ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

ENEV 475
Traffic Engineering

Lecture 1: Introduction of Transportation

(Self-reading)
- The Profession of Transportation

- Transportation Systems and Organizations

1 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering 2021 Fall

The Profession of Transportation

2 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

Learning Objectives and Outline

• To understand the importance of transportation
• To know the critical issues of the industry
• To become familiar with the evolution of
transportation
• To identify employment opportunities in
transportation and highway engineering

3 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

1.1 Importance of Transportation

• Transportation is necessary for human

interaction and economic competitiveness

• Leading countries in commerce (Canada,

USA, Europe, and China) all have effective
transportation systems

4 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

Economic Growth
• Speed, cost, and capacity of available
transportation significantly affect the economy

• Good transportation cannot guarantee

economic growth. However, the absence of
supportive transportation limits the industrial
potential

5 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

Economic Growth
• Good transportation:
– Reduces total cost of raw materials and
manufactured goods
– Increases competition between regions
– Provides greater choices for the consumer
– Is critical in the event of personal and
national emergencies

6 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

Costs and Benefits

• Building vast transportation systems requires
great resources of energy, material, and land
• Every mode of transportation can be
dangerous
• Benefits include providing medical services to
rural areas, enabling people to commute to
work, school, or social events

7 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

Costs and Benefits

• Transportation engineer must:
– Balance society’s needs for safe and
efficient transportation with costs
– Assure that the environment is not
compromised or destroyed with these
systems
– Work closely with officials
– Know modern engineering practices

8 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

Importance of Transportation in the USA

• Critical issues include:

– Congestion
– Emergency response and mitigation
– Energy, environment, and climate change
– Finance and equity
– Mismatch between 20th and 21st century missions
– Inadequate investment in intellectual capital

9 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

Importance of Transportation in Canada

• Transportation accounts for ~30% of total

energy consumption across the country

• Transportation ector energy use overview:

• https://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/publications/statistics/t
rends/2017/transportation.cfm

10 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

1.2 Transportation History

• Principal topics:
– Travel by foot and horseback
– Automobile and truck travel
– Road and highway development
– Canals and inland waterways
– Expansion of the West
– Steamboats and railroad construction
– Public transportation (bus and metro systems)

11 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

U.S. Transportation History

• Late 1700s: 95% of the population lived in
rural areas

• Now: Over 75% lives in urban or suburban

areas

12 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

Significant Events in U.S. Transportation History

1794: First toll 1887: First daily

1825: Erie Canal is
road (Lancaster coast-to-coast
completed
Turnpike) railroad service

1969: Men land 2005: Energy- 2011: Global

on moon and efficient autos warming becomes
return gain popularity an emerging issue

13 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

City Transportation Succession

• Horse-drawn carriages
• Carriages on steel-tracks
• Cable cars
• Electric streetcars
• Underground railroads
• Bus transportation

14 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

1.3 Transportation Employment

• Logistics and Supply-Chain Management
– Plans and implements effective flow and storage of
services and goods
• Vehicle Design and Transportation Services
– Involves mechanical, electrical, or aerospace
engineers and technically trained workers
• Transportation Infrastructure Services
– Responsible for planning, design, construction,
operation, and management of transportation systems.
Mainly civil engineers

15 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

Transportation Infrastructure Engineering

Planning

Research &
Design
Development

Operations &
Construction
Management

16 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

Planning
• Selection of projects for design and
construction
• Defining problem, gathering and analyzing
data, evaluating solutions
• Estimating the impact of the facility on the
environment and the community
• Creating alternatives to achieve the task at
the lowest cost

17 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

Infrastructure Design
• Specifying all features of the transportation
system
• Creating a set of detailed plans in order to
estimate cost and facilitate construction
• Considering pavement and structural
requirements and the concrete or asphalt
surface material

18 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

Highway Construction
• Inspecting and clearing the native soil
• Preparing the surface for construction
• Placing the final pavement
• Preparing the final roadway for use by traffic
• Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are
used in the area to establish line and grade

19 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

Operations & Management

• Integrating all aspects of traffic to achieve
safety and improvement of traffic flow
• Analyzing accidents
• Improving parking & loading, traffic signs,
speed regulations, and lighting
• Scheduling work crews for repairs
• Minimizing delay and cost

20 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

Challenges in Transportation Engineering

• Meeting the expectations of the public for efficient,

effective, long-lasting, and safe transportation
• Mostly working on one-of-a-kind projects
• Integrating new technology and innovations
• Finding the most cost-effective solution
• Evaluating cost and benefits in an ethical manner

21 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

Summary
• Transportation is essential for economic development
• The history of transportation illustrates that the way
people move is affected by technology, cost, and
demand
• The specialties in transportation engineering are
planning, design, construction, management &
operations, and maintenance

22 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering 2021 Fall

Transportation Systems and Organizations

23 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

Learning Objectives and Outline

• To understand how transportation systems
are created and developed
• To explain the supply-demand curve in
transportation
• To become familiar with how highway
projects are developed
• To understand the public transportation
modes and their sources of funds

24 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

2.1 Developing a Transportation System

• Each transportation mode has inherent

advantages of cost, time, convenience, and
flexibility that makes it “right for the job”

• For hauling freight, rail shipments are usually

made once or twice a week in carload lots.
Truck deliveries can be made in smaller
amounts on a daily basis

25 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

Selecting a Transportation Mode

• Example factors to consider:
– Safety
– Reliability
– Convenience
– Cost

26 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

Interaction of Supply and Demand

• Transportation system is the product of two
factors that act on each other:
– State of economy (produces demand)
– Extent and quality of the current system (constitutes
the supply)

• Example: High unemployment and/or rising fuel costs lead

to decrease in transportation

27 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

Interaction of Supply and Demand

— Figure 2.1 shows how demand in terms of

traffic volume could vary with cost:

28 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

Interaction of Supply and Demand

— Figure 2.3 shows how the cost of a transportation

system could increase as the traffic volume
increases:

29 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering

Interaction of Supply and Demand

— The two curves (2.1 and 2.3) determine what volume (V) can be
expected for a transportation system
— The figure below shows the equilibrium point V. Going beyond
this point would make the cost go up and the demand drop
— Likewise, if V dropped below equilibrium, the cost goes down and
demand increases

30 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering 2021 Fall

Forces That Change the Transportation System

— The equilibrium explained above is the

result of:
— Market forces (state of economy, competition,
costs, prices of service)
— Government actions (regulation, subsidy,
promotion)
— Transportation technology (speed, capacity,
range, reliability)
— Transportation system changes as these
forces shift over time

31 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering 2021 Fall

2.2 Modes of Transportation

— The term “level of service” is used to
describe the relative values of travel time,
frequency, comfort, reliability,
convenience, and safety
— A traveler or shipper must compare the
level of service offered with the cost in
order to make tradeoffs and mode
selection

32 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering 2021 Fall

Freight and Passenger Traffic

— The principal modes of intercity freight

transportation are highways, railroads,
water, and pipelines
— Traffic carried by each mode has varied
considerably in the past ~70 years

33 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering 2021 Fall

Freight and Passenger Traffic

— The figure below illustrates the modal market share by
the Bureau of Transportation Statistics from 1980 to
2015 for the U.S.:

34 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering 2021 Fall

Freight and Passenger Traffic

— Figure 2.6 shows the same statistics values for
passengers:

35 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering 2021 Fall

Freight and Passenger Traffic

— The distribution of passenger transportation is
much different from that of freight: the
automobile accounts for the highest number of
all domestic intercity passenger-miles traveled
in the U.S.
— The largest increase has occurred in air
transportation, which represents over 90% of
all intercity passenger-miles traveled using
public modes

36 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering 2021 Fall

Public Transportation

— Public transportation is a generic term used to

describe the family of transit services available
to urban and rural residents

— It is not a single mode but a variety of

traditional and innovative services which
should complement each other

37 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering 2021 Fall

Transit Modes
— Mass Transit
— Fixed routes, published schedules, designated networks,
and specified stops. Includes buses, light rail (trolleys), or
rapid transit systems
— Paratransit
— Flexible and personalized service intended to replace mass-
transit lines. Available on demand, by subscription, or on a
shared-ride basis. Examples include taxi, car rental, and
dial-a-ride
— Ridesharing
— Two or more persons traveling together by prearrangement,
such as carpool, vanpool, or shared-ride taxi

38 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering 2021 Fall

Transit Capacity and Level of Service

— Carrying capacity is the number of vehicles or
persons that pass a given point in a specified
time and is dependent on two variables:
— # of vehicles that pass a point at a given time
— # of passengers within each vehicle

— Example: For a given lane of a section of a

highway, there are 60 buses that pass by in an
hour. Each bus carries 50 seated passengers
— Carrying capacity: (50) x (60) = 3000 passengers/ln/hr

39 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering 2021 Fall

Transit Capacity and Level of Service

— Carrying capacity is influenced by:
— Spacing in seconds between each vehicle (headway)
— Comfort factor experienced by passengers (level of service)

— Therefore, carrying capacity can be increased in two ways:

— Reducing the headway
— Increasing the number of passengers per vehicle

— In the bus capacity example, the headway was 60 seconds

and the level of service was that all passengers had a seat
— Time spacing between buses could be reduced, but there are
limits to lowering headway values dictated by safe distance
requirements
— Passenger loading could be increased, but it would cause a
decrease in comfort level for passengers

40 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering 2021 Fall

The Role and Future of Public Transportation

— Public transportation is an important element of the total
transportation services provided within large and small
metropolitan areas
— It also serves medium and low-density areas
— Following table shows the capacities for each mode:

41 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering 2021 Fall

The Role and Future of Public Transportation

— Factors Bad for Transit:

— Growth of suburbs
— Industry and employment moving from the central city
— Suburb-to-suburb commuting
— Loss of population in “frost-belt” cities
— High labor costs
— Growth in private vehicle ownership
— High cost per km to construct fixed-rail transit lines

42 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering 2021 Fall

The Role and Future of Public Transportation

— Factors Good for Transit:

— Emphasis by the federal government on air
quality
— Higher prices of gasoline
— Depletion of energy resources
— Trends toward higher-density living
— Legislation to encourage “livable cities”
— Location of mega-centers in suburbs

43 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering 2021 Fall

The Role and Future of Public Transportation

— Factors Neutral for Transit:

— Increases in telecommunicating may require less
travel to a work site
— Internet shopping and e-commerce could reduce
shopping trips
— Changes in work schedules to accommodate
childcare could increase trip chaining
— Aging population, most of whom are not transit
users, may continue to drive

44 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering 2021 Fall

Highway Transportation

— For a new project to become a reality, a

process is followed that includes the following
topics:
— Planning (6 to 24 months)
— Design (15 to 24 months)
— Environment (9 to 36 months)
— Right-of-Way (6 to 21 months)
— Construction (12 to 36 months)
— The total project time can range from 4 to 12
years.

45 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering 2021 Fall

Highway Transportation

Most Departments of Transportation follow the following process:

— Select project based on public concerns, traffic crash data,
pavement and bridge condition, traffic volume and trends, and
forecasts of future growth
— Investigate alternatives using citizen input based on cost and its
impact on people, businesses, farmlands, wetlands, endangered
species, historic structures, and landfills
— Obtain final approvals from appropriate departments
— Develop project design
— Prepare for construction after reviewing the final design and making
suitable documents that can be used by a contractor in preparing a
bid
— Construct the project

46 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering 2021 Fall

U.S. Federal Highway System

In the U.S., interstate and other federal-aided routes are a
network of roads, which may be classified as arterials or
collectors, or rural or urban

47 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering 2021 Fall

Transportation Organizations
. in the U.S
Transportation organizations can be divided into the following
categories:
• Private companies available for hire to transport people and
goods
• Regulatory agencies that monitor the behavior of transportation
companies for pricing of services and safety
• Federal agencies such as Department of Transportation and the
Department of Commerce which deal with legislation
• State and local agencies and authorities responsible for the
planning, design, construction, and maintenance of
transportation facilities
• Trade associations
• Professional societies
• Organizations of transportation users who wish to influence the
legislative process

48 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials

 ENEV 475 – Traffic Engineering 2021 Fall

Summary

• The transportation system in a developed nation

consist of a network of modes that have evolved over
many years

• The nation’s transportation system can be considered

to be in a state of equilibrium at any given point in
time as a result of market forces, government
actions, and transportation technology

• The principle carriers of freight are rail, truck,

pipeline, and water. Passenger transportation is by
auto, air, rail, and bus

49 *Notes adapted from Cengage lecture materials