scholarly journals Congestion, Road Safety, and the Effectiveness of Public Policies in Urban Areas

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 5092 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Albalate ◽  
Xavier Fageda

Congestion and road accidents are both considered essential challenges for sustainable mobility in large cities, but their relationship is only partially explored by the literature. In this paper, we empirically examine different public policies aimed at reducing urban traffic congestion but which may also have indirect effects on road accidents and casualties. We use data from 25 large urban areas in Spain for the period 2008–2017 and apply econometric methods to investigate how a variety of public policies do affect both negative externalities. Although the relationship between congestion and road safety is complex, we find that the promotion of certain modes of public transportation and the regulation of parking spaces may contribute to making cities more sustainable, both in terms of the time spent traveling and the probability of being affected by an accident. Considering whether policies addressing congestion improve or damage road safety as an indirect result is a useful approach for local policy-makers and planners in their attempt to get sustainable transportation outcomes.

Author(s):  
Tran Minh Tung

Due to the policy of the Doi moi in Vietnam started in 1986, Hanoi has undergone many important changes. Currently, Hanoi's traffic is characterized by seemingly continuous motorcycle flows - a representative of high personal mobility in the context of rising incomes. Congestion, dust, pollution, insecurity, overload, etc., they are important keywords to describe Hanoi's urban traffic. Hanoi has put in place a number of policies to improve the transportation system. In 2017, in Hanoi's new mobility improvement project, there is a regulation on motorcycles: “The municipality will zone by limiting the activities of motorcycles according to the infrastructure and the service capacity of the public transportation system to stop motorcycle activities in the central districts in 2030” that becomes controversial. This article, based on the results of surveys assessing the level of satisfaction and desires of people about traffic at the KDTMs of Hanoi, analyzes the differences between the wishes of the municipality and the practices of Hanoi, through habits, modes of mobility of KDTM residents - the new residential areas of Hanoi that bring a different atmosphere of habitat compared to existing neighborhoods, by changing the mode of (re)making of the city. How will the traffic of KDTM residents be affected by this decision as well as how KDTMs will participate in the sustainable transportation of Hanoi?. It is the KDTMs with their “novelties” that will have to become pioneers creating opportunities of the changing of Hanoi traffic. Keywords: Hanoi; sustainable mobility; efficient transportation; motorcycle; KDTM (new residential area). Received 08 December 2018, Revised 30 January 2019, Accepted 30 January 2019


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-100
Author(s):  
Arbie Sianipar

Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) is one of the appropriate efforts to reduce the vehicle volume in order to solve the traffic congestion in urban areas. Nevertheless, the implementation of ERP requires to be supported by the provision of the adequate public transportation to substitute the private transportation. This study aims to find out the potential and the readiness of the implementation of ERP in urban areas. Ths study employed descriptive method using the performance analysis of the roads and the perception analysis of the user on the implementation of ERP policy. The result of the analysis shows that the level of V/C Ratio of the roads in Medan City was ≥ 0.80 and the level of service was D. The levels show that the performance of road service is poor; therefore, the traffic engineering and management in Medan City is necessary. The perception analysis shows that 56% of the respondents object the implementation of ERP in Medan City.Keywords: Analysis of Roads Performance, Electronic Road Pricing, Traffic Engineering, Urban Traffic Congestion. AbstrakERP (Electronic Road Pricing) merupakan salah satu upaya yang tepat untuk mengurangi volume kendaraan guna mengatasi persoalan kemacetan di perkotaaan. Namun, penerapan ERP perlu didukung dengan penyediaan angkutan umum yang memadai sebagai pengganti angkutan pribadi. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui potensi dan kesiapan penerapan kebijakan ERP di wilayah perkotaan. Kajian ini menggunakan metode deskriptif dengan analisis kinerja ruas jalan dan analisis persepsi pengguna jalan terhadap penerapan kebijakan ERP. Hasil analisis diperoleh nilai V/C Ratio Jalan di Kota Medan ≥0,80 dan nilai level of service D. Nilai tersebut menunjukkan bahwa kinerja pelayanan jalan buruk sehingga perlu dilakukan rekayasa dan manajemen lalu lintas di Kota Medan. Analisis persepsi menunjukkan 56% responden menolak penerapan ERP di Kota Medan.Kata kunci: Kemacetan Perkotaan, Electronic Road Pricing, Analisis Kinerja Ruas Jalan, Rekayasa Lalu Lintas.


2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-76
Author(s):  
Esraa Jamal ◽  
David Scott ◽  
Ahmed Idris ◽  
Gordon Lovegrove

Abstract This paper reports on the social, cultural, and demographic factors affecting Kuwaiti commuters. The objectives were to 1) investigate the awareness of Kuwaitis of transportation problems, 2) examine the perceptions of Kuwaitis of daily traffic congestion and how it affects them emotionally and physically, and the main objective 3) study the attitudes of Kuwaitis towards using public buses. An online survey was used to examine these factors, and a sample of five hundred transportation system users was obtained. The primary findings showed significant associations between the use of public transport buses and the user’s nationality, gender, age, education, and income level. Men are 2.6 times more likely to use buses, and non-Kuwaiti residents are 6.4 times more likely to use them. In relation to the perceptions of daily traffic congestion, findings indicate that with increase in travel time, commuters, in general, developed more negative feelings, such as exhaustion and stress. A large proportion of the sample population is aware of current local transportation problems and future transportation projects. The results of this study fill a gap in the knowledge of the socioeconomic and cultural factors that influence the success of sustainable public transportation solutions to the traffic challenges found in Kuwait. This knowledge is also crucial to foreign consultants working on planning and transportation projects in the region. It is recommended that officials use this new knowledge on cultural factors to develop integrated land use and transportation plans of the urban areas in Kuwait and to develop more effective and sustainable transportation demand management policies in support of UN Sustainable Development Goals that Kuwait has signed up to pursue.


2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 625
Author(s):  
Monica Menendez ◽  
Lukas Ambühl

Increasing mobility and urbanization is important for economic prosperity but leads to higher urban traffic congestion, which is associated with many negative externalities. Therefore, cities are in need of integrative solutions that reduce their transportation network’s spatial and environmental footprint, while maintaining the highest transportation efficiency possible. Focusing on a nontraditional and more sustainable cycle of urban transportation, this paper covers an integrated perspective by describing a combination of individual design and operational measures. To do so, a case study of the city of Zurich is presented, which consistently ranks highly across different indicators, from smart city to sustainability. This paper is therefore a qualitative review of different measures that the city has implemented to become more sustainable. The measures are compared with indicators from the existing literature and classify them into three clusters: (i) measures discouraging private motorized transport, (ii) measures encouraging public transport, and (iii) measures encouraging human-powered mobility. The discussion thereof allows us to integrate the different measures to define a sustainable transportation cycle, which potentially serves as a best-practice example.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Gabriela Droj ◽  
Laurențiu Droj ◽  
Ana-Cornelia Badea

Traffic has a direct impact on local and regional economies, on pollution levels and is also a major source of discomfort and frustration for the public who have to deal with congestion, accidents or detours due to road works or accidents. Congestion in urban areas is a common phenomenon nowadays, as the main arteries of cities become congested during peak hours or when there are additional constraints such as traffic accidents and road works that slow down traffic on road sections. When traffic increases, it is observed that some roads are predisposed to congestion, while others are not. It is evident that both congestion and urban traffic itself are influenced by several factors represented by complex geospatial data and the spatial relationships between them. In this paper were integrated mathematical models, real time traffic data with network analysis and simulation procedures in order to analyze the public transportation in Oradea and the impact on urban traffic. A mathematical model was also adapted to simulate the travel choices of the population of the city and of the surrounding villages. Based on the network analysis, traffic analysis and on the traveling simulation, the elements generating traffic congestion in the inner city can be easily determined. The results of the case study are emphasizing that diminishing the traffic and its effects can be obtained by improving either the public transport density or its accessibility.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 3458-3465
Author(s):  
T.D.C. Pushpakumara ◽  
◽  
U.L.P. Nimesh ◽  

Traffic congestion is an enormous problem at peak hours in western province. Existing transport system is not capable to overcome these complexity situations. Therefore, Srilankan government needs to find out different mode of transport to save time and money and finally economy of the country. In the past history, there was a rich water transportation system over the country. Specially, the western province has a well-distributed network of inland waterways, comprising of main rivers, streams, canals, lakes, and tanks. Most of the time, the existing waterways were used for freight transportation (timber, sand, brick, and tiles. compare to Public transportation. The study is to determine the efficient use of waterways for the public transportation focusing the travel time and fuel consumption. The existing water way network was map and find availability of other network connectivity using ArcGIS and Google Earth Pro software. Then compare it with an existing public transportation mode (bus) and checked the suitability of usage of water transportation as an alternative to reduce the existing traffic congestion problem. And proposed water way transport system, that capable of potential and strategic way to reduce the traffic congestion problem in Colombo and its sub urban areas.


Author(s):  
Glen Weisbrod ◽  
Don Vary ◽  
George Treyz

Key findings are provided from NCHRP Study 2-21, which examined how urban traffic congestion imposes economic costs within metropolitan areas. Specifically, the study applied data from Chicago and Philadelphia to examine how various producers of economic goods and services are sensitive to congestion, through its impact on business costs, productivity, and output levels. The data analysis showed that sensitivity to traffic congestion varies by industry sector and is attributable to differences in each industry sector's mix of required inputs and hence its reliance on access to skilled labor, access to specialized inputs, and access to a large, transportation-based market area. Statistical analysis models were applied with the local data to demonstrate how congestion effectively shrinks business market areas and reduces the "agglomeration economies" of businesses operating in large urban areas, thus raising production costs. Overall, this research illustrates how it is possible to estimate the economic implications of congestion, an approach that may be applied in the future for benefit-cost analysis of urban congestion-reduction strategies or for development of congestion pricing strategies. The analysis also shows how congestion-reduction strategies can induce additional traffic as a result of economic benefits.


Author(s):  
Isaac K. Isukapati ◽  
Hana Rudová ◽  
Gregory J. Barlow ◽  
Stephen F. Smith

Transit vehicles create special challenges for urban traffic signal control. Signal timing plans are typically designed for the flow of passenger vehicles, but transit vehicles—with frequent stops and uncertain dwell times—may have different flow patterns that fail to match those plans. Transit vehicles stopping on urban streets can also restrict or block other traffic on the road. This situation results in increased overall wait times and delays throughout the system for transit vehicles and other traffic. Transit signal priority (TSP) systems are often used to mitigate some of these issues, primarily by addressing delay to the transit vehicles. However, existing TSP strategies give unconditional priority to transit vehicles, exacerbating quality of service for other modes. In networks for which transit vehicles have significant effects on traffic congestion, particularly urban areas, the use of more-realistic models of transit behavior in adaptive traffic signal control could reduce delay for all modes. Estimating the arrival time of a transit vehicle at an intersection requires an accurate model of dwell times at transit stops. As a first step toward developing a model for predicting bus arrival times, this paper analyzes trends in automatic vehicle location data collected over 2 years and allows several inferences to be drawn about the statistical nature of dwell times, particularly for use in real-time control and TSP. On the basis of this trend analysis, the authors argue that an effective predictive dwell time distribution model must treat independent variables as random or stochastic regressors.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donatella Darsena ◽  
Giacinto Gelli ◽  
Ivan Iudice ◽  
Francesco Verde

Avoidance of crowding situations in public transportation (PT) systems is crucial to foster sustainable mobility, by increasing the user’s comfort and satisfaction during normal operation, as well as to manage emergency situations, such as pandemic crises as recently experienced with COVID-19 limitations. This paper presents a comprehensive review of several crowd detection techniques based on Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, which can be adopted to avoid crowding in various segments of the PT system (buses/trams/trains, railway/subway stations, and bus stops). To discuss such techniques in a clear systematic perspective, we introduce a reference framework called SALUTARY (Safe and Reliable Public Transportation System), which in our vision employs modern information and communication technologies (ICT) in order to: (i) monitor and predict crowding events; (ii) adapt in real-time PT system operations, i.e., by modifying service frequency, timetables, routes, and so on; (iii) inform the users of crowding events by electronic displays installed in correspondence of the bus stops/stations and/or by mobile transport applications. It is envisioned that the new anti-crowding functionalities can be incrementally implemented as an addon to the intelligent transportation system (ITS) platform, which is already in use by major PT companies operating in urban areas. Moreover, it is argued that in this new framework, additional services can be delivered, such as, e.g., online ticketing, vehicle access control and reservation in severely crowded situations, and evolved crowd-aware route planning.


2013 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Syahriah Bachok ◽  
Mariana Mohamed Osman ◽  
Ummi Aqilah Khalid ◽  
Mansor Ibrahim

In facing the challenges of urban traffic congestion, when people are becoming more dependent on private vehicles, public transportation services should be functioning effectively as attractive alternative modes. This research evaluates how rail public transport users perceive day to day quality of the provided services. The study investigates commuters‟ satisfaction levels of various trip making aspects on board KTM Komuter trains, a commuter services operated by the company Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB), a heavy rail operator in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A systematic probabilistic sampling questionnaire survey was conducted among the users during the month of December 2011 until March 2012. A sample of 1000 questionnaire forms returned by respondents have been gathered for purposes of ascertaining the overall satisfaction level and analysis on selected aspects of the performance indicators. The results have shown that the majority of the respondents perceived KTM Komuter services to be below the levels that the users had expected, especially the non-adherence to published schedule and travel times, frequency or headways, capacity, the physical conditions of the rail coaches and the information on delays. Most of them expected better services to increase their satisfaction levels. Hence, it is concluded that for the rail public transportation to be sustainable and continuously relevant, the operator has to increase KTM Komuter‟s effectiveness and efficiency or the services have to in the least remain attractive to the existing users.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document