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• 1. [Article] Development and Sensitivity Testing of Alternative Mobility Metrics

  The Oregon Highway Plan’s (OHP) mobility policies guide various planning and programming activities of the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). Among these activities are ODOT’s land use change ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Development and Sensitivity Testing of Alternative Mobility Metrics Author: Gliebe, John, Strathman, James G. Year: 2012 The Oregon Highway Plan’s (OHP) mobility policies guide various planning and programming activities of the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). Among these activities are ODOT’s land use change review responsibilities under the Transportation Planning Rule, as adopted by the state’s Land Conservation and Development Commission. This report examines supplemental transportation performance metrics beyond the volume-to-capacity metric that currently supports OHP mobility policies. Selected supplemental metrics are empirically analyzed using a travel demand model calibrated for a Medford, Oregon study area. Title: Development and Sensitivity Testing of Alternative Mobility Metrics Author: Gliebe, John, Strathman, James G. Year: 2012 The Oregon Highway Plan’s (OHP) mobility policies guide various planning and programming activities of the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). Among these activities are ODOT’s land use change review responsibilities under the Transportation Planning Rule, as adopted by the state’s Land Conservation and Development Commission. This report examines supplemental transportation performance metrics beyond the volume-to-capacity metric that currently supports OHP mobility policies. Selected supplemental metrics are empirically analyzed using a travel demand model calibrated for a Medford, Oregon study area. Close

• 2. [Article] Analysis of Design Attributes and Crashes on the Oregon Highway System

  Since the passage of the Highway Safety Act of 1966, state departments of transportation have engaged in systematic safety improvement planning and programming. According to Davis (2000), the general approach ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Analysis of Design Attributes and Crashes on the Oregon Highway System Author: Strathman, James G., Dueker, Kenneth, Zhang, Jihong, Williams, Timothy Year: 2001 Since the passage of the Highway Safety Act of 1966, state departments of transportation have engaged in systematic safety improvement planning and programming. According to Davis (2000), the general approach to safety improvement planning employed by most states follows six principal steps: 1. Identification of hazardous roadway locations using crash records; 2. Detailed engineering study of selected hazardous locations to identify roadway design problems; 3. Identification of potential countermeasures; 4. Assessment of the costs and benefits of potential countermeasures; 5. Implementation of countermeasures with the highest net benefits; 6. Assessment of countermeasure effectiveness following implementation. All planning processes are subject to uncertainty. In safety improvement planning, the determination of benefits from implementation of countermeasures depends greatly on projected crash reductions. Such projections are acknowledged to be the most uncertain element of the safety planning process (Pfefer et al., 1999). More than 25 years ago Laughland et al. (1975) identified the need for development of a national comprehensive set of crash reduction factors (CRFs) that states could employ in evaluating safety countermeasures. However, this need has not been addressed, and is not likely to be pursued (FHWA, 1991). As a result, states have been responsible for developing their own CRFs. Title: Analysis of Design Attributes and Crashes on the Oregon Highway System Author: Strathman, James G., Dueker, Kenneth, Zhang, Jihong, Williams, Timothy Year: 2001 Since the passage of the Highway Safety Act of 1966, state departments of transportation have engaged in systematic safety improvement planning and programming. According to Davis (2000), the general approach to safety improvement planning employed by most states follows six principal steps: 1. Identification of hazardous roadway locations using crash records; 2. Detailed engineering study of selected hazardous locations to identify roadway design problems; 3. Identification of potential countermeasures; 4. Assessment of the costs and benefits of potential countermeasures; 5. Implementation of countermeasures with the highest net benefits; 6. Assessment of countermeasure effectiveness following implementation. All planning processes are subject to uncertainty. In safety improvement planning, the determination of benefits from implementation of countermeasures depends greatly on projected crash reductions. Such projections are acknowledged to be the most uncertain element of the safety planning process (Pfefer et al., 1999). More than 25 years ago Laughland et al. (1975) identified the need for development of a national comprehensive set of crash reduction factors (CRFs) that states could employ in evaluating safety countermeasures. However, this need has not been addressed, and is not likely to be pursued (FHWA, 1991). As a result, states have been responsible for developing their own CRFs. Close

• 3. [Article] Least-Cost Transportation Planning in ODOT: Feasability Report

  Least Cost Planning or Integrated Resource Planning is used in the electric utility industry to broaden the scope of choices to meet service requirements. This typically includes methods to reduce the ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Least-Cost Transportation Planning in ODOT: Feasability Report Author: Rufolo, Anthony M., Bronfman, Lois M., Strathman, James G. Year: 1995 Least Cost Planning or Integrated Resource Planning is used in the electric utility industry to broaden the scope of choices to meet service requirements. This typically includes methods to reduce the demand for electricity as well as the more traditional electric generation options. Techniques have been developed to compare the cost of electricity generation with the cost of meeting service requirements by reducing electricity usage. In addition to cost considerations, utilities typically take account of uncertainty associated with forecasts and a variety of other considerations in specifying their least cost plan. Title: Least-Cost Transportation Planning in ODOT: Feasability Report Author: Rufolo, Anthony M., Bronfman, Lois M., Strathman, James G. Year: 1995 Least Cost Planning or Integrated Resource Planning is used in the electric utility industry to broaden the scope of choices to meet service requirements. This typically includes methods to reduce the demand for electricity as well as the more traditional electric generation options. Techniques have been developed to compare the cost of electricity generation with the cost of meeting service requirements by reducing electricity usage. In addition to cost considerations, utilities typically take account of uncertainty associated with forecasts and a variety of other considerations in specifying their least cost plan. Close

• 4. [Article] Development of a Statistical Algorithm for the Real-Time Prediction of Transit Vehicle Arrival Times Under Adverse Conditions

  Prior TransNow funded research by Portland State University (PSU) and the University of Washington (UW) in cooperation with Tri-Met, the transit provider for the Portland metropolitan area, has utilized ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Development of a Statistical Algorithm for the Real-Time Prediction of Transit Vehicle Arrival Times Under Adverse Conditions Author: Dueker, Kenneth, Kimpel, Thomas J., Strathman, James G. Year: 2001 Prior TransNow funded research by Portland State University (PSU) and the University of Washington (UW) in cooperation with Tri-Met, the transit provider for the Portland metropolitan area, has utilized a rich set of archived data from the Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL)-based Bus Dispatch System (BDS). Tri-Met is one of the few transit agencies that archive AVL data for analysis and research. Title: Development of a Statistical Algorithm for the Real-Time Prediction of Transit Vehicle Arrival Times Under Adverse Conditions Author: Dueker, Kenneth, Kimpel, Thomas J., Strathman, James G. Year: 2001 Prior TransNow funded research by Portland State University (PSU) and the University of Washington (UW) in cooperation with Tri-Met, the transit provider for the Portland metropolitan area, has utilized a rich set of archived data from the Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL)-based Bus Dispatch System (BDS). Tri-Met is one of the few transit agencies that archive AVL data for analysis and research. Close

• 5. [Article] Economic Effects of Tri-Met's Operating and Capital Expenditures FY 1983 on the Portland Metropolitan Economy

  A summary of the transit-related benefits and an assessment of the economic effects of Tri-Met's operating and capital expenditures was performed. The economic effects of the agency's expenditures were ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Economic Effects of Tri-Met's Operating and Capital Expenditures FY 1983 on the Portland Metropolitan Economy Author: Strathman, James G., Rao, Rishinath L. Year: 1983 A summary of the transit-related benefits and an assessment of the economic effects of Tri-Met's operating and capital expenditures was performed. The economic effects of the agency's expenditures were derived using a 24-sector input-output model of the four county Portland SMSA economy. Input output analysis is frequently used for the purpose of impact assessment because it provides exceptionally detailed estimates of interindustry activity, employment and income that result from agency/project related expenditures. The primary data and background information needed to perform this analysis were provided by the Tri-Met Transit Planning and Development Office. Title: Economic Effects of Tri-Met's Operating and Capital Expenditures FY 1983 on the Portland Metropolitan Economy Author: Strathman, James G., Rao, Rishinath L. Year: 1983 A summary of the transit-related benefits and an assessment of the economic effects of Tri-Met's operating and capital expenditures was performed. The economic effects of the agency's expenditures were derived using a 24-sector input-output model of the four county Portland SMSA economy. Input output analysis is frequently used for the purpose of impact assessment because it provides exceptionally detailed estimates of interindustry activity, employment and income that result from agency/project related expenditures. The primary data and background information needed to perform this analysis were provided by the Tri-Met Transit Planning and Development Office. Close

• 6. [Article] Automated Bus Dispatching, Operations, Control, and Service Reliability: Baseline Analysis

  The authors of this report are engaged in a long term project to assess the impacts of Tri-Met's BDS on service reliability and transit use. The framework designed for this assessment focuses on documenting ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Automated Bus Dispatching, Operations, Control, and Service Reliability: Baseline Analysis Author: Strathman, James G., Dueker, Kenneth, Kimpel, Thomas J., Gerhart, Rick, Turner, Ken, Taylor, Pete, Callas, Steve, Griffin, David, Hopper, Janet Year: 1998 The authors of this report are engaged in a long term project to assess the impacts of Tri-Met's BDS on service reliability and transit use. The framework designed for this assessment focuses on documenting service reliability and passenger activity at three major junctures: • The pre-operational (baseline) period; • The initial (passive) period following implementation of the new system, when both drivers and dispatchers have access to schedule adherence information in real time, but before the development and use of operations control practices that exploit the information generated by the system; • Full implementation, when operations control practices are defined and actively employed by dispatchers and field supervisors, and when performance data is used in wriling schedules. The baseline analysis documents service reliability on eight routes that were selected to be representative of the typology of routes in Tri-Met's system. Data on weekday run times, headways, and on-time performance were recovered over a two week period in November 1996. Findings from analysis of these data are presented in this report. Title: Automated Bus Dispatching, Operations, Control, and Service Reliability: Baseline Analysis Author: Strathman, James G., Dueker, Kenneth, Kimpel, Thomas J., Gerhart, Rick, Turner, Ken, Taylor, Pete, Callas, Steve, Griffin, David, Hopper, Janet Year: 1998 The authors of this report are engaged in a long term project to assess the impacts of Tri-Met's BDS on service reliability and transit use. The framework designed for this assessment focuses on documenting service reliability and passenger activity at three major junctures: • The pre-operational (baseline) period; • The initial (passive) period following implementation of the new system, when both drivers and dispatchers have access to schedule adherence information in real time, but before the development and use of operations control practices that exploit the information generated by the system; • Full implementation, when operations control practices are defined and actively employed by dispatchers and field supervisors, and when performance data is used in wriling schedules. The baseline analysis documents service reliability on eight routes that were selected to be representative of the typology of routes in Tri-Met's system. Data on weekday run times, headways, and on-time performance were recovered over a two week period in November 1996. Findings from analysis of these data are presented in this report. Close

• 7. [Article] Tri-Met's Experience With Automatic Passenger Counter and Automatic Vehicle Location Systems

  The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (Tri-Met) is one of about 30 metropolitan transit agencies that have deployed both automatic vehicle location (AVL) and automatic passenger ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Tri-Met's Experience With Automatic Passenger Counter and Automatic Vehicle Location Systems Author: Strathman, James G. Year: 2002 The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (Tri-Met) is one of about 30 metropolitan transit agencies that have deployed both automatic vehicle location (AVL) and automatic passenger counter (APC) systems (Casey, 1999). These technologies are important components of the agency’s new automated bus dispatching system (BDS). The AVL and APC systems at Tri-Met recover comprehensive operations and passenger activity data at the bus stop level that is archived for later analysis. The agency has gained a reputation as an industry leader in the areas of data archiving and the application of archived data to performance monitoring and analysis. Prior to the implementation of AVL and APC technology, Tri-Met, like others in the transit industry, relied on costly manual data recovery. During lean budget years in the early 1980s, the agency began using stand-alone APCs instead of ride checkers, and recovered very little operating data beyond what was required for Federal Transit Administration reporting. With its AVL and APC systems, Tri-Met is now automatically collecting and archiving over 500,000 stop and event data records per day. Offline analysis of this data supports a wide array of agency activities. The transformation from scarce to abundant data has contributed to a variety of functional changes that have both enhanced service quality and improved efficiency. This report examines factors related to the development of Tri-Met’s BDS that have contributed to its success in data archiving and analysis. The organization of the report includes a description of the BDS, a review of the types of analyses that have been supported by archived data, a discussion of factors that influenced decisions made on the design of the system, reflections on unrealized expectations and missed opportunities, and concluding observations. Title: Tri-Met's Experience With Automatic Passenger Counter and Automatic Vehicle Location Systems Author: Strathman, James G. Year: 2002 The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (Tri-Met) is one of about 30 metropolitan transit agencies that have deployed both automatic vehicle location (AVL) and automatic passenger counter (APC) systems (Casey, 1999). These technologies are important components of the agency’s new automated bus dispatching system (BDS). The AVL and APC systems at Tri-Met recover comprehensive operations and passenger activity data at the bus stop level that is archived for later analysis. The agency has gained a reputation as an industry leader in the areas of data archiving and the application of archived data to performance monitoring and analysis. Prior to the implementation of AVL and APC technology, Tri-Met, like others in the transit industry, relied on costly manual data recovery. During lean budget years in the early 1980s, the agency began using stand-alone APCs instead of ride checkers, and recovered very little operating data beyond what was required for Federal Transit Administration reporting. With its AVL and APC systems, Tri-Met is now automatically collecting and archiving over 500,000 stop and event data records per day. Offline analysis of this data supports a wide array of agency activities. The transformation from scarce to abundant data has contributed to a variety of functional changes that have both enhanced service quality and improved efficiency. This report examines factors related to the development of Tri-Met’s BDS that have contributed to its success in data archiving and analysis. The organization of the report includes a description of the BDS, a review of the types of analyses that have been supported by archived data, a discussion of factors that influenced decisions made on the design of the system, reflections on unrealized expectations and missed opportunities, and concluding observations. Close

• 8. [Article] An Evaluation of Automatic Passenger Counters: Validation, Sampling, and Statistical Inference

  While automatic passenger counters (APC's) offer the potential for cait effective data recovery and management, they also introduce new complications in the data recovery process. This report addresses ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: An Evaluation of Automatic Passenger Counters: Validation, Sampling, and Statistical Inference Author: Strathman, James G. Year: 1989 While automatic passenger counters (APC's) offer the potential for cait effective data recovery and management, they also introduce new complications in the data recovery process. This report addresses three issues associated with the implementation of APC's, based on an evaluation of the recent experiences of the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (Tri-Met). First is the issue of validation, which is concerned with both the recovery and accuracy of APC passenger data. The second issue concerns the development of a sampling methodology for APC's compatible with UMTA's Section 15 reporting requirements. Third is the issue of inferring system-level ridership from sample data in the presence of selective APC failures. We find that the APC's are providing systematically accurate passenger counts. Analysis of the data recovered from September to November 1988 also shows that sampling was representative, based on the set of "trains" from which ridership data were successfully recovered. The initial selection/assignment of trains, however, was not representative. Given that APC's record operating data for all bus trips comprising a train assignment, a cluster sampling method is formulated that ensures an overall random selection of bus trips via a random first stage selection of trains. Selective data recovery failures can hamper the process of inferring system-level ridership from the sample estimates. For example, when failure rates vary by bus type or time of day, inferences drawn from the sample of recovered data may over or under-represent total system ridership. In such circumstances, post hoc stratification of the sample data may be required. We outline several alternative corrections based on a-priori knowledge of the mix of bus types and schedule characteristics in the system. Title: An Evaluation of Automatic Passenger Counters: Validation, Sampling, and Statistical Inference Author: Strathman, James G. Year: 1989 While automatic passenger counters (APC's) offer the potential for cait effective data recovery and management, they also introduce new complications in the data recovery process. This report addresses three issues associated with the implementation of APC's, based on an evaluation of the recent experiences of the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (Tri-Met). First is the issue of validation, which is concerned with both the recovery and accuracy of APC passenger data. The second issue concerns the development of a sampling methodology for APC's compatible with UMTA's Section 15 reporting requirements. Third is the issue of inferring system-level ridership from sample data in the presence of selective APC failures. We find that the APC's are providing systematically accurate passenger counts. Analysis of the data recovered from September to November 1988 also shows that sampling was representative, based on the set of "trains" from which ridership data were successfully recovered. The initial selection/assignment of trains, however, was not representative. Given that APC's record operating data for all bus trips comprising a train assignment, a cluster sampling method is formulated that ensures an overall random selection of bus trips via a random first stage selection of trains. Selective data recovery failures can hamper the process of inferring system-level ridership from the sample estimates. For example, when failure rates vary by bus type or time of day, inferences drawn from the sample of recovered data may over or under-represent total system ridership. In such circumstances, post hoc stratification of the sample data may be required. We outline several alternative corrections based on a-priori knowledge of the mix of bus types and schedule characteristics in the system. Close

• 9. [Article] Bus Transit Operations Control: Review and an Experiment Involving Tri-Met’s Automated Bus Dispatching System

  An operations plan contains information on the provision of transit service, including intended service levels, vehicle availability, and driver schedules. Agency resources would be utilized efficiently ...

  Citation × Citation Citation Abstract Copy Title: Bus Transit Operations Control: Review and an Experiment Involving Tri-Met’s Automated Bus Dispatching System Author: Strathman, James G., Kimpel, Thomas J., Dueker, Kenneth Year: 2000 An operations plan contains information on the provision of transit service, including intended service levels, vehicle availability, and driver schedules. Agency resources would be utilized efficiently if the operations plan could be executed without disruptions in service. When service disruptions occur, the aim of operations control is to optimize system performance given the current state of the system (Wilson et al., 1992). This typically involves actions intended to either return service to schedule or restore headways separating vehicles. Disruptions in service impose costs on transit providers in the form of reduced productivity and on passengers in the form of increased in-vehicle travel time, longer waiting time at stops, and greater uncertainty. This paper has two overall purposes. First, it provides a review of operations control principles and practices reported in the literature. Second, it reports the results of an operations control experiment whose objective was to maintain headways, or the time separation between buses on a route. The experiment was developed to explore a possible application of the automated Bus Dispatching System (BDS) recently implemented by Tri-Met, the transit provider for the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan region. Title: Bus Transit Operations Control: Review and an Experiment Involving Tri-Met’s Automated Bus Dispatching System Author: Strathman, James G., Kimpel, Thomas J., Dueker, Kenneth Year: 2000 An operations plan contains information on the provision of transit service, including intended service levels, vehicle availability, and driver schedules. Agency resources would be utilized efficiently if the operations plan could be executed without disruptions in service. When service disruptions occur, the aim of operations control is to optimize system performance given the current state of the system (Wilson et al., 1992). This typically involves actions intended to either return service to schedule or restore headways separating vehicles. Disruptions in service impose costs on transit providers in the form of reduced productivity and on passengers in the form of increased in-vehicle travel time, longer waiting time at stops, and greater uncertainty. This paper has two overall purposes. First, it provides a review of operations control principles and practices reported in the literature. Second, it reports the results of an operations control experiment whose objective was to maintain headways, or the time separation between buses on a route. The experiment was developed to explore a possible application of the automated Bus Dispatching System (BDS) recently implemented by Tri-Met, the transit provider for the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan region. Close