ITS Berkeley

Subsidizing Transportation Network Companies to Support Commutes by Rail

Darling, Wesley
Cassidy, Michael J.
2024

We explore how rail transit’s first- and last-mile issue might be addressed by partnering with transportation network companies (TNCs) like Uber and Lyft. The goal is to lure high-income commuters to shift from cars to TNCs and rail. We also explore how rail and TNC partnerships can improve travel for low-income commuters who currently rely on low-frequency bus service. We parametrically test subsidizing TNC fares for feeder services in the San Francisco Bay Area inan idealized fashion. Inputs such as the residents’ value of time and vehicle ownership were taken from various local data...

A Vicious Cycle Along Busy Bus Corridors and How to Abate It

Shen, Minyu
Gu, Weihua
Cassidy, Michael J.
Lin, Yongjie
Ni, Wei
2024

We unveil that a previously-unreported vicious cycle can be created when bus queues form at curbside stops along a corridor. Buses caught in this cycle exhibit growing variation in headways as they travel from stop to stop. Bus (and patron) delays accumulate in like fashion and can grow large on long, busy corridors. We show that this damaging cycle can be abated in simple ways. Present solutions entail holding buses at a corridor entrance and releasing them as per various strategies proposed in the literature. We introduce a modest variant to the simplest of these strategies. It releases...

Breaking a Harmful Feedback Loop: Mitigating Bus Queuing and Headway Irregularity on Busy Corridors

Shen, Minyu
Gu, Weihua
Cassidy, Michael
Lin, Yongjie
Ni, Wei
2024

We unveil that a previously-unreported and undesirable feedback loop can be created when bus queues frequently form at congested curbside stops along a corridor. Buses caught in this loop exhibit growing variation in headways as they travel from stop to stop. Bus and patron delays resulting from these queues accumulate in like fashion and can grow large on long, busy corridors. We show that this damaging feedback loop can be abated by applying various bus holding strategies at a corridor's entrance. Specifically, holding buses not only helps reduce headway variations---a well understood...

How and When Cordon Metering Can Reduce Travel Times

Doig, Jean
Daganzo, Carlos F.
Cassidy, Michael J.
2024
The paper addresses two questions regarding cordon metering that have until now gone unanswered. The first of these pertains to how and where a metered cordon ought to be placed in a city to be of greatest benefit. A simple 3-step rule is proposed that can be readily applied in real settings, and that we call the cordon layout conjecture, or CLC. Its use is shown to minimize the overall travel time...

Enfoque en Epidemiología de Campo

FOCUS, G de Trabajo
Nelson, A
Mountcastle, SB
Cáceres, DD
Rodriguez, D
2002

La decisión de investigar una epidemia puede estar determinada por varios factores importantes. La limitaciones de recursos financieros y humanos o personal experto pueden impedir hacer investigaciones; aunque estas limitaciones no siempre son insuperables. Existen oportunidades de entrenamiento y asistencia en investigaciones de epidemias, disponibles, por parte de diferentes agencias estatales y federales, como el CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centros de Control de Enfermedades y Prevención de los Estados Unidos). Aunque los costos directos de una investigación...

ITS in developing countries: strategic opportunities

Richardson, BC
Rodriguez, DA
1997

Development of intelligent transportation systems has taken on worldwide dimensions. For underdeveloped nations the desire to embrace ITS creates a formidable challenge. As noted by the authors, however, there is a window of opportunity for avoiding the costly mistakes while reproducing the successes experienced by industrialized countries. This article identifies potential obstacles, defines various strategies and suggests ITS can be used as an integrator to achieve true strategic regional plans so often neglected in developing areas.

Easy-to-compute index for identifying built environments that support walking

Schneider, RJ
Rodriguez, DA
Young, HM
2006

The variety and spatial co-variation of built environment attributes associated with non-automobile travel have resulted in the estimation of composite scores or indices summarizing these attributes. This paper builds on prior practical and research applications of these environmental scores or indices by proposing and testing a built environment index (BEI) calculated at the traffic analysis zone and that relies predominantly on widely available data. By computing the BEI using three different analytical methods used in prior research (principal components analysis, cluster analysis...

An Analysis of HOT Lanes in North Carolina

Benjamin, JM
Sakano, R
McKinney, B
Khattak, AJ
Rodriguez, DA
Gaskin, C
2007

Many medium and small-size metropolitan areas in the U.S. face increasing traffic problems similar to large metropolitan areas. These metropolitan areas have responded primarily by expanding their road network and capacity. This paper explores the possibility of using a HOT lane in a medium-size metropolitan area for the same purpose. A detailed analysis and a suggested HOT lane solution are prepared for Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point metropolitan area. While high congestion are not widespread in the region now, a highway corridor is identified based on forecasted high...

A Comparison of GPS and Travel Diaries to Characterize Walking Behavior

Cho, G
Rodriguez, DA
Clifton, KJ
Evenson, K
2008

While travel diaries are widely used to investigate walking behavior, the emergence of portable GPS units provides an innovative approach to characterizing walking behavior. This study compares the number and duration of daily walking trips reported in travel diaries with data extracted from a portable GPS unit and identified as the same walking trips. The study had two phases: (1) We used 35 person-days of travel data to determine the best algorithm for identifying walking trips from GPS data. The best algorithm had high Pearson (0.89) and Spearman correlation (0.85).

The Effect of Bundled Housing and Accessibility Information on Residential Location Choice and Travel Behavior: An Experimental Study

Rodriguez, DA
2010

The ability of an individual to travel via modes of transportation other than the single occupancy vehicle is limited by the availability of these alternative transportation modes near their home. The purpose of this research is to investigate the long-term effects of information on an individual's travel behavior. The authors hypothesize that if individuals who are making residential location decisions are provided with housing and accessibility information, they will decide to live in more accessible locations and that they will travel fewer miles by car as a result. This is an...