Estimation of travel time on urban networks with midlink sources and sinks

This paper presents a methodology for estimation of average travel time on signalized urban networks by integrating cumulative plots and probe data. This integration aims to reduce the relative deviations in the cumulative plots due to midlink sources and sinks. During undersaturated traffic conditions, the concept of a virtual probe is introduced, and therefore, accurate travel time can be obtained when a real probe is unavailable. For oversaturated traffic conditions, only one probe per travel time estimation interval—360 s or 3% of vehicles traversing the link as a probe—has the potential to provide accurate travel time.

The influence of travel time and size of shopping center towards the frequencies of visiting customers in shopping centers in surabaya

Visiting a modern shopping center is becoming vital in our society nowadays. The fast growth of shopping center, transportation system, and modern vehicles has given more choices for consumers in shopping. Although there are many reasons for the consumers in visiting the shopping center, the influence of travel time and size of shopping center are important things to be considered towards the frequencies of visiting customers in shopping centers. A survey to the customers of three major shopping centers in Surabaya has been conducted to evaluate the Ellwood’s model and Huff’s model. A new exponent value N of 0.48 and n of 0.50 has been found from the Ellwood’s model, while a coefficient of 0.267 and an add value of 0.245 have been found from the Huff’s model.

Are low CO2 emitters in rural areas also socially excluded? An empirical investigation of travel diary data from rural Northern Ireland

The reduction of CO2 emissions and social exclusion are two key elements of UK transport strategy. Despite intensive research on each theme, little effort has so far been made linking the relationship between emissions and social exclusion. In addition, current knowledge on each theme is limited to urban areas; little research is available on these themes for rural areas. This research contributes to this gap in the literature by analysing 157 weekly activity-travel diary data collected from three case study areas with differential levels of area accessibility and area mobility options, located in rural Northern Ireland. Individual weekly CO2 emission levels from personal travel diaries (both hot exhaust emission and cold-start emission) were calculated using average speed models for different modes of transport. The socio-spatial patterns associated with CO2 emissions were identified using a general linear model whereas binary logistic regression analyses were conducted to identify mode choice behaviour and activity patterns. This research found groups that emitted a significantly lower level of CO2 included individuals living in an area with a higher level of accessibility and mobility, non-car, non-working, and low-income older people. However, evidence in this research also shows that although certain groups (e.g. those working, and residing in an area with a lower level of accessibility) emitted higher levels of CO2, their rate of participation in activities was however found to be significantly lower compared to their counterparts. Based on the study findings, this research highlights the need for both soft (e.g. teleworking) and physical (e.g. accessibility planning) policy measures in rural areas in order to meet government’s stated CO2 reduction targets while at the same time enhancing social inclusion.

Privacy concerns and the purchasing of travel services online

The travel industry has come to rely heavily on information and communication technologies to facilitate relations with consumers. Compiling consumer data profiles has become easier and it is generally thought that this has led to an increase in consumers' privacy concerns, which may have an adverse impact on their willingness to purchase online. Three specific aspects of privacy that have received attention from researchers are unauthorized secondary use of data, invasion of privacy, and errors. A study was undertaken to examine the effects of these factors on prior purchase of travel services via the Internet and future purchase probability. No evidence was found to indicate that such privacy concerns affect online purchase behavior within the travel industry. Managerial implications are discussed.

The dimensions of travel journalism : exploring new fields for journalism research beyond the news

Much of the existing empirical research on journalism focuses largely on hard-news journalism, at the expense of its less traditional forms, particularly the soft-news areas of lifestyle and entertainment journalism. In focussing on one particular area of lifestyle journalism – the reporting of travel stories – this paper argues for renewed scholarly efforts in this increasingly important field. Travel journalism’s location at the intersection between information and entertainment, journalism and advertising, as well as its increasingly significant role in the representation of foreign cultures makes it a significant site for scholarly research. By reviewing existing research about travel journalism and examining in detail the special exigencies that constrain it, the article proposes a number of dimensions for future research into the production practices of travel journalism. These dimensions include travel journalism’s role in mediating foreign cultures, its market orientation, motivational aspects and its ethical standards.

The geography of travel journalism : mapping the flow of travel stories about foreign countries

While the study of foreign news flows has received considerable attention from communication scholars for quite some time, it has typically focused on political or ‘hard’ news, at the expense of other types of journalistic content. This article argues that, as the foreign news hole is shrinking, travel journalism is becoming an increasingly important source of information about foreign countries in the news media. It reports the results of a comparative study of newspaper travel sections in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK, and argues that travel journalism often replicates the imbalances found in foreign news flows. Well-known factors – such as regionalism, powerful nations, cultural proximity, the role played by big neighbours and the diversity of coverage – are also powerful determinants in travel journalism. At the same time, a country’s tourist behaviour also plays a role but is often overshadowed by other factors.

Benefit of accident reduction considering the improvement of travel time reliability

Traffic accidents often cause lane closure, and diminish stability of travel time as well as the level of road services. On the other hand, research on the implementation of ITS services aiming at the reduction of traffic accidents has made considerable progress lately. However there has been little discussion on the benefits obtained by traffic accident reduction from the view point of travel time reliability. Therefore, in this research, relationships between traffic accidents and travel time reliability are examined, and the benefit of traffic accident reduction is calculated based on the scheduling model under travel time uncertainties. The results show the significance of traffic accident reduction for the improvement of travel time reliability.

Privacy concerns and purchase of travel product online

The travel and tourism industry has come to rely heavily on information and communication technologies to facilitate relations with consumers. Compiling consumer data profiles has become easier and it is widely thought that consumers place great importance on how that data is handled by firms. Lack of trust may cause consumers to have privacy concerns and may, in turn, have an adverse impact on consumers’ willingness to purchase online. Three specific aspects of privacy that have received attention from researchers are unauthorized use of secondary data, invasion of privacy, and errors. A survey study was undertaken to examine the effects of these factors on both prior purchase of travel products via the Internet and future purchase probability. Surprisingly, no significant relationships were found to indicate that such privacy concerns affect online purchase behavior within the travel industry. Implications for managers are discussed.

Exploring association between perceived importance of travel/traffic information and travel behaviour in natural disasters : a case study of the 2011 Brisbane floods

A sound understanding of travellers’ behavioural changes and adaptation when facing a natural disaster is a key factor in efficiently and effectively managing transport networks at such times. This study specifically investigates the importance of travel/traffic information and its impact on travel behaviour during natural disasters. Using the 2011 Brisbane flood as a case study, survey respondents’ perceptions of the importance of travel/traffic information before, during, and after the flood were modelled using random-effects ordered logit. A hysteresis phenomenon was observed: respondents’ perceptions of the importance of travel/traffic information increased during the flood, and although its perceived importance decreased after the flood, it did not return to the pre-flood level. Results also reveal that socio-demographic features (such as gender and age) have a significant impact on respondents’ perceptions of the importance of travel/traffic information. The roles of travel time and safety in a respondent’s trip planning are also significantly correlated to their perception of the importance of this information. The analysis further shows that during the flood, respondents generally thought that travel/traffic information was important, and adjusted their travel plans according to information received. When controlling for other factors, the estimated odds of changing routes and cancelling trips for a respondent who thought that travel/traffic information was important, are respectively about three times and seven times the estimated odds for a respondent who thought that travel/traffic information was not important. In contrast, after the flood, the influence of travel/traffic information on respondents’ travel behaviour diminishes. Finally, the analysis shows no evidence of the influence of travel/traffic information’s on respondents’ travel mode; this indicates that inducing travel mode change is a challenging task.

On the relevance of travel journalism : An introduction

Not many people will be instantly familiar with British woman Dale Sheppard-Floyd, but – at least symbolically – she represents a significant milestone in the development of travel and tourism. In fact, the milestone was so significant that the United Nations World Tourism Organization booked Madrid’s venerable Museo del Prado to announce to the world’s media her visit to Spain on 13 December 2012. For Ms Sheppard-Floyd’s arrival for a three-day trip meant that more than one billion times in that year, someone had crossed a border as a tourist. An astounding number, considering that, in 1950, there had been only 25 million tourist arrivals worldwide, and even only two decades previously – in 1990 – the number had been less than half at 435 million arrivals (World Tourism Organization, 2012a, 2012b). While people have traveled for pleasure for millennia (Towner, 1995), tourism really came into its own with the expansion of the middle classes in the 19th and 20th century, and today it is considered the world’s largest business sector, with unprecedented numbers of people venturing outside of their immediate environments to explore the world around them. In 2012, travel and tourism’s total contribution to the world economy amounted to a staggering $6.6 trillion, or 9 per cent of GDP (World Travel & Tourism Council, 2013). More than 260 million jobs were generated by it worldwide, which equates to one in every 11 jobs across the globe. While there were some hiccups during the Global Financial Crisis, growth in 2012 was stronger than in other industries, such as manufacturing, financial services and retail (World Travel & Tourism Council, 2013)...

In-vehicle filming of driver fatigue on YouTube: Vlogs, crashes and bad advice

Background: Driver fatigue contributes to 15-30% of crashes, however it is difficult to objectively measure. Fatigue mitigation relies on driver self-moderation, placing great importance on the necessity for road safety campaigns to engage with their audience. Popular self-archiving website YouTube.com is a relatively unused source of public perceptions. Method: A systematic YouTube.com search (videos uploaded 2/12/09 - 2/12/14) was conducted using driver fatigue related search terms. 442 relevant videos were identified. In-vehicle footage was separated for further analysis. Video reception was quantified in terms of number of views, likes, comments, dislikes and times duplicated. Qualitative analysis of comments was undertaken to identify key themes. Results: 4.2% (n=107) of relevant uploaded videos contained in-vehicle footage. Three types of videos were identified: (1) dashcam footage (n=82); (2) speaking directly to the camera - vlogs (n=16); (3) passengers filming drivers (n=9). Two distinct types of comments emerged, those directly relating to driver fatigue and those more broadly about the video or its uploader. Driver fatigue comments included: attribution of behaviour cause, emotion experienced when watching the video and personal advice on staying awake while driving. Discussion: In-vehicle footage related to driver fatigue is prevalent on YouTube.com and is actively engaged with by viewers. Comments were mixed in terms of criticism and sympathy for drivers. Willingness to share advice on staying awake suggests driver fatigue may be seen as a common yet controllable occurrence. This project provides new insight into driver fatigue perception, which may be considered by safety authorities when designing education campaigns.

Use of electronic travel diaries and vehicle instrumentation packages in the year 2000 : Atlanta Regional Household Travel Survey

The Georgia Institute of Technology is currently performing research that will result in the development and deployment of three instrumentation packages that allow for automated capture of personal travel-related data for a given time period (up to 10 days). These three packages include: A handheld electronic travel diary (ETD) with Global Positioning System (GPS) capabilities to capture trip information for all modes of travel; A comprehensive electronic travel monitoring system (CETMS), which includes an ETD, a rugged laptop computer, a GPS receiver and antenna, and an onboard engine monitoring system, to capture all trip and vehicle information; and a passive GPS receiver, antenna, and data logger to capture vehicle trips only.

Fusing loop detector and probe vehicle data to estimate travel time statistics on signalized urban networks

This article presents a methodology that integrates cumulative plots with probe vehicle data for estimation of travel time statistics (average, quartile) on urban networks. The integration reduces relative deviation among the cumulative plots so that the classical analytical procedure of defining the area between the plots as the total travel time can be applied. For quartile estimation, a slicing technique is proposed. The methodology is validated with real data from Lucerne, Switzerland and it is concluded that the travel time estimates from the proposed methodology are statistically equivalent to the observed values.

Non-motorized public transport : a global review and analysis of trends and issues

Over recent decades there has been growing interest in the role of non-motorized modes in the overall transport system (especially walking and cycling for private purposes) and many government initiatives have been taken to encourage these active modes. However there has been relatively little research attention given to the paid form of non-motorized travel which can be called non-motorized public transport (NMPT). This involves cycle-powered vehicles which can carry several passengers (plus the driver) and a small amount of goods; and which provide flexible hail-and-ride services. Effectively they are non-motorized taxis. Common forms include cycle-rickshaw (Bangladesh, India), becak (Indonesia), cyclos (Vietnam, Cambodia), bicitaxi (Columbia, Cuba), velo-taxi (Germany, Netherland), and pedicabs (UK, Japan, USA). --------- The popularity of NMPT is widespread in developing countries, where it caters for a wide range of mobility needs. For instance in Dhaka, Bangladesh, rickshaws are the preferred mode for non-walk trips and have a higher mode share than cars or buses. Factors that underlie the continued existence and popularity of NMPT in many developing countries include positive contribution to social equity, micro-macro economic significance, employment creation, and suitability for narrow and crowded streets. Although top speeds are lower than motorized modes, NMPT is competitive and cost-effective for short distance door-to-door trips that make up the bulk of travel in many developing cities. In addition, NMPT is often the preferred mode for vulnerable groups such as females, children and elderly people. NMPT is more prominent in developing countries but its popularity and significance is also gradually increasing in several developed countries of Asia, Europe and parts of North America, where there is a trend for the NMPT usage pattern to broaden from tourism to public transport. This shift is due to a number of factors including the eco-sustainable nature of NMPT; its operating flexibility (such as in areas where motorized vehicle access is restricted or discouraged through pricing); and the dynamics that it adds to the urban fabric. Whereas NMPT may have been seen as a “dying” mode, in many cities it is maintaining or increasing its significance and with potential for further growth. --------- This paper will examine and analyze global trends in NMPT incorporating both developing and developed country contexts and issues such as usage patterns; NMPT policy and management practices; technological development; and operational integration of NMPT into the overall transport system. It will look at how NMPT policies, practices and usage have changed over time and the differing trends in developing and developed countries. In particular, it will use Dhaka, Bangladesh as a case study in recognition of its standing as the major NMPT city in the world. The aim is to highlight NMPT issues and trends and their significance for shaping future policy towards NMPT in developing and developed countries. The paper will be of interest to transport planners, traffic engineers, urban and regional planners, environmentalists, economists and policy makers.