Dr. Lina Shbeeb 1

Transportation Engineering

Transportation systems

Concepts and definitions

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Terms and Definitions

• Transport: is a science that concerns with the efficient movement of people and goods that is undertaken to accomplish objectives to complete tasks that require transfer from one location to another

• Transportation Engineering: is concerned with the application of scientific principles to the planning, design; operation & management of transportation systems. It is a sub-speciality of civil engineering. However, it is inherently multidisciplinary overlapping diverse fields as economics; psychology; geography; city planning; public administration; political science; industrial & electrical engineering

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Transportation Systems

• Physical “fixed” facilities: streets; roads; highways; railroads; airport; sea & river ports; pipelines and canals.

• Flow entities: fleets of vehicles; vessels and aircrafts.

• Control systems refers to the technological ways in which individual vehicles are guided on fixed facilities. It can be done manual or automatic. They include means that permit the efficient safe and smooth operation of streams of vehicles and reduce conflicts between vehicles [Signing; Marking and signalling]

Transportation systems consists of the following components:

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• Facility oriented organization are involved in

planning; designing; constructing; maintaining &

operating fixed facilities

• Operation organization “ carriers” concerned

with operating fleets to provide transportation

services [Railroads; airlines; ships; truck lines;

transit operator; private car owner, etc]

• Operating bases and facilities for vehicle

maintenance facilities

Transportation Systems

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..Characteristics of transportation

• Highly qualitative and differentiated [By time of the day; day of the week; journey purpose and type of cargo)

• It is derived and transport is not an end by itself. People are travelling in order to satisfy their needs at their destinations and for the seek of transport

• It takes place over space [the distribution of activities over space]. The spatiality of demand leads to problem of lack of coordination which affect equilibrium between demand and supply

Transport demand characteristics:

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• It is a service and not a good. We cannot stock it. Transport service must be consumed when and where it is produced otherwise its benefit is lost.

• Transport infrastructure is lumpy and take long time to be carried out.

• Transport investment has an important political role.

• Transport is very important elements in the welfare of nations and well being of urban and rural dweller.

….Characteristics of transportation Transport supply characteristics:

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Transportation system classification

• Transportation system is categorized into four major

sub-system according to the medium on which the flow

elements are supported. These subsystem are

commonly referred as modes.

• Modes describe various means of travel.

• The four major subsystem are

The definition of transportation systems makes a distinction between

passengers and freight “goods”. Both are needed to satisfy human needs and

both constitute a significant portion of Gross National Product

Pipelines Water

Transportation

Air

Transportation

Land

Transportation

Oil Inland Domestic Highway

Gas; other Ocean International Rail

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Mode classification by geography location

Passengers Freight Location

Private Auto-Highway Truck-Highway Urban

Transit-Highway/Railway

Private Auto-Highway Truck-Highway

Intercity

Bus Railway

Rail Ocean shipping

Air Inland water

Pipelines

Air

Conveyor belt Special

Purpose Cable system

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Transportation provider type

• Hire system are further classified into

– Contract Carriers: provide service to public

under individual contractual arrangement

– Common Carriers offer scheduled service and

are open to all member of public willing to pay

the posted fare.

• Mass transportation or Mass transit refer

to the common carriage of passengers;

taxi; car rental

Transportation systems are classified as either public or private or classified

as for hire or not for hire

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Urban Transportation systems

• The intra-city or urban distribution of freight is

predominantly accomplished by highway subsystem

using vans; trucks.

• The major movement within urban areas are related

to passenger transport.

• Water transport is found within urban areas, it is

related to passenger transport.

• Air transportation is unsuited for urban travel

• Transport means available for urban travel are land

based regardless of being private or public.

• Mode of transport in urban, heavy rail; light rail, bus

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Transportation Modes

• Highways are the most dominant mode of

transport in most countries of the world including

Jordan.

• The highway system is used by private vehicles;

truck lines; bus lines.

• Highway systems serves intercity passengers;

freight transportation; urban passenger transport

& distribution of goods.

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Major Characteristics of highway systems

• Very high accessibility to almost all potential destination

• Direct service with very low-to-door travel time

• Moderate line haul speed & capacities

• Capital costs of physical facilities are moderate

• Vehicle used are small & cheep to be owned by individual compared to all other mode.

• Total investment of physical facilities & vehicle is high

• Operating cost is high

• Environmental impact of the system as a whole are high and of major concerns of societies

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Urban transit

• It is a specialized mode. It includes traditional

mass transit modes [Buses, street cars, light rail,

rapid rail transit & para-transit]

• Tram “street car”: Vehicles received their power

from overhead power. They are operating on

tracks sharing the roadway with cars and buses

• Light rail: A term embracing a wide range of

electrical powered vehicle running on steel rails

(metro). Passengers board from road surface or

low plat form. It operated along street but maybe

provided with exclusive right of way

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….Urban transit

• Rapid rail transit system called metro is the

underground tube operate on exclusive R.O.W

and relatively high speeds & provide highest line

capacity available.

• Para-transit: A term applies to small passenger

vehicles operating informally on fare-paying

basis & serving in some places as an alternative

to regular bus transit services.

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Streetcar/Tram

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Light rail

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Rapid Rail transit

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Para-transit

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Who use urban transit system

• Mainly serves passenger transportation(10% of passenger trips in USA is made by transit, the percentage is much higher in Europe)

• Transit passengers are either persons making work trips into central business district, usually referred as commuters/choice rider or passenger without access to automobile often referred to as captive rider

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Characteristics of Urban Transit

• Line haul speeds vary a great deal(Bus are slow where rapid rail transit has quite high speed.

• Door-to-door travel time are greater than those of automobiles with an exception in CBD.

• Accessibility depend on route & stop station spacing but in general it is less than of private car.

• Capacities are high.

• Capital costs of rail system are high (both physical facilities & vehicles)

• Operating costs for both bus and rail system are moderate but operating costs per trip is almost higher than dare.

• Environmental impact are regarded as being less than those of private cars.

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Rail Transportation

• The primary market for rail is intercity

freight, considerable amount of general

cargo are shipped by rail; particularly the

bulk cargo.

• Rail share for intercity passenger miles is

relatively low. Most passenger rail trips are

of short to intermediate length are limited

to high density corridor

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• Provides Moderate speed & level of accessibility.

• High & unreliable door-to-door travel times; however continuous work is under-taken to reduce the travel time.

• Physical facilities for railway represent heavy investment.

• Capital cost of locomotives & railcars are relatively high & productivity is low

• Maintenance costs for track are relatively high

• Operating cost per ton-mile are low

• Environmental impact are comparatively low

Rail Transportation characteristics

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Air transportation Characteristics

• High line haul speed

• Accessibility is limited (relatively little importance because of great length of trips made by air)

• Capacities of individual aircraft are moderate but productivity is high due to high speed.

• Capital & operating costs are both quite high but because of high productivity, the cost per passenger carried is moderate.

• Cost of general aviation airports and aircraft are moderate.

• Environmental impact are significant especially

• the noise impact of commercial aviation, but are of much less concern than those of highway system

Include commercial airlines, air freight carriers and general aviation (private

aircraft). Air transportation serves intercity passenger travel (long-distance

travel

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Water Transportation

• Transportation by water can be categorized by

– inland transport

– Ocean transport

• Ocean transport include container ships; bulk cargo carriers & oil tankers.

• Water transportation serves intercity freight.

• Inland waterways serve bulk goods

• Ocean shipping carries all types of goods.

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• Low speed; low accessibility

• High capacities

• Capital cost of vessel is high but operating

costs per ton-mile are low

• Environmental impact are relatively low,

but if oil spills occur, serious problem rise

Water Transportation characteristics

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Pipe lines transportation characteristics

• Low speed to high speed continuous flow

transportation

• Costs are low

• Environment impact is normally quite low

once they are built. However, construction

impact is sometime of concern.

Pipe line transportation is specialized in freight transportation system. It

serves primarily crude oil.

Other modes

Cables & belt system, they do not have significant role.

They are used for specialized passengers “Ski-left and

moving belt in airports

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Institutional Structure • Transportation should be the responsibility of government

body

• The government should be in charge of formulating national polices & research development for transportation facilities & services

• Transport service & lines are organized by governmental body

• Transport administration is further organized geographically into region and district.

• The design, construction, and maintenance of transportation system is organized by governmental body

• Local government at city level are responsible of setting standards for design street & roads, maintaining & operating them & they maybe directly involved in the design & construction of their facilities.

• Transport planning is responsibility of an agency that exist at national level or district level or municipality level.

• Private organization involved in transportation sector are the carriers such as airlines, truck lines, bus operators

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System for financing transportation

• User charges include direct charges such as fares, tolls & indirect sources such as fuel tax.

• General fund revenues collected by different levels of government are derived from regular taxes “No direct relationship between source of fund and the activity which they spent on”

• Private investment occurs in the part of transportation system that are normally under private control (carrier).

• Cross-subsidization occurs when revenues collected from users of one type of transportation are used to finance some other type of system (Gasoline tax revenue to finance public transport)

Source of funds for transportation are