published journal article

Bus rapid transit systems: A comparative assessment

Transportation

Publication Date

March 1, 2008

Author(s)

David A. Hensher, Thomas Golob

View published journal article

Abstract

Bus rapid transit (BRT) is a system operating on its own right-of-way, either as a full BRT with high quality interchanges, integrated smart card fare payment and efficient throughput of passengers alighting and boarding at bus stations; or as a system with some amount of dedicated right-of-way (light BRT) and lesser integration of service and fares. This paper evaluates the status of 44 BRT systems in operation throughout the world in order to identify BRT’s capability of moving substantial numbers of passengers, using infrastructure whose costs overall and per kilometer are low. The cost of constructing the BRT infrastructure and the range of design and service specifications offered through BRT are examined. The findings indicate that most of the systems, with all manner of variation and in both developed and developing nations, cost less than $10 million per kilometer. Substantial variations in total costs can be attributed in part to data limitations and the context in which costs were negotiated.

Suggested Citation

David A. Hensher and Thomas F. Golob (2008) “Bus rapid transit systems: A comparative assessment”, Transportation, 35(4), pp. 501–518. Available at: 10.1007/s11116-008-9163-y.

policy brief

Making Workplace Charging Work: What Employees Value in Managed and Bidirectional Programs

Publication Date

March 1, 2026

Associated Project

Balancing Building and Electric Vehicle Energy Needs: A Study on Bi-Directional and Managed Workplace Charging

Author(s)

Amin Akbari, Matthew Dean

Areas of Expertise

Safety, Public Health, & Mobility Justice Travel Behavior, Land Use, & the Built Environment

View policy brief

Abstract

California’s climate goals increasingly depend on shifting electric vehicle (EV) charging to midday, when clean, low-cost solar energy is most abundant. Doing so could help utilities avoid having to curtail solar energy and prevent reliability-driven infrastructure upgrades that would raise rates for all customers. Workplace charging programs are well positioned to support this shift, as many vehicles remain parked during daylight hours. However, workplace charging presents a cost dilemma. Since home charging is typically less expensive, employees may be reluctant to use workplace chargers unless prices are heavily discounted—yet offering free or low-cost charging extends the time it takes for employers to recoup infrastructure investments.

research report

Assessing the Potential for Densification and VMT Reduction in Areas without Rail Transit Access

Publication Date

September 23, 2024

Associated Project

Assessing the Potential for Densification and Reduction of Vehicle Miles Traveled in Areas Without Rail

Author(s)

Jae Hong Kim, Jesus M. Barajas, Nicholas Marantz, Doug Houston, Veronica Herrera, Alex Okashita, Maxwell Cabello

Areas of Expertise

Public Transit, Shared Mobility, & Active Transportation Travel Behavior, Land Use, & the Built Environment

View research report

Abstract

While transportation infrastructure and efficiency should inform where to build more housing, little is known about how housing allocation and development processes can be coordinated more systematically with transportation. To date, transportation-housing coordination has often relied on the densification of areas near rail transit stations, putting heavy burdens on these locations and their residents. Much less attention has been paid to how densification can be achieved in a more equitable manner by encompassing other sites. This report directs attention to non-rail locations, specifically low vehicle miles traveled (VMT) areas and bus corridors, and examines the challenges that can arise in promoting densification more broadly. It shows that data uncertainties can make it challenging to identify low VMT locations and that prioritizing only low VMT locations for residential development may have limited effectiveness in expanding housing opportunities in high opportunity areas. The report further explores ways to achieve more inclusive densification of non-rail transit areas and highlights the importance of anti-displacement strategies.

Suggested Citation

Jae Hong Kim, Jesus M. Barajas, Nicholas Marantz, Douglas Houston, Veronica Herrera, Alex Okashita and Maxwell Cabello (2024) Assessing the Potential for Densification and VMT Reduction in Areas without Rail Transit Access. Research Report. UC ITS. Available at: https://doi.org/10.7922/g22v2dgj.

Related Publications

policy brief | Sep 2024

What Challenges Can Arise from Coordinating Housing Development with Transportation?

conference paper

Heuristics for freight procurement auctions with carrier capacity and shipper side constraints

Proceedings of the 88th annual meeting of the transportation research board

Publication Date

January 1, 2009

Author(s)

Matthew Nguyen, Sandra Irani, Amelia Regan

Abstract

Combinatorial auctions, in which trucking companies bid on contracts for bundles of lanes, rather than single ones, hold significant promise for adding efficiencies to contracts for freight transportation services. However, the problems faced by bidders (trucking companies) and auctioneers (large shippers) in order to effectively bid and select contract winners are very computationally complex â?? preventing widespread adoption of such auctions to date. In this research the authors provide heuristics for solving combinatorial auctions for freight procurement and demonstrate that complicated side constraints (favoring incumbents, creating backup assignments, and minimizing the number of winning carriers) can be considered â?? benefiting both shippers and carriers. The authors do this in a setting where carriers can bid on as many lanes or packages as they wish and in which shippers explicitly consider carrier capacities when assigning contracts. Empirical analysis shows that othe authors heuristics, based on the LP rounding technique developed by Shmoys and Tardos for the generalized assignment problem have very good performance.

Suggested Citation

Matthew Nguyen, Sandy Irani and Amelia Regan (2009) “Heuristics for freight procurement auctions with carrier capacity and shipper side constraints”, in Proceedings of the 88th annual meeting of the transportation research board, p. 34p.

published journal article

Parsing density changes: An outcome-oriented growth management policy analysis

J Hous and the Built Environ

Publication Date

November 1, 2012

Author(s)

Jae Hong Kim, Brian Deal, Arnab Chakraborty

View published journal article

Abstract

Although a considerable number of studies have examined the effectiveness of growth management programs in curbing sprawl and increasing aggregate densities, less attention has been paid to understanding how these noted density improvements are realized. In this paper, we assess the mechanisms that underlie changes in aggregate population densities and empirically examine detailed density changes under various growth management regimes in the US. Our county-level statistical analysis using recent US Census products and land use change data sets, finds that: (a) states with proactive growth management programs do tend to experience relative density gains, but not in jurisdictions with restrictive local land use regulations and (b) the marginal density gains appear to be attributable in large part to smaller housing vacancy rates and housing price escalations. Not surprisingly, our findings suggest that local structures are critical for achieving desired outcomes. Given the critical role of local action, the realization of compact development requires a tightly woven and integrated policy that not only makes logical sense at state levels, but can be followed and implemented at the local level.

Suggested Citation

Jae Hong Kim, Brian Deal and Arnab Chakraborty (2012) “Parsing density changes: An outcome-oriented growth management policy analysis”, J Hous and the Built Environ, 28(3), pp. 529–546. Available at: 10.1007/s10901-012-9327-0.

published journal article

Bayesian mixture model for estimating freeway travel time distributions from small probe samples from multiple days

Transportation Research Record

Publication Date

January 1, 2009

Author(s)

Klayut Jintanakul, Lianyu Chu, R. (Jay) Jayakrishnan

View published journal article

Abstract

This study formulates a hierarchical Bayesian mixture model for estimating travel time distributions along freeway sections by using small data samples from vehicle probes, which have been collected over multiple days. Two normal components are used to capture the heterogeneity in the experienced travel times and to model various distributional shapes generally known to be skewed or multimodal. Travel time data collected during different intervals under similar traffic conditions are used to construct the prior for model parameters via a hierarchical Bayesian formulation. The posterior distributions can be continuously updated as new data from probes become available, and are used for prediction under different levels of data availability. A simulation study shows that true travel time distribution for each section during each interval can be well-approximated with the use of this proposed model.

Suggested Citation

Klayut Jintanakul, Lianyu Chu and R. Jayakrishnan (2009) “Bayesian mixture model for estimating freeway travel time distributions from small probe samples from multiple days”, Transportation Research Record, 2136(1), pp. 37–44. Available at: 10.3141/2136-05.

conference paper

Private Autonomous Vehicles and Their Impacts on Last-mile Travel: Integrated Mode Choice and Parking Assignment Model

101st Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board

Publication Date

January 1, 2022

Author(s)

Younghun Bahk, Michael Hyland, Sunghi (Sunny) An

Suggested Citation

Younghun Bahk, Michael Hyland and Sunghi An (2022) “Private Autonomous Vehicles and Their Impacts on Last-mile Travel: Integrated Mode Choice and Parking Assignment Model”. 101st Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board.

conference paper

Evaluating the impacts of start-up and clearance behaviors in a signalized network: A network fundamental diagram approach

Proceedings of the 98th annual meeting of the transportation research board

Publication Date

January 1, 2019

Author(s)

Adrià Morales Fresquet, Wenlong Jin

Abstract

Numerical simulations have shown that the network fundamental diagram (NFD) of a signalized network is significantly affected by the green ratio, and an analytical approximation of the NFD has been derived from the link transmission model.However, the consistency between these approaches has not been established, and the impacts of other factors are still unrevealed. In this paper, the authors evaluate the impacts of start-up and clearance behaviors in a signalized network from a network fundamental diagram approach. Microscopic simulations based on Newellâ??s car-following model are used for testing the bounded acceleration (start-up) and aggressiveness (clearance) effects on the shape of the NFD in a signalized ring road.This new approach is shown to be consistent with theoretical results from the link transmission model, when the acceleration is unbounded and vehicles have the most aggressive clearance behaviors. This consistency validates both approaches; but the link transmission model cannot be easily extended to incorporate more realistic start-up or clearance behaviors. With the new approach, the authors demonstrate that both bounded acceleration and different aggressiveness lead to distinct network capacities and fundamental diagrams. In particular, they lead to start-up and clearance lost times of several seconds; and these lost times are additive. Therefore, the important role that these behaviors play in the NFD shape is studied to reach a better understanding of how the NFD responds to changes. This will help the authors to design better start-up and clearance behaviors for connected and autonomous vehicles

Suggested Citation

Adria Morales Fresquet and Wenlong Jin (2019) “Evaluating the impacts of start-up and clearance behaviors in a signalized network: A network fundamental diagram approach”, in Proceedings of the 98th annual meeting of the transportation research board, p. 20p.

published journal article

Editorial objectives - decision-analysis

MANAGEMENT SCIENCE

Publication Date

January 1, 1995

Author(s)

Rt Clemen, Lr Keller

Suggested Citation

Rt Clemen and Lr Keller (1995) “Editorial objectives - decision-analysis”, MANAGEMENT SCIENCE, 41(5), p. U3.

research report

Energy commission models for analyzing and projecting household transportation energy demand: Evaluation, model improvement options, and recommendations

Publication Date

January 1, 2016

Author(s)

David Bunch, David Brownstone

Suggested Citation

David S. Bunch and David Brownstone (2016) Energy commission models for analyzing and projecting household transportation energy demand: Evaluation, model improvement options, and recommendations. University of California, Davis and University of California, Irvine.