Browsing by Subject "Transportation planning"
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Item A framework for processing connected vehicle data in transportation planning applications(2016-12) Deering, Amanda Marie; Bhat, Chandra R. (Chandrasekhar R.), 1964-This thesis presents a framework to process connected vehicle data into a format that is practical for implementation in the transportation planning field. Whereas prior research on connected vehicles has used theoretical models or small data samples for analysis, this study uses the largest public connected vehicle dataset currently available – the Sample Data Environment from the Safety Pilot Model Deployment project out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. This data includes basic safety messages and driving data for 2800 vehicles over two months. An algorithm to process basic safety message data into a trip level dataset is presented. This thesis also includes a process for spatial aggregation of trips into origin and destination zones using a hexagonal grid. These processes are implemented through the combination of a variety of open-source tools including Hadoop and PostgreSQL. Excerpts from the processed data are provided as well as sample analysis applications for the trip and spatial data. Recommendations and guidance are provided on handling the details of such an immense dataset. Since similar future vehicle-to-vehicle communications datasets are likely, it is imperative to develop methods to process and analyze this rich data effectively.Item An analysis of the Texas vehicle fleet and development of a vehicle operating cost model for use in transportation planning(2011-05) Welter, Dana; Matthews, Ronald D.; Persad, Khali R.Vehicle operating costs are an invaluable tool to transportation engineers, who utilize them in applications such as cost-benefit analyses and utilization pricing. Many of the existing models in use, however, are significantly out-of-date with current technology. Research was undertaken in partnership with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to develop a new model of the operating costs associated with Texas vehicle fleets. A vehicle operating cost (Vcost) model was produced which estimates variable and fixed costs associated with both light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles. The model calculates both aggregate fleet costs and costs for individual representative vehicles. An analysis of Texas Vehicles, Titles, and Registration (VTR) records; Weigh-in-Motion data; vehicle counts; and national car sales data was used to generate the breakdown of the Texas fleet of vehicles and to determine representative vehicles. Operational costs for these vehicles fell into two main categories: fixed costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, and other) and variable costs (fuel and maintenance/repair). Relations were determined for each cost category for each representative vehicle over its entire operational age. In the case of heavy-duty vehicles, much of the operational costs information is proprietary and had to be gathered in survey work conducted with other members of a research team. A computer program was written that incorporates the cost relations for the representative vehicles as well as the Texas fleet characteristics in such a way that the user can examine the costs of both an individual vehicle and the aggregate costs associated with a fleet of vehicles. The user can also input a default fleet composition. The model allows users to alter key parameters (such as fuel price, financing rates, insurance costs, or vehicle fuel economies) for future adaptability to a changing economic and technological landscape. The model was developed in parallel with another researcher working on an advanced fuel consumption model, which would later be integrated into to the Vcost model.Item A behavioral framework for tourism travel time use and activity patterns(2010-08) Lamondia, Jeffrey; Bhat, Chandra R. (Chandrasekhar R.), 1964-; Walton, Michael; Machemehl, Randy; Abrevaya, Jason; McCray, TaliaAmerican households spend over $30 billion on tourism and take over 177 million long-distance leisure trips each year. These trips, and the subsequent vehicle miles traveled, have a significant impact on the transportation systems at major destinations across the country, especially those destinations that are still improving their transportation systems. Surprisingly, not much is known related to this type of travel. This dissertation expands the current knowledge of tourism travel behavior, in terms of how people make decisions regarding long-distance leisure activities and time use. Specifically, this dissertation develops and comprehensively examines a behavioral framework for household tourism time use and activity patterns. This framework combines (and builds upon) theory and methods from both transportation and tourism research fields such that it can be used to improve tourism demand modeling. This framework takes an interdisciplinary approach to describe how long distance leisure travelers allocate and maximize their time use across various types of activities. It also considers the many levels of tourism time use and activity patterns, including the structuring the broad annual leisure activity and time budget, forming individual tourism trips within the defined budget, and selecting specific activities and timing during each distinct tourism trip. Subsequently, this dissertation will additionally apply the time use and activity participation behavioral framework to four critical tourism research topics to demonstrate how the tourism behavioral framework can effectively be used to provide behavioral insights into some of the most commonly studied critical tourism issues. These application topics include household participation in broad tourism travel activities, travel parties’ tourism destination and travel mode selection, individuals’ loyalty towards daily and tourism activities, and travel parties’ participation in combinations of specific tourism trip activities. These application studies incorporate a variety of data sources, decision makers, study scales, situation-appropriate modeling techniques, and economic/individual/environmental factors to capture all aspects of the decision and travel activity-making process.Item Bike big data : how GPS route data collected from smartphones can benefit bicycle planning(2013-05) Meyer, Joel Loren; Zhang, Ming, 1963 April 22-In order to determine the most effective ways to increase ridership in their communities, bicycle planners require quality data on bicycling behavior. Traditional bicycle data collection methods, however, are limited by the large amount of time and expertise required to process and analyze the data, by their inability to provide information at the level of detail needed to understand the complexities of bicycling behavior, and by issues related to sampling bias and poor respondent trip recall. Fortunately, a relatively new method for collecting travel data has emerged that has the potential to provide higher quality and lower cost bicycle data to local planning agencies than has previously been possible with traditional data collection methods: the use of global positioning system (GPS) sensors in smartphones. Researchers at The University of Texas recently evaluated the usefulness of one such smartphone application - “CycleTracks” - to collect bicycle route data. Over 3,600 unique trips were collected from around 300 cyclists in Austin, Texas between May and October, 2011. While they found the CycleTracks app to be useful for collecting a large dataset, to this point there has been only limited analysis of the route data in terms of its usefulness in the planning field. This report will explore the ways in which GPS route data collected from smartphones can address some of the limitations of traditional data collection methods. Austin is used as a case study to show how the GPS route data can be used to plan for network connectivity, to identify barriers in the bicycle network, and to analyze cycling behavior before and after the installation of new facilities. The report finds that despite a number of limitations, smartphone-based GPS data collection has the potential to become an important part of local planning agencies’ regular data collection efforts.Item Bus stop attributes and perception of safety : case study Huston Tillotson University(2010-12) Gomez Sanchez, Ana Julita; McCray, Talia; Mueller, ElizabethThis professional report examines the degree to which the perception of safety shapes travel behavior in Austin, Texas, using Huston Tillotson University (HT) students as our case study. Focus groups are used to explore and identify what elements of the public transit experience are considered safe and unsafe. The report explores what “frightens” HT participants away from using the bus. A quantitative study is then used to measure environmental variables and their relation to bus stops and perceptions of safety. Austin crime data are used to locate bus stop crimes and develop a real context for bus riders’ perceptions of crime. After describing the conditions of bus stops based on physical, environmental, and criminal attributes, the study develops scenarios for the study areas. This report closes by summarizing the empirical findings and gives design and policy recommendations for transportation planners, agencies, and policy makers.Item Developing an infrastructure informed walkshed and bikeshed(2013-12) Necessary, Mallory Suzanne; Boyles, Stephen David, 1982-In this thesis, an infrastructure informed index is developed for pedestrians and bicyclists to relate the natural and built environment with its impact on perceived travel distance and time. The objective is to develop an easy to use metric for use at all levels, allowing transportation planners to make better informed decisions when planning or redeveloping a city or area. Building off of similar research efforts, attributes are determined and weighted to capture the characteristics of a link, then summed to create the infrastructure informed index for pedestrians and bicyclists, respectively. These indices are then visualized using ArcGIS mapping tools, creating a service area around specific origin or destination points to see the effective area a pedestrian or bicyclist can travel taking into account the effects of the infrastructure along the route.Item Diversity and value : participatory practices in statewide long-range transportation planning(2013-12) Lister, Bonnie Jerrine; Wilson, Patricia AnnA review of participatory methods used by forty-nine of the fifty State Departments of Transportation during preparation of their most recently adopted statewide long-range transportation plan revealed the flexibility needed to design context-sensitive methods tailored to the specific planning situation. Four parameters are used to characterize methods used by the States: the planning purpose, participatory goal, timing, and the public scale. The report discusses five opportunities to optimize the participatory process that can broaden reach while maintaining a slim budget. These value-added strategies include taking the process to the public, taking stock of public knowledge and understanding, leveraging existing local relationships, using online techniques to supplement face-to-face contact, and integrating public input into the plan.Item An evaluation of online participatory planning spaces : a case study of the Oak Hill Parkway Virtual Open House(2014-05) Ettelman, Benjamin Lamond; Mueller, Elizabeth J.State planning and transportation agencies continually face the escalating problem of increasing needs coupled with limited financial resources to meet those needs. In this difficult fiscal environment, the importance of meaningfully involving the public in the decisions that shape the future of our cities and regions becomes even more amplified. Proactively working with the public to gain buy-in from the early stages of the planning process is one of the most effective strategies to reduce project costs. The classic process in which state planning and transportation agencies have engaged the public is no longer an effective or efficient model as public meeting attendance has consistently decreased. As technology continues to shape the way that the public communicates with each other and their government, the onus falls on state planning and transportation agencies not only to continue to provide the traditional methods of engagement, but to look for new and innovative ways to gain increased public participation in the planning process. The traditional methods of public engagement will always be an important part of the planning process, but discovering the effectiveness of emerging technologies in order to develop new best practices for public engagement is the charge of the future. This report will evaluate whether a) online participatory planning spaces expand participation in the planning process and b) examine how evaluative metrics gathered by using online tools can inform decision makers of the utility of virtual planning spaces. This report will then present an evaluative criteria in order to establish a baseline by which to assess the performance of public involvement processes. This report will then present a case study of the Oak Hill Parkway Virtual Open House Pilot Project, a pilot study conducted in Austin, Texas to test the effectiveness of online participatory planning spaces in the field. This report will also share the results of interviews with Oak Hill Parkway Project representatives regarding the usefulness of virtual planning spaces. The report will conclude with a discussion of lessons learned and future research needs.Item Improvements and extensions of dynamic traffic assignment in transportation planning(2013-05) Melson, Christopher Lucas; Boyles, Stephen David, 1982-A comprehensive approach is conducted to better utilize dynamic traffic assignment (DTA) in transportation planning by investigating its role in: (1) high-order functions, (2) project evaluation, and (3) traffic assignment. A method is proposed to integrate DTA and the four-step planning model such that traffic assignment is conducted at the subnetwork level while the feedback process occurs at the regional level. By allowing interaction between the subnetwork and regional area, the method is shown to be more beneficial than previous integration structures. Additionally, DTA is applied to a case study involving the proposed urban rail system in Austin, TX. The case study showcases the benefits and capabilities of DTA when analyzing traffic impacts caused by transit rail facilities. Multiple equilibria are shown to arise in simulation-based DTA models due to simplified fundamental diagrams. Piecewise linear diagrams are introduced to eliminate unlikely equilibria. Game theory is also applied to DTA; it is shown that an equilibrium solution is guaranteed to exist for general networks in mixed strategies, and unrealistic equilibria are reduced using the trembling hand refinement.Item Improving transportation project delivery with NEPA assignment : lessons learned from California and Texas(2016-05) Miller, Brian Joseph; Zhang, Ming, 1963 April 22-; Loftus-Otway, LisaThe Surface Transportation Project Delivery Program, or NEPA Assignment, authorizes the delegation of federal powers under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) for project reviews, permitting, and approvals. This program builds on past legislative efforts to streamline environmental reviews and documentation for the purposes of expediting federally funded highway projects by state DOTs. This research provides an interpretation of key roles, responsibilities, and requirements following the state’s assumption of the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) responsibilities for NEPA reviews, decision-making, and formal consultation with resource agencies. The report draws exclusively from the California and Texas’ NEPA Assignment programs and progress made to date. In doing so, the report highlights the checks and balances of the NEPA Assignment program through monitoring performance management by both the DOTs and the FHWA, and addresses key administrative challenges during implementation from the state’s perspective. The report concludes with recommendations and lessons learned from the both states.Item Light rail impacts on property values : analyzing Houston's METRORail(2011-05) Campbell, Elizabeth Cochrane; Zhang, Ming, 1963 Apr. 22-; Kahn, Terry D.Light rail transit (LRT) systems are tools to help reduce traffic congestion and air pollution, promote high-density development and more affordable housing, and curtail urban sprawl in metropolitan cities throughout the United States. The impact of transit system services on property values has been studied from various perspectives using many statistical approaches. There are two general categories of effects that proximity to a light rail system can have on the value of residential properties: accessibility benefits (experienced in close proximity to the LRT stations) might increase property values, while nuisance qualities (experienced in both proximity to the LRT line and stations) could have a negative effect on residential property values. Due to the opposing nature of these coexisting effects, results from many empirical studies have been contradictory or inconclusive. This report reviews the spectrum of results found by the growing body of literature focusing on the capitalization effects of rail stations on property values. The economic effect of one particular LRT system, the 7.5 mile long METRORail line located in Houston, Texas, on the value of properties within close proximity to rail stations has not been thoroughly examined, as it only opened for service in 2004. This study utilizes property data acquired from the Harris County Appraisal District (HCAD), Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques, and Hedonic Price Models to analyze the impact of the LRT system in the city of Houston, Texas, on the value of residential properties that lie within close proximity to the line’s rail stations.Item Linking regional planning with project planning in support of NEPA(2012-12) Stock, Tyler A.; Caldas, Carlos H.; Prozzi, JolandaThe thesis investigates potential methods of linking transportation planning in Texas, principally long range planning, with the environmental clearance process required of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The purpose of the research is to achieve time and monetary savings by streamlining the NEPA process. These savings result principally by reducing duplicative efforts performed during transportation planning and the NEPA process. To achieve this goal, the thesis reviews the effectiveness of practices and efforts done in Texas and around the country designed to encourage planning documentation that supports the NEPA process. The thesis then assesses the challenges involved with implementing these practices in Texas and makes a series of recommendations designed to be implemented by various agencies in Texas that would provide linkages between transportation planning and the NEPA process.Item Management of a shared, autonomous, electric vehicle fleet : vehicle choice, charging infrastructure & pricing strategies(2015-08) Chen, Tong Donna; Kockelman, Kara; Machemehl, Randy; Boyles, Stephen; Stone, Peter; Baldick, RossThere are natural synergies between shared autonomous vehicle (AV) fleets and electric vehicle (EV) technology, since fleets of AVs resolve the practical limitations of today's non-autonomous EVs, including traveler range anxiety, access to charging infrastructure, and charging time management. Fleet-managed AVs relieve such concerns, managing range and charging activities based on real-time trip demand and established charging-station locations, as demonstrated in this paper. This work explores the management of a fleet of shared autonomous (battery-only) electric vehicles (SAEVs) in a regional (100-mile by 100-mile) discrete-time, agent-based model. The dissertation examines the operation of SAEVs under various vehicle range and charging infrastructure scenarios in a gridded city modeled roughly after the densities of Austin, Texas. Results indicate that fleet size is sensitive to battery recharge time and vehicle range, with each 80-mile range SAEV replacing 3.7 privately owned vehicles and each 200-mile range SAEV replacing 5.5 privately owned vehicles, under Level II (240-volt AC) charging. With Level III 480-volt DC fast-charging infrastructure in place, these ratios rise to 5.4 vehicles for the 80-mile range SAEV and 6.8 vehicles for the 200-mile range SAEV. However, due to the need to travel while "empty" for charging and passenger pickup, SAEV fleets are predicted to generate an additional 7.1 to 14.0% of travel miles. Financial analysis suggests that the combined cost of charging infrastructure, vehicle capital and maintenance, electricity, insurance, and registration for a fleet of SAEVs ranges from $0.42 to $0.49 per occupied mile traveled, which implies SAEV service can be offered at the equivalent per-mile cost of private vehicle ownership for low-mileage households, and thus be competitive with current manually-driven carsharing services and significantly less expensive than on-demand driver-operated transportation services. The mode share of SAEVs in the simulated mid-sized city is predicted to be between 14 and 39%, when competing against privately-owned, manually-driven vehicles and city bus service. This assumes SAEVs are priced between $0.75 and $1.00 per mile, which delivers significant net revenues to the fleet owner-operator, under all modeled scenarios, assuming 80-mile-range EVs and remote/cordless Level II charging infrastructure and $10,000-per-vehicle automation costs.Item Safety at highway-railroad crossings : a case study of the Austin-San Antonio corridor(2011-05) Zankowski, Jennifer Jaye; Zhang, Ming, 1963 Apr. 22; McCray, TaliaFor over a decade proposals for connecting the metropolitan areas of Austin and San Antonio, Texas via passenger rail have been studied. In the Texas Department of Transportation’s 2010 Rail Plan several ideas, including high-speed rail, regional Amtrak service, and a new passenger rail service have been proposed as a means to provide an alternate mode of transportation along the I-35 corridor. Union Pacific Railroad currently owns and operations a rail line that connects the Austin and San Antonio metropolitan areas; each of the passenger rail projects proposes sharing this corridor with Union Pacific. A literature review reveals that a key factor in negotiating with a freight railroad for shared use of a corridor is safety. One element of the safety risk analysis is the evaluation of at-grade highway-railroad crossing. This study discusses the Austin-San Antonio corridor, its current mobility challenges and the proposed passenger rail projects. It then discusses rail safety as expressed in the literature and provides background about safety at highway-railroad crossings. Crossing inventory and accident data, as maintained by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), is then analyzed using regression modeling in an attempt to better understand the relationship between the physical and operational characteristics of highway-railroad crossings and accidents on corridors shared by freight and passenger rail. It analyzes a five-year accident history (2005 to 2009) from of a sample of shared use highway-rail crossings throughout the US. The findings are then used to analyze the at-grade highway-railroad crossings along the Austin-San Antonio corridor. And finally, the implications of the findings are discussed. The findings of this report recommend that characteristics of the built environment such as land use, number of traffic lanes, and function classification of the roadway should be considered when assessing accident risk at highway-railroad crossings. In addition, this analysis reveals the need for a way to better measure safety risks at private highway-railroad crossings.Item Transportation planning via location-based social networking data : exploring many-to-many connections(2015-08) Cebelak, Meredith Kimberly; Walton, C. Michael; Bhat, Chandra; Boyles, Stephen D.; Duthie, Jennifer; Stephens, Keri; Yang, DanielToday’s metropolitan areas see changes in populations and land development occurring at faster rates than transportation planning can be updated. This dissertation explores the use of a new dataset from the location-based social networking spectrum to analyze origin-destination travel demand within Austin, TX. A detailed exploration of the proposed data source is conducted to determine its overall capabilities with respect to the Austin area demographics. A new methodology is proposed for the creation of origin-destination matrices using a peer-to-peer modeling structure. This methodology is compared against a previously examined and more traditional approach, the doubly-constrained gravity model, to understand the capabilities of both models with various friction functions. Each method is examined within the constructs of the study area’s existing origin-destination matrix by examining the coincidence ratios, mean errors, mean absolute errors, frequency ratios, swap ratios, trip length distributions, zonal trip generation and attraction heat maps, and zonal origin-destination flow patterns. Through multiple measures, this dissertation provides initial interpretations of the robust Foursquare data collected for the Austin area. Based upon the data analytics performed, the Foursquare data source is shown to be capable of providing immensely detailed spatial-temporal data that can be utilized as a supplementary data source to traditional transportation planning data collection methods or in conjunction with other data sources, such as social networking platforms. The examination of the proposed peer-to-peer methodology presented within this dissertation provides a first look at the potential of many-to-many modeling for transportation planning. The peer-to-peer model was found to be superior to the doubly-constrained gravity model with respect to intrazonal trips. Furthermore, the peer-to-peer model was found to better estimate productions, attractions, and zone to zone movements when a linear function was used for long trips, and was computationally more proficient for all models examined.Item Value capture programming to support a regionally significant project in a regionally significant transit project for the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments (BCDCOG)(2011-05) Waggoner, Nathaniel James; Butler, Kent S.; Paterson, RobertThis report outlines five criteria common to successful value capture programs that support transit; 1) predictable need/unmet demand, 2) authority and capacity to achieve policy adoption and implementation, 3) the financial feasibility of the project, 4) the level of concurrent planning that support the project and lastly 5) the projects level of significance. This report will focus on a logical approach to evaluating the possibility of employing a value capture strategy within the jurisdiction of the Berkeley-Charleston- Dorchester Council of Governments (BCDCOG) using the given criteria. The suggested value capture strategy that emerges from this evaluation recognizes the existing and potential value capture mechanisms that could support a regionally significant transit project if budgeting and select revenues are synergized in the context of the regional plan.