查看更多>>摘要：Arguments defending the poor attention given to those with disabilities in regard to equal opportunities for transportation options tend to center on the high cost of providing or improving facilities. This paper examines the current quality of service on a variety of modes and mode ancillaries, such as stations and stops, as determined by individuals with disabilities. That section is followed by an examination of the measures to improve the quality of service that those with disabilities require. The evaluations are done with four types of disability groups; although the samples of individuals involved are small, the findings are incisive and clear. The improvement measures discussed fall into two categories: those that are costly and those that are more a matter of consideration being given by transportation operators. For example, timetables could be located at a lower level at bus stops to facilitate wheelchair users and stops could be announced as buses approach them. It would appear that in many cases low-cost solutions could be considered marginal changes to work practices or decision making, but the impact they could have on quality of service indicators for those with disabilities, such as accessibility, would be considerable.
Jan-Dirk SchmoeckerMohammed A. QuddusRobert B. NolandMichael G. H. Bell...
p.9-18页
查看更多>>摘要：The aging of populations has implications for trip-making behavior and the demand for special transport services. The London Area Travel Survey 2001 is analyzed to establish the trip-making characteristics of elderly and disabled people. Ordinal probit models are fitted for all trips and for trips by four purposes (work, shopping, personal business, and recreational), with daily trip frequency as the latent variable. A log-linear model is used to analyze trip length. A distinction must be made between young disabled, younger elderly, and older elderly people. Retired people initially tend to make more trips, but as they become older and disabilities intervene, trip making tails off. Household structure, income, car ownership, possession of a driver's license, difficulty walking, and other disabilities are found to affect trip frequency and length to a greater or lesser extent.
查看更多>>摘要：The vanguard of the baby boom generation is approaching retirement age. They received their driver's licenses at the age of 16 at a time when freeways were reshaping urban land patterns. For those living in suburbs and the urban edge, freeway driving is a way of life. Nevertheless, as these drivers age, they too will experience changes in visual acuity and a reduction in their ability to respond quickly to changes in road conditions. Many studies document problems that older drivers face on city streets. The current study funded by the Arizona Department of Transportation and FHWA suggests that freeway driving might be less taxing for some. The study explores the possibility that intelligent transportation system (ITS) devices—including variable message signs; portable, changeable message signs; and ramp meters—may respond to older drivers' challenges with freeway driving. Eleven focus groups held with diverse groups of freeway drivers from 65 to 80 years of age in 2003—2004 focused on these ITS devices and suggested minor changes in application that would enhance their value. Drivers said that fixed variable message signs with a positive contrast caught their attention and were easier to read than standard signs. They urged their use for short simple messages centered on the signs. Portable signs attracted attention, but they were subject to glare and were difficult to read at the roadside, particularly those with multiple phases. Ramp meters were enthusiastically endorsed especially when combined with acceleration lanes. A parallel study using Arizona accident data provided some statistical evidence to support positive views of ramp meters.
Judith M. EspinosaDeAnza ValenciaMichael JensenMary E. White...
p.28-36页
查看更多>>摘要：Despite the area's notable heterogeneity, the North Central Regional Transit District (NCRTD) is the first regional transit district (RTD) certified in New Mexico. The NCRTD contains the state's largest and smallest pueblos, the poorest and richest counties, and rural communities steeped in 500-year-old Spanish traditions near the New Age cosmopolitanism of Santa Fe. The diverse geographical, political, and economic landscape of the NCRTD can make it difficult to pursue new or ambitious projects across the disparate jurisdictions. Organizational and jurisdictional barriers can create roadblocks to effective collaboration. The New Mexico Department of Transportation Research Bureau provided funds to develop a case study and model that could be followed by other potential RTDs in the state. As the organizing and research entity, the Alliance for Transportation Research Institute of the University of New Mexico was charged with developing the RTD model and staffing the effort. An organizing committee, representing public and private interests, was tasked with producing the certification documents and supporting materials, presenting them clearly and effectively to governing bodies and the public, and providing an example of crossjurisdictional transit collaboration. Creation of the NCRTD required public hearings in every jurisdiction. One-on-one "study sessions" raised public awareness in every jurisdiction and fueled the process for obtaining the needed affirmative votes to join the NCRTD. The NCRTD, composed of 10 initial members, has completed the necessary steps for creating an RTD and was certified by the New Mexico Transportation Commission in autumn 2004 as the first RTD in New Mexico.
Robert L. BertiniChristopher M. MonsereAndrew ByrdMichael Rose...
p.37-45页
查看更多>>摘要：In an effort to facilitate data collection for research, give students firsthand experience collecting data for course projects, and generate interest in the transportation field through outreach, the Intelligent Transportation Systems Laboratory of Portland State University, Oregon, has developed custom data collection software for handheld computers using the Palm OS platform. The software is designed to export the collected data to desktop computers in common file formats suitable for analysis in spreadsheet and geographic information systems applications. Data collection problems addressed include recording position over time, recording geographic location of features, and performing cumulative vehicle or pedestrian counts.
查看更多>>摘要：The University of Rhode Island requested an assessment of the potential demand for developing new academic programs in the areas of transportation and logistics. Although the research focused on Rhode Island public- and private-sector organizations, it was concluded that the results have broader applications for the academic community. The research was accomplished by interviewing a total of 24 key executives in four large private companies and five large public-sector organizations. The questions focused on "skills required to do your job." The interviews resulted in the following conclusions: (a) a distinct difference must be made between education needs, training needs, and outreach needs; (ft) concerning public agency needs, responses tracked closely to the several national studies that have taken place over the past several years; (c) private-sector organizations view logistics and supply chain management as critical to their bottom line; (d) there appears to be a common interest among interviewees for universities to establish more outreach programs; (e) private-sector companies all expressed possible interest in targeted logistics and supply chain management programs (certificate programs or individual courses could be of interest, either as traditional classroom or Internet-based); (f) definite interest existed among public agencies to establish courses and distance-learning-based certificate programs in "transportation policy and management" (the author's label); and (g) there were a surprising number of common needs.
查看更多>>摘要：Transportation research is often open ended and difficult to measure in that its beneficiaries may not know how they have been served by research activities and results. This research project sought to (a) obtain feedback from Ohio Department of Transportation (Ohio DOT) constituents; (b) develop a strategic communication plan that supports Ohio DOT's overall mission and goals, keeping in mind research office resources; and (c) develop a communication template that other departments of transportation could model or use. To accomplish those objectives, existing knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors concerning Ohio DOT's research office were obtained through a number of surveys. Those surveyed included the Ohio general public, internal DOT constituents (technical liaisons, administrators and directors, district deputy directors, district research contacts, and FHWA regional center directors), and external DOT constituents (consultants, contractors, transportation committee legislators, and college civil engineering department heads). In addition, a nationwide survey of department of transportation research office directors was conducted to determine the constituents with whom these offices communicate and the means by which they do so. Common areas of interest among constituents were identified; from those, key research-office message points were proposed, as were constituents' preferred methods of receiving research office information. The study also found that most research office directors believed that they communicated well internally but did not communicate effectively to external audiences. Part of this problem could lie in their failing to utilize communication office personnel, who have the expertise and contacts to spread the word about transportation research.
查看更多>>摘要：This paper draws on an argument presented at the 2005 TRB Annual Meeting by one of its authors claiming that traditional methods of evaluating transportation megaprojects (TMPs) are outdated in the new globalized world. Although planners understand the importance of conventional techniques of forecasting, appraisal, cost funding, and so forth to ensure that a project attains desired levels of operational efficiency, they are less familiar with the impact such projects have on places and communities in the name of enhancing competitiveness. In the context of Hong Kong and South China, this paper examines whether TMP experts are in the process of duplicating past errors of urban transport planners, but on a massively larger scale, by introducing new TMPs in a manner that restructures whole regions to meet the "operations efficiency" of networks above all else and, in so doing, benefits global (corporate) interests more than local, even though their patrons often have local and national governments meeting the lion's share of financial, social, and environmental costs (as well as risks).
查看更多>>摘要：This research attempts to quantify the cumulative impacts of vehicle traffic, both passenger cars and trucks, by using the hedonic price analysis of the relationship between property values and the traffic along selected arterial corridors in Chicago, Illinois. The traffic characteristics are derived from the traffic counts data obtained from the City of Chicago and include average daily traffic, maximum daily peak, and nighttime volumes, calculated separately for trucks and for total traffic. Autoregressive models, with assessed property value as the dependent variable and traffic characteristics along with other determinants of property value as the independent variables, are constructed. The models include a spatial-lag term to control for the spatial autocorrelation and are estimated using the two-stage least squares. The regression results from the final models suggest that although the characteristics for total traffic have modest but statistically significant impact on property values, the traffic characteristics for trucks are statistically insignificant. Also, the strong evidence of spatial dependence in the data set underscores the importance of paying close attention to the model specification and controlling the autocorrelation in the hedonic price analysis.
Richard WallacePaul Hughes-CromwickHillary MullSnehamay Khasnabis...
p.76-84页
查看更多>>摘要：Although lack of access to nonemergency medical transportation (NEMT) is a barrier to health care, national transportation and health care surveys have not comprehensively addressed that link. Nationally representative studies have not investigated the magnitude of the access problem or the characteristics of the population that experiences access problems. The current study, relying primarily on national health care studies, seeks to address both of those shortcomings. Results indicate that about 3.6 million Americans do not obtain medical care because of a lack of transportation in a given year. On average, they are disproportionately female, poorer, and older; have less education; and are more likely to be members of a minority group than those who obtain care. Although such adults are spread across urban and rural areas much like the general population, children lacking transportation are more concentrated in urban areas. In addition, these 3.6 million experience multiple conditions at a much higher rate than do their peers. Many conditions that they face, however, can be managed if appropriate care is made available. For some conditions, this care is cost-effective and results in health care cost savings that outweigh added transportation costs. Thus, it is found that great opportunity exists to achieve net societal benefits and to improve the quality of life of this population by increasing its access to NEMT. Furthermore, modifications to national health care and transportation data sets are recommended to allow more direct assessment of this problem.
NETL
NSTL