Travel Behavior

Measuring the influence of recurring sporting events on freeway characteristics

Seeherman, Joshua
Anderson, Paul
2017

Freeway traffic is subject to the effects of recurring and non-recurring events. Changes in the traffic stream as a result of recurring special events, specifically sports, is an area that is not well researched. This study examined freeway detectors adjacent to two baseball stadiums in California to analyze the contribution of a baseball game to freeway flow and occupancy for weekday evening games. In addition, hourly volumes on local rail transit were analyzed in the San Francisco case. Findings include a statistically significant effect of baseball increasing the flow by approximately 1...

A Behavioral Theory of Multi-Lane Traffic Flow Part II: Merges and the Onset of Congestion

Daganzo, Carlos F.
1999

This paper examines the behavior of multi-lane freeway traffic past on-ramps, building on the continuum model of part I and focusing on the onset of congestion. The main complication with merges is that rabbits (fast vehicles) entering from an on-ramp usually stay on the shoulder lane(s) of the freeway for some distance before merging into the fast lane(s). An idealization is proposed where this distance is taken to be the same for all vehicles. As a result, the system behaves as if there was a fixed buffer zone where entering rabbits cannot change lanes. The model of part I is extended to...

“Don’t Keep Us Out of the Revolution!”: Accessibility and Autonomous Rideshare in California

Heuser, Katie L.
2024

Robotaxi services, or rideshare operated by autonomous vehicles, present an opportunity for independent and convenient transportation for people with disabilities. The proliferation of robotaxis in California has been met with mixed reactions from the disability community. To better understand perceptions of and expectations for robotaxis, this report uses semi-structured interviews with representatives from disability advocacy organizations. For many people with disabilities, especially for people with intellectual, developmental, and/or physical disabilities, robotaxis are inaccessible....

Safety and Other Impacts of Vehicle Impound Enforcement

Cooper, Douglas
Chira-Chavala, T.
Gillen, David
2000

California vehicle impound law took affect on January 1, 1995. The law allows a police officer to seize a vehicle operated by a person whose license is suspended or revoked or who has never been issued a license. The seized vehicle shall then be impounded for 30 days. In California, a driver must be stopped for some other infraction before his/her license can be checked. The City of Upland, located in western San Bernardino County, has a population of 67,453 residing in a 15.2 square-mile area. The city’s 169 miles of roadways support about 600,000 vehicle-miles of travel daily. Upland...

Pattern Recognition for Curb Usage

Arcak, Murat PhD
Kurzhanskiy, Alex A., PhD
2024

The increasing use of transportation network companies and delivery services has transformed the utilization of curb space, resulting in a lack of parking and contributing to congestion. No systematic method exists for identifying curb usage patterns, but emerging machine learning technologies and low-tech data sources, such as dashboard cameras mounted on vehicles that routinely travel the area, have the potential of monitoring curb usage. To demonstrate how video data can be used to recognize usage patterns, we conducted a case study on Bancroft Way in Berkeley, CA. The project collected...

Struggling to Connect: Housing and Transportation Challenges of Low-Income Suburban Residents in the San Francisco Bay Area

Pan, Alexandra
Deakin, Elizabeth, PhD
Shaheen, Susan, PhD
2024

Suburban areas have lower density development than urban areas, which may make them less accessible for the growing population of low- and moderate-income suburban residents, particularly those without a personal vehicle. This research examines factors that lead these households to move to suburban areas and identifies accessibility barriers they face. We use a mixed-methods approach with Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) data from the U.S. Census, online/in-person surveys (n=208), and interviews conducted in English and Spanish (n=25) with households in Contra Costa County with an income...

Power To Pedal: A Gendered Analysis of the Barriers and Joys of Cycling in Oakland

Gupta, Mallika
2024

Amidst increasing investments in cycling infrastructure in California, trends continue to demonstrate that women from low-income communities of color are underrepresented as cyclists. I argue that prevailing bicycle justice movements have neglected the intersectional needs of women from Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities by centering the ‘white, lycra-clad male’ and his commute needs within organized bicycling advocacy. Further, contemporary bicycle planning does little to investigate the barriers and joys related to cycling, as they are experienced by these women....

3/2-Approximation Algorithm for a Generalized, Multiple Depot, Hamiltonian Path Problem

Rathinam, Sivakumar
Sengupta, Raja
2007

We consider a Generalized, Multiple Depot Hamiltonian Path Problem (GMDHPP) and show that it has an algorithm with an approximation ratio of 3/2 if the costs are symmetric and satisfy the triangle inequality. This improves on the 2-approximation algorithm already available for the same.

Policies to Improve Transportation Sustainability, Accessibility, and Housing Affordability in the State of California

Chatman, Daniel G., PhD
Barbour, Elisa, PhD
Kerzhner, Tamara
Manville, Michael, PhD
Reid, Carolina, PhD
2023

This report presents analytical review of empirical research on the interactions between housing availability and production, and travel behavior, accessibility, land use policies, and transportation policies. It identifies lessons from this review for California state legislative efforts to improve housing and transportation linkages, and to increase both transportation sustainability and housing affordability. Relevant California state efforts include legislation to influence parking standards; to require up-zoning near transit stations; to influence regional housing and transportation...

Proceedings of the Institute of Transportation 50th Birthday Symposium April 23-24, 1998 The Transportation Enterprise: Challenges of ther 21st Century

Bertini, Robert L.
Orrick, Phyllis
1998

This report is a summary of proceedings from a two-day symposium convened by the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California at Berkeley in April 1998 to commemorate the fiftieth birthday of the Institute and to lay the groundwork for the Institute’s second fifty years. With the title, The Transportation Enterprise: Challenges of the 21st Century, the Symposium set out to generate thoughtful, active discussion in preparation for laying out an action plan for the Institute in the21stCentury.