空间和时间格局上的失配问题。通过北京与东京都市圈的城市交通特征和交通成本的比较分析,在借鉴东京国铁“五方面作战”的经验基础上,从顶层设计、“1+7”线路改造战略布局和运营管理等方面,提出北京市利用国铁资源发展都市圈市郊铁路构想,为北京市利用国铁资源发展都市圈市郊铁路提供参考依据。     

Bi-level optimization approach for configuring population and employment distributions with minimized vehicle travel demand

Compact development aims to lead to dense and mixed distributions of population and employment in land use planning which may result in reduced vehicle miles traveled (VMT). However, determining an optimum or desirable configuration of population and employment distribution to achieve the compact development goal remains challenging due to numerous competitive development alternatives or possible exacerbated traffic congestion as a result of over-intensification of urban land use. To address this challenge, a systematic approach is proposed with a bi-level optimization model aiming to find out an efficient population and employment map for vehicle travel reduction. The upper level of the model is formulated to minimize VMT and vehicle hours traveled (VHT) varying with possible changes in population and employment densities. The lower level is based on a tour-based travel demand model to mechanistically represent the response of travel choices to those changes. The programming is solved by a Genetic Algorithm. The proposed method is demonstrated through a case study of Hamilton County, Ohio, U.S. The results indicate that a more compact urban form reduces VMT; however, it may cause longer VHT depending upon the density. To avoid urban overconcentration and reduce both VMT and VHT simultaneously, a compact urban development configuration with a population density < 5289 persons/mi² and the employment density < 3282 jobs/mi² is recommended for the area. As a negative relationship demonstrated between transit headway reduction and vehicle travel demand, strategies for improving transit provision are helpful to reducing vehicle travels in compact development scenarios.     

Spatio-temporal patterns of subjectively reported congestion in Tel Aviv metropolitan area

Traffic congestion is still one of the major problems of urban transportation. It is the aggregate outcome of individual, subjective, decisions in a changing traffic environment.The individual’s decision making is affected, among other factors, by experience and direct information from the surrounding environment, or indirectly from the media. The subjective map created from this information provides the cognitive environment within which the driver makes decisions. This study examines the spatio-temporal changes in the subjective map of reported congestion as formed by radio broadcasts in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. It aims to evaluate the spatio-temporal stability of the emerged congestion patterns as a basis for subjective decision making, and to explain its variability as a necessary base for any effort to relieve congestion. Results show that non-recurrent heavy congestion is likely to be unstable. The spatio-temporal fluctuations of congestion were found to associate with traffic volumes caused mainly by weekly-based commuters which include university students, soldiers, and government employees. Reported information was found suitable for longitudinal research, the only kind which enables a broad understanding of the spatio-temporal pattern and dynamics of traffic congestion.     

Planning for an unpredictable future: Transport in Great Britain in 2030

This paper describes a research study, which explores alternative future scenarios for Great Britain in the year 2030 and the implications these have for travel demand and transport provision. Five alternative future scenarios are represented in the GB national transport model and forecasts are obtained for trip making, traffic levels, congestion and emissions in 2030. For all scenarios it is expected that there will be significant traffic growth. Traffic growth is restricted most in scenarios including distance-based road charging on motorways and trunk roads. However, congestion and carbon dioxide emissions are most effectively limited in scenarios with congestion-based road charging, major improvements to urban public transport and investment in new fuel technologies and in improving engine efficiency.     

论融资租赁在城市轨道交通建设中的应用前景

城市轨道交通是解决大城市交通问题的必然方式,而其所需的巨额建设资金是制约轨道交通发展的根本所在。融资租赁是一种新型融资方式,对于出租人、出卖人和承租人三方都能获得收益,但在我国城市轨道交通项目中应用很少,需要健全相应的法律法规,加强宣传和扩大融资渠道。     

How does the propensity of living near rail transit moderate the influence of rail transit on transit trip frequency in Xi'an?

Many cities have made massive investments on rail systems to substitute transit for driving. Some studies have considered the confounding effect of attitudes in the connections between rail transit and travel behavior. However, they often focused on the average effect of rail transit and assumed that individuals' responses to transit improvements do not vary by their tastes. Using the 2014 data from Xi'an in China, this study explores the interaction effect between metro transit (heavy rail) and the propensity (i.e., predicted probability) of living in neighborhoods with metro transit on transit use. The propensity is positively associated with commute by metro transit and bus. Further, individuals with a strong propensity use transit equivalently no matter whether they live near metro transit, but metro transit tends to promote transit commute for those with a weak propensity of living near metro transit. Overall, building a rail line helps enhance transit ridership. Planners should also consider the variation in responses by individuals with different tastes when using policies to shape urban travel.