Essay on "Transit Projects a Guide for Practitioners" Chapters"

Essay 10 pages (3806 words) Sources: 12

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Transit projects a guide for practitioners" chapters 10 -11 provide two modeling approaches and explain how they could be used in the study of transportation problems? Define and explain each approach that you have chosen. 2) Explain the New Starts program and its potential benefits and weaknesses. Would you implement such a program if you were the president? What would and wouldn't you change?

Transportation Problems and Analysis and the New Starts Program

Approaches to modeling transportation systems are many. Depending on the needs of the system and the restrictions and limitations of that system, almost anything can be accomplished though ingenuity and system flexibility. Each analysis will vary depending on many factors including time of day, types of vehicles being analyzed, and the existing transportation infrastructure that the vehicles are traveling on.

One way that people analyze transportation systems is through linear optimization. This is a mathematical approach to transportation problems that involves creating a system with certain constraints and optimizations (Bazaraa, et. al., 2010). These constraints produce certain equalities and inequalities, leading the researchers toward solutions that are most efficient. This form of modeling is an excellent way of imposing theoretical externalities and controls upon existing systems. These models tend to exist within the realm of computer modeling, and can take into account any of the time and distance constraints that exist in real life in transportation systems (Bazaraa, et. al., 2010). Linear optimization is used by many other fields to perform similar functions. This type of modeling is nice because it's relatively cheap and an unlimited number of models can be generated with an unlimited number of permutations, so scientist and transportation planners can play with different solutions on a computer screen before they commit to a policy change or physical change to the transportation system (Rodrigue, et. al., 2009). These are some of the main advantages to this type of modeling.

Another approach to modeling that many transportation planners use is the called dual-matrix approach (Rodrigue, et. al., 2009). This approach is essential in planning time and loading functions for many transportation applications like shipping and cargo movement. But it can also help transportation planners come to terms with certain existing transportation systems that may not be optimized for time or space considerations. This type of modeling considers minimum-cost planning and helps to reduce costs through increased efficiency (Rodrigue, et. al., 2009). Ships that are loaded in an efficient manner help increase productivity at all the ports it stops at along its voyage. In the same manner, this type of modeling helps planners to increase efficiency in all of the places along the transportation infrastructure at once. In this way, it is a very efficient way of modeling transportation problems and finding effective, successful solutions.

The New Start Program focuses on creating exclusive use areas on major U.S. highways and other transportation structures (FTA, 2010). These exclusive use areas will serve vehicles that require either larger capacities for carrying people or operations that are efficiency sensitive. These operations include moving certain along certain routes or moving people within a city via mass transit systems (FTA, 2010). This is one of the FTA's largest, most ambitious capital investment programs to date.

The program is supporting the implementation of fixed "guideways" that enable a more efficient movement of goods and people within certain areas (FTA, 2010). It includes both light rail and buses and helps to increase accessibility for millions of Americans. The project encompasses vehicles that will have a fixed right-of-way.

If I were the president I would likely implement a similar program, understanding that efficient and accessible transportation is essential in moving millions of people and driving the economy. However, I would go one step further in creating right-of-way lanes and areas for vehicles carrying cargo as well. The government has also not gone as far as to incentivize the use of this system, but as president I would likely try to incentivize use by creating economic or financial benefits or discounts for people that choose to use the system. By increasing the cargo carrying capacity and efficiency of the current U.S. transportation infrastructure, the economy will benefit when the recession looses its grip on the businesses and people within the U.S. Another benefit to including cargo carriers in my plan would be the fact that new and upstart businesses would have even more access to business solutions and opportunities associated with this system. Ideally, the system would be completely self-sustainable, and the initial investment would pay off many times over in a relatively short period of time.

The New Start Program is an excellent start and a great way to help millions of Americans move around more efficiently. It will likely require some getting used to by drivers and vehicle operators today considering the fact that the new right-of-way lanes will be installed in much of the already existing transportation infrastructure. The initial FTA investment will likely pay off, giving the U.S. An edge over other global economic superpowers at the time of the next global economic boom.

References

Bazaraa, Mokhtar S.; Jarvis, John J. And Hanif D. Sherali. (2010). Linear Programming and Network Flows. John Wiley and Sons: New Jersey.

Federal Transit Authority (FTA). (2010). FTA Homepage. Found online on Aug. 19, 2010 at .

Rodrigue, Jean-Paul; Comtois, Claude and Brian Slack (2009). The Geography of Transport

Systems. Routledge: New York.

Discussion Board (1 page) There is a video that goes with this question. I'm trying to get access to it.

What do you think of as the highlights of the growth of transportation structures and how that growth impacted public policy in the U.S.

One of the biggest highlights of U.S. transportation structures themselves is the U.S. highway system. Implemented in the 1950's by the Eisenhower administration, this system has single-handedly reinvented the way goods and people are moved throughout the country (Weiner, 2008). This system has also helped increase public access to some of the most remote areas in the country. This system has allowed for unfettered economic growth and helped during the unprecedented economic expansion that occurred during the 1950's and 1960's. Policy implications have been vast, and America's love affair with the automobile has developed over the years and is now taking an environmentally-friendly shift. These infrastructures also helped to open up interstate commerce and business development, leading to economic growth and development as well.

Another major highlight of the growth of transportation structures within the U.S. is the move toward HOV lanes and infrastructures. These have helped to unclog freeways and increased the efficiency of the U.S. highway and road system (Weiner, 2008). This has impacted U.S. public policy in a way that was likely unforeseen. Americans are now much more cost and environmentally conscious as drivers, and there have been major efforts to increase this awareness and willingness to cooperate with efforts to both reduce emissions and make the highway and road systems more efficient for everyone (Weiner, 2008). These efforts have also recently led to a major push to build a light rail and high speed rail system for carrying passengers throughout the U.S. This system would likely mirror the European system, which has served that continent successfully for decades. It remains to be seen whether U.S. policy will leave room for this type of transportation, since it is still relatively foreign to many Americans, especially in the mid-west and more remote states.

References

Weiner, Edward. (2008). Urban Transportation Planning in the United States: History, Policy,

and Practice. Springer: New York.

Strategic Intermodal Transportation

Written Paper (3 pages)

From 1999 to 2002, the federal government and senior members of the U.S. Army were discussing a "Third Technology Revolution" to rebuild, expand, and modernize the nation's transportation infrastructure. In light of the 2009 recession, what should be the federal government's priorities regarding the nation's intermodal transportation system?

The Third Technological Revolution and Transportation Expansion within the U.S.

The U.S. government has, in the past, made excellent use of resources and public sentiment to build and grow transportation infrastructure. An excellent example of this is the highway projects that President Eisenhower started in the 1950's which led to the modern highway system U.S. citizens still use today (Rodrigue, et. al., 2009). This road system provides the backbone for road transportation and has paid itself off thousands of times over in increased GDP, trade, and transportation efficiency, not to mention increased access to the entire country for all U.S. citizens. But it's not jus the U.S.'s road system that helped it succeed economically. The U.S. rail and air and sea ports and infrastructure have played a large role as well, and will likely become the lynchpin in the coming economic development in the post-recession era.

It is interesting to note that the U.S. has proposed further growth and development of the U.S. transportation infrastructures at a time when the impact of the global economic recession has been most painful. Those who downplay and disagree with everything Obama does… READ MORE

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