Phd Dissertation

Essays on urban transportation and transportation energy policy

Publication Date

January 1, 2008

Author(s)

Chun Kon (Cecilia) Kim

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Abstract

This dissertation outlines three topics on urban transportation energy, emphasizing the role of transportation energy policy, and aims to provide a single comprehensive framework to evaluate and compare different pricing and regulatory policy options for reducing transportation fuel consumption in the United States. In the first chapter, I examine the effect of population density on motor fuel (i.e., highway gasoline) consumption, controlling for other variables such as gas price, income, vehicle stock and so on, using state level aggregate cross-sectional time series data from 1966 to 2004. By estimating the impact of density on fuel consumption, I improve the understanding of the conventional logic that there is a negative correlation between population density and transportation energy use due to reduced average travel distance and availability of alternative modes in denser area. In the second part, I examine various transportation energy policy instruments such as a fuel tax, a mileage based VMT tax, Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, a Pay-at-the-pump (PATP), and a Pay-as-you-drive (PAYD) insurance premium to measure policy impacts through computerized policy simulations. By fully integrating three interrelated economic demand decisions—size of vehicle stock, use of the vehicle stock, and energy efficiency—it can predict short-run, long-run, and dynamic effects of a policy change. The impacts are measured in terms of vehicle miles traveled, fuel consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, and cost savings. I also examine the impact of transportation energy policies on traffic safety in terms of the number of traffic accidents, traffic fatalities, and total accident costs. The outcome of this research provides a set of specific results comparing policy scenarios in a consistent manner. The results will provide guidance concerning whether the policy option would reduce energy dependency as well as undesirable side effects such as environmental problems and safety problems of motor-vehicle travel.

Suggested Citation

Chun Kon Kim (2008) Essays on urban transportation and transportation energy policy. Ph.D.. University of California, Irvine. Available at: https://uci.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CDL_IRV_INST/1go3t9q/alma991035093292204701 (Accessed: October 13, 2023).

conference paper

Using microscopic simulation to evaluate potential intelligent transportation system strategies under nonrecurrent congestion

INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS AND VEHICLE-HIGHWAY AUTOMATION 2004

Publication Date

January 1, 2004

Author(s)

LY Chu, HX Liu, Will Recker

Abstract

A microsimulation method is presented for evaluating the effectiveness of potential intelligent transportation system (ITS) strategies under non-recurrent congestion. The evaluated ITS strategies include incident management, adaptive ramp metering, traveler information systems, arterial management, and a combination of those strategies. These strategies are implemented and evaluated over a road network in Irvine, California, with the microsimulation model PARAMICS. The evaluation results show that all ITS strategies have positive effects on network performance. Because of the network topology (one major freeway with two parallel arterial streets), real-time traveler information has the greatest benefits among all single ITS strategies. However, a combination of ITS strategies can further increase benefits.

Suggested Citation

LY Chu, HX Liu and W Recker (2004) “Using microscopic simulation to evaluate potential intelligent transportation system strategies under nonrecurrent congestion”, in INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS AND VEHICLE-HIGHWAY AUTOMATION 2004. TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD NATL RESEARCH COUNCIL, pp. 76–84.

published journal article

Expert systems in transportation

Transportation Research Part A: General

Publication Date

January 1, 1990

Author(s)

Stephen Ritchie

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Suggested Citation

Stephen G. Ritchie (1990) “Expert systems in transportation”, Transportation Research Part A: General, 24(1), p. 1. Available at: 10.1016/0191-2607(90)90065-e.

published journal article

A disaggregate model of auto-type choice

Transportation Research Part A: General

Publication Date

February 1, 1979

Author(s)

Charles Lave, Kenneth Train

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Abstract

Previous models of auto-type choice have not been able to disentangle very much of the structure of the household’s auto-choice decision: the models assumed that very few auto characteristics affect choice, and often these few parameters were estimated with low precision. Hence the models had only limited use in forecasting the effects of government policies to influence transportation energy consumption. The present paper introduces a multinomial logit model for the type of car that households will choose to buy. The model includes a large variety of auto characteristics as explanatory variables, as well as a large number of characteristics of the household and the driving environment. The model fits the data quite well, and all of the variables enter with the correct signs and plausible magnitudes.

Suggested Citation

Charles A. Lave and Kenneth Train (1979) “A disaggregate model of auto-type choice”, Transportation Research Part A: General, 13(1), pp. 1–9. Available at: 10.1016/0191-2607(79)90081-5.

published journal article

Real-Time Knowledge-Based Integration of Freeway Surveillance Data

Transportation Research Record

Publication Date

January 1, 1990

Author(s)

Neil Prosser, Stephen Ritchie

Suggested Citation

N.A. Prosser and S. G Ritchie (1990) “Real-Time Knowledge-Based Integration of Freeway Surveillance Data”, Transportation Research Record, 1320, pp. 40–46.

conference paper

Fix the leak! an information leakage aware secured cyber-physical manufacturing system

Design, automation & test in europe conference & exhibition (DATE), 2017

Publication Date

March 1, 2017

Author(s)

Sujit Rokka Chhetri, Sina Faezi, Mohammad Al Faruque

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Abstract

Cyber-physical additive manufacturing systems consists of tight integration of cyber and physical domains. This results in new cross-domain vulnerabilities that poses unique security challenges. One of the challenges is preventing confidentiality breach due to physical-to-cyber domain attacks, where attackers can analyze various analog emissions from the side-channels to steal the cyber-domain information. This information theft is based on the idea that an attacker can accurately estimate the relation between the analog emissions (acoustics, power, electromagnetic emissions, etc.,) and the cyber-domain data (such as G-code). To obstruct this estimation process, it is crucial to quantize the relation between the analog emissions and the cyber-data, and use it as a metric to generate computer aided manufacturing tools, such as slicing and tool-path generation algorithms, that are aware of these information leakage through the side-channels. In this paper, we present a novel methodology that uses mutual information as a metric to quantize the information leakage from the side-channels, and demonstrates how various design variables (such as object orientation, nozzle velocity, etc.,) can be used in an optimization algorithm to minimize the information leakage. Our methodology integrates this leakage aware algorithms to the state-of-the-art slicing and tool-path generation algorithms and achieves 24.76% average drop in the information leakage through acoustic side-channel. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that demonstrates the idea of generating information leakage aware computer aided manufacturing tools for protecting the confidentiality of the manufacturing system.

Suggested Citation

Sujit Rokka Chhetri, Sina Faezi and Mohammad Abdullah Al Faruque (2017) “Fix the leak! an information leakage aware secured cyber-physical manufacturing system”, in Design, automation & test in europe conference & exhibition (DATE), 2017. IEEE (Design automation and test in europe conference and exhibition), pp. 1408–1413. Available at: 10.23919/date.2017.7927213.

conference paper

Applications of speed variance in measuring freeway level of service and in air emissions evaluation

Proceedings of the 93rd annual meeting of the transportation research board

Publication Date

January 1, 2014

Author(s)

Chih-Lin (Albert) Chung, Will Recker

Abstract

Speed variance is an important, but overlooked, parameter in traffic studies. This paper examines the use of statistical relationships between speed variance and the fundamental parameters-density, average speed, and flow-to support applications of speed variance via those fundamental parameters to two important aspects of traffic operations. First, it is proposed that speed variance be used to measure freeway level of service from A through E in the context of “no more x% of the vehicles with travel time up to y% greater than the free flow condition.” It is argued that such a measure not only reflects mobility (y%), reliability (x%), and potentially safety, but also avoids the vague descriptions associated with each service level in the current HCM. Second, the relationships are applied to estimate speed distribution for the MOVES mobile source air emission model. A revised approach is developed and compared to that in the current model. It is argued that the MOVES model’s approach limits the distribution in two speed bins, results in unsupported speed variance, and may cause identical distributions under various average speeds. The proposed revised approach based on speed variance generates specific spread-out distributions consistent with empirical data. The findings of these two applications bring new concepts to the current practice. Suggestions are made to fix the deficiencies of the existing and proposed approaches in the applications.

Suggested Citation

Chih-Lin Chung and Will Recker (2014) “Applications of speed variance in measuring freeway level of service and in air emissions evaluation”, in Proceedings of the 93rd annual meeting of the transportation research board, p. 20p.

published journal article

Backyarding: Theory and evidence for south Africa

Regional Science and Urban Economics

Publication Date

November 1, 2019

Author(s)

Jan Brueckner, Claus Rabe, Harris Selod

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Abstract

This paper explores the incentives for backyarding, an expanding category of urban land-use in developing countries that has proliferated South Africa. The theoretical model exposes the tradeoff faced by the homeowner in deciding how much backyard land to rent out: loss of yard space consumption in return for a gain in rental income. Under common forms for preferences, the homeowner’s own-consumption of yard space falls as land rent increases, causing more land to be rented to backyarders. With better job access for backyarders raising land rent by increasing their willingness-to-pay, the analysis then predicts that the extent of backyarding will be higher for parcels with good job access. This hypothesis is tested by combining a satellite-based count of backyard dwellings per parcel with job-access data. The empirical results are consistent with the prediction that better job access increases the extent of backyarding.

Suggested Citation

Jan K. Brueckner, Claus Rabe and Harris Selod (2019) “Backyarding: Theory and evidence for south Africa”, Regional Science and Urban Economics, 79, p. 103486. Available at: 10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2019.103486.

published journal article

Welfare gains from removing land-use distortions: An analysis of urban change in post-apartheid south africa*

Journal of Regional Science

Publication Date

February 1, 1996

Author(s)

Jan Brueckner

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Suggested Citation

Jan K. Brueckner (1996) “Welfare gains from removing land-use distortions: An analysis of urban change in post-apartheid south africa*”, Journal of Regional Science, 36(1), pp. 91–109. Available at: 10.1111/j.1467-9787.1996.tb01102.x.

published journal article

Optimization of control parameters for adaptive traffic-actuated signal control

Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems

Publication Date

May 1, 2010

Author(s)

Xing Zheng, Will Recker, Lianyu Chu

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Suggested Citation

Xing Zheng, Will Recker and Lianyu Chu (2010) “Optimization of control parameters for adaptive traffic-actuated signal control”, Journal of Intelligent Transportation Systems, 14(2), pp. 95–108. Available at: 10.1080/15472451003719756.