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Current Issue | Previous Issues | Subscribe March 2005 - Vol. 3 No. 3

Policy & Planning

Report compares methods for estimating demand patterns

In order to implement successful ITS traffic management solutions, planners and engineers need to accurately model demand patterns under a variety of conditions. Origin-destination (OD) matrices are a fundamental tool for describing these demand patterns, but incorporating this data into models that support real-time traffic management is a challenge because it requires accurate and efficient methods for estimating OD matrices dynamically.

With funding from the University of Minnesota's ITS Institute, a new two-part report by Assistant Professor David Levinson, Professor Panos Michalopoulos, Associate Professor Gary Davis, and graduate students Satya Muthuswamy and Yao Wu of the Department of Civil Engineering describes an evaluation of various methods for OD matrix estimation using data from pavement-embedded loop detectors used in many urban freeway networks.

The researchers compared methods based on least-squares algorithms in both online and offline contexts, using a simple two-origin/two-destination network and a more realistic network based on a highway corridor in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The online methods included variations using Kalman filtering and sequential quadratic programming techniques. The report includes detailed discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of different estimation methods, as well as recommendations on which methods would be suitable for different types of data analysis.

Improving the Estimation of Travel Demand for Traffic Simulation (CTS 04-11) is available on the CTS Web site at www.cts.umn.edu/research/projectdetail.pl?id=2001034.

CTS adds new research information to the Web

The Center for Transportation Studies has taken a major step forward in disseminating information on transportation-related research by adding additional information on research projects to the CTS Web site at www.cts.umn.edu/research. The Web now contains information on University of Minnesota projects dating back more than a decade, including project summaries, personnel, funding sources, and links to final research reports.

Since its establishment in 1987, CTS has worked with faculty and researchers in a spectrum of academic disciplines including engineering, economics, public policy, and environmental studies. Intelligent transportation systems (ITS), regional development and urban planning, and transportation system management are among the major research areas that have been extensively covered by researchers connected to CTS.

The new information is expected to serve as a resource for researchers, students, policymakers, transportation managers, and members of the general public who want to know more about transportation research. The Web offers a variety of ways to find information, including a full-text search of project descriptions. Research reports are downloadable in PDF format.

To try out the CTS research Web site for yourself, visit www.cts.umn.edu/research/database.html.

Intelligent Transportation Systems

Using ITS to better serve diverse populations

One of the main promises of intelligent transportation systems technology is to make transportation more responsive to the needs of users. With funding from the Minnesota Guidestar program, Frank Douma of the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs is helping ITS make good on that promise by finding ways to extend the benefits of ITS to travelers who do not use single-occupancy vehicles as their primary mode of transportation.

Douma's work was motivated by the changing demographics of transportation system users in Minnesota, and the resulting changes in patterns of travel behavior. Immigration (primarily from Latin America, East Africa, and Southeast Asia) and an aging population are among the key factors driving these changes. Douma identified several groups whose transportation options are often limited by lack of access to single-occupancy vehicles. These groups included recent immigrant populations, elderly persons, and people with physical disabilities.

The research revealed that the different groups have a variety of travel preferences and limitations, and are interested in different potential ITS applications to address their needs. Interviews with members of these groups were complemented by interviews with transportation professionals and community specialists. Community-based transportation systems, advanced traveler information systems, carsharing, telework, and telemedicine were among the ITS-related applications evaluated.

The project research report includes an examination of potential demand for ITS technologies within the general population of Minnesota and within specific target groups; findings from primary data collection, including focus groups; a review of potential ITS technology applications to serve target groups; and a listing of outreach activities conducted as part of the research project.

Using ITS to Better Serve Diverse Populations (Mn/DOT 2004-42) is available on the Web at www.lrrb.org/pdf/200442.pdf (4.86 MB).

Transit & Alternative Modes

TCRP research publications available online

The federal Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP), administered by the Transportation Research Board, provides practical transit research to address technical and operational issues. TCRP emphasizes putting research results into the hands of organizations and individuals that can use them to solve problems. TRCP publications may be viewed at www4.trb.org/trb/onlinepubs.nsf/web/crp.

Recent TCRP publications include:

• From Handshake to Compact: Guidance to Foster Collaborative, Multimodal Decision Making (TCRP Report 106)
• A New Vision of Mobility: Guidance to Foster Collaborative Multimodal Decision Making (Research Results Digest TCRP 65/NCHRP 288)
• TravelMatters: Mitigating Climate Change with Sustainable Surface Transportation (TCRP Web Document 26)

Transportation Infrastructure

Pavement Research Institute Web site launched

The Pavement Research Institute at the University of Minnesota, led by Erland Lukanen, has launched a Web site—www.pri.umn.edu—providing information about past and present pavement-related research projects at the University of Minnesota. In addition, the new site features information on faculty and researchers associated with the PRI, the organization's research capabilities and facilities, and news about pavement-related findings and events.

The PRI is a joint program sponsored by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the Minnesota Local Road Research Board, the University of Minnesota's Department of Civil Engineering, and CTS. Other partners include pavement industry organizations and the Transportation Engineering and Road Research Alliance (TERRA).

Minnesota has long been a leader in pavement research and pavement technology development. The PRI provides a mechanism for the state's main pavement research organizations to work together to address not only state and local needs, but national and international research initiatives.

Information on pavement-related research projects, going back to 1994, includes extensive data newly available on the Web (see related article).

Upcoming Events

Mark your calendars for the 2005 CTS Transportation Research Conference

Innovation will be at the top of the agenda during the sixteenth annual Transportation Research Conference, to be held April 26–27, 2005, at RiverCentre in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota. The Center for Transportation Studies hosts the annual event, bringing together researchers and practitioners from the Upper Midwest and beyond to share knowledge and discuss the latest findings in diverse areas of transportation-related research.

Highlights of this year's conference will include:

• David Luberoff, executive director of the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, presenting, "Mega-Projects: The Changing Politics of Urban Public Investment" at the CTS Spring Luncheon, held in conjunction with the research conference on April 26.
• William Elfenbein, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Denver Regional Transit District, will share the lessons that the Denver metro area learned in developing public and private sector support and consensus for this initiative. Following his presentation, Minnesota leaders in the current transportation funding debate will offer their perspectives, including an update on the latest discussions from the 2005 legislative session. Panelists include Jay Cowles, Managing Director, Lawrence Creek LLC and Member, Itasca Project, and Representative Mary Liz Holberg, Chair, House Transportation Finance Committee.
• A special Bridge Workshop on April 27, focusing on design and construction issues.

For more information on the Transportation Research Conference, or to register online, go to www.cts.umn.edu/events/rescon. Contact Katie Kjeseth at the College of Continuing Education at 612-624-3708, or email conferences5@cce.umn.edu.

Events calendar

Visit the CTS Web site, www.cts.umn.edu/events, for more comprehensive event information. You may also subscribe to e-mail event announcements using our subscription form.

April 18, 2005
Fourth Annual Oberstar Forum on Transportation Technology, Minneapolis. Contact Teresa Washington at 612-624-3745, e-mail twashing@cce.umn.edu. Watch the CTS events page for details.

April 26-27, 2005
16th Annual CTS Transportation Research Conference, RiverCentre, St. Paul. Contact Katie Kjeseth, 612-624-3708, kkjeseth@cce.umn.edu, or visit the CTS events calendar.