MODULE 1 Characteristics of Transportation System

Transportation 1. Multi-disciplinary

All about moving goods and people from one place to 2. Multi-sector
another and safe, efficient, reliable, and sustainable
3. Multi-problem
movement of persons and goods over time and space.
4. Multi-objective

5. Multi-modal
Transportation Engineering

Application of technology and scientific principles to the

planning, functional design, operation, and Elements of a Transportation System
management of facilities for any mode of transportation
in order to provide for the safe, rapid, comfortable, 1. Infrastructure: which includes Road, canal, rail, air
convenient, economical, and environmentally Transfer points Supporting elements (signs, signals,
compatible movement of people and goods. safety)

2. Vehicles: which includes Planes, trains, autos, buses,

ships, trucks
Modes of Transpiration
3. Operators/Content: which includes Drivers, pilots,
By Land freight, and passengers
1. Railways

- Surface Role of Transportation in society

- Underground 1. Economic role of transportation - Transportation
contributes two kinds of utilities (place and time utility)
- Elevated
The value of goods depends on where they are and
- Light rail transit (LRT) o Road Transport when they are there.

Road Transport

2. Social role of transportation

2. Air transport - Growth of Urban Centers

3. Water transport - Size and Pattern of Settlement

- Formation of settlements

Four critical dimensions of change in transportation

system
3. Environmental role of transportation
1. Change in values of the public
- Safety
2. Changes in the technology
- Air Pollution
3. Change in operational policy
- Noise pollution
4. Change in the demand
- Energy consumption

Components of the Traffic Systems

4. Other impacts
1. Vehicular Traffic - Cars, Buses, Trucks, Taxis...
- Aesthetics
2. Road Conditions - Motorway, Highway, Urban
- Social life and social pattern
Arterial, Rural roads

3. Driver Characteristics - Young, Drunk, Experienced,

Learner’s License Major disciplines of Transportation
4. Environmental Conditions - Rainy, Sunny, Foggy, 1. Transportation Planning - involves the development
Night-time conditions of a transport model
5. Control Devices - Signalised/Unsignalised 2. Geometric Design - Deals with physical proportioning
of other transportation facilities

- Cross-sectional features,

- Horizontal alignment,

- Vertical alignment and Intersections

3. Pavement Design - Deals with the structural design of Highway system – all individual property have direct
roads, both (bituminous and concrete) access to a public road

- Drainage design Water transportation – a direct access is possible only

at port facilities located on the banks of navigable
- Functional design
rivers, canals, or the seacoast.
- Structural design
2. Mobility – is described in terms of speed or travel
4. Traffic Engineering - covers a broad range of time.
engineering applications with a focus on
3. Productivity – refers to some measure of the total
- The safety of the public, amount of transportation provided per unit time.
Amount of transportation is usually thought of as the
- The efficient use of transportation resources, and product of the volume of the goods or passengers
- The mobility of people and goods. carried and distance. (tons-miles per year or passenger-
kilometers per day)

Costs – are described in terms of capital costs and

Additional disciplines of transportation operating costs.
5. Public transportation - study of the transportation Capital cost – are those of major items that must be
system that meets the travel need of several people by purchased before an enterprise can function. As with
sharing a vehicle. transportation, capital costs are usually thought of as
- Characteristics of various modes; including (1) right-of-way costs (for the transportation
facilities) (2) construction costs of the facilities, and (3)
- Planning, costs of acquiring vehicles and other equipment.
- Management and operations; and Operating Costs – are the day-to-day expenditures
involved in carrying out the enterprise, and are usually
- Policies for promoting public transportation
thought of as including the costs of labor, fuel,
6. Financial and economic analysis - tries to quantify expendable parts such as tires or batteries for vehicles,
the economic benefit which includes saving in travel and the maintenance of facilities and equipment.
time, fuel consumption, etc.
Markets – are described in terms of the extent to which
7. Environmental impact assessment - attempts in the mode in question carries passengers or freight.
quantifying the environmental impacts and tries to
evolve strategies for the mitigation and reduction of the
impact due to both construction and operation. Classification of Passenger Markets
8. Accident analysis and reduction - looks at the causes 1. Urban Travel – within a single urban area or
of accidents, from the perspective of human, road, and
vehicle and formulate plans for the reduction. 2. Intercity Travel – between urban areas

9. Intelligent transport system - offers better mobility, 3. Intercity Markets – depends on the trips either short
efficiency, and safety with the help of the state-of-the- (less than 160 km), medium (160 – 800 km) and long
art technology trips (greater than 800 km)

Highway System – the dominant transportation. In

addition to private vehicles, the highway system is used
Factors in Transportation Development by truck lines and bus lines.
1. Economic Factors

2. Geographical Factor Major service characteristics of the Highway System

3. Political Polices 1. High accessibility to almost all potential destinations.
4. Military 2. Direct service with a very low door-to-door travel
times
5. Technological Factor
3. Moderate line-haul speeds
6. Urbanization
4. Moderate capacities
7. Competition
Urban Transit – highly specialized mode. Includes
traditional mass transit modes such as buses, streetcars,
Effectiveness of Transportation Modes and light rail and rail rapid transit, as well as paratransit
modes such as jeepneys and tricycles
Accessibility – refers to the cost of getting to and from
the mode in question, and depends primarily on
geographical extensiveness.
Two groups of transit passenger Capital costs for the pipeline, pumping stations, and the
like account for 70 to 80% of the total costs; operating
1. Commuters or Choice Riders – persons making work
costs are very low and depend mostly on pumping
trips into dense central business districts.
costs.
2. Captive Riders – those without access to
Environmental Impacts of pipelines is normally quite
automobiles.
low once they are built, but construction impacts have
sometimes been of major concern.

Air Transportation System

Air Transportation System – includes commercial Other modes

airlines, airfreight, carriers, and general aviation (private
Cable and belt system – are used extensively for
aircrafts).
transportation of freight within industrial complexes.
Major Market is intercity passenger travel, particularly Are used for specialized passenger transportation
long-distance travel. The primary service characteristics systems such as ski lifts and moving belts in airports.
of air transportation

1. High line-haul speed

System for Financing Transportation
2. Accessibility is limited – less important due to great
1. User Charges – include direct charges such as fares
length of most trips made by air.
and toll and, more importantly, indirect sources such as
3. Capacities of Individual aircrafts are moderate, but fuel taxes. Major share of the financing comes from the
productivity is high due to the very high speeds users and some degree proportional to the extent of
their use of the system.
Capital and operating costs are both quite high for the
commercial air system, but once again, high 2. General Fund Revenues – collected by the different
productivity results in moderate costs per passenger level of government are derived from regular taxes. The
carried. General fund has no particular relationship between the
source of funds and the activity on which they are
Costs of general aviation airports and aircraft are spent.
moderate and are usually in the same range as those of
highway facilities and vehicles of comparable capacity. 3. Private Investments – occurs in the parts of the
transportation system that are normally under private
Environmental Impacts – are significant especially the control and in cases where public agencies issue
noise impacts of commercial aviation, but are of much franchises, as in the case of toll facilities, or purchase
less concern than those of the highway system. services under contract.

4. Cross-subsidization – occurs when revenues collected

Water Transportation System from users of one type of transportation system are
used to finance some other type of system. A common
Consists of coastwise ocean shipping and barge lines example in recent years has been the use of gasoline tax
operating on inland waterways. Provides low speed and revenues and bridge tolls to finance public transits.
relatively low accessibility, but extremely high
capacities. - KD ;)

Capital costs of vessels is high, but operating costs per

ton-mile are extremely low.

Environmental Impacts – are relatively low but water

pollution from routine discharges of oil and other
pollutants, as well as from major oil spills involving
tankers, is a significant problem.

Pipelines

Constitute a highly specialized freight transportation

system.

Markets is almost entirely crude oil, petroleum

products, and natural gas.

They provide very low-speed, high-capacity continuous

flow transportation, and involve large amount of
working storage.

Costs are low.