CVEN 632 – Transportation Engineering: Economics
Syllabus – Spring 2011
3 Credit Hours
Description: Engineering and economic principles for transportation systems; engineering evaluation
using methods of travel demand, costs, equilibrium and pricing; use of economic
principles for the finance, engineering and management of transportation systems.
Prerequisite: CVEN 672 or approval of instructor.
Objectives:
Familiarize the student with engineering, management, financial, and economic
principals in transportation. Detail how these principles are the foundation of decisions
made in the transportation industry.
Instructor:
Dr. Mark Burris
CE/TTI Building Room 301B
Phone: 979-845-9875
e-mail: mburris@tamu.edu
Class website: http://cenotes.tamu.edu
Lecture:
Tuesday and Thursday, 9:35 to 10:50
Room: CE 104
Office Hours: TR, 2:30 to 4:30
Text:
None. However, there will be MANY handouts that you need to read PRIOR to the
class that they are discussed.
Evaluation: 15% Homework
10% Class Presentation & 35% Term Paper
10% Class Participation and Attendance
30% Midterm Exam
Grading
Policy:
A = 90%+, B = 80 to 89.9, C = 70 to 79.9, D = 60 to 69.9, F = below 60.
Homework: Homework assignments are due at the beginning of the class on the due date of the
assignment. Homework assignments may be handed in late with the following
penalties: anytime after the beginning of class up to 1 class late -20%; 2 classes late
-40%; 3 or more classes late and not excused by the University — not accepted.
Homework should be presented in a professional manner. Each assignment should have
a title page indicating name, date, course and assignment number. The problem
statement should be provided. Solutions should show all work neatly and in organized
steps. Partial credit will be awarded for solving the problem using the correct method.
Final answers should be clearly identified. Solutions should be done on unfolded paper
and page numbers should be clearly indicated. Assignment’s pages should be stapled
together.
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Class Presentation and Term
Paper:
Each student is required to make a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation on one of the
subjects covered in the course material or a related topic. A list of subject areas will be
distributed at the beginning of the term. In advance of the presentation, the student will
supply the instructor with a final draft of their presentation. At the latest, this must be
supplied the morning two days before the presentation. Even earlier is preferable since
that will give you more time to make suggested adjustments to the presentation.
The student is also required to write a comprehensive paper on that topic. The paper
will be submitted near the end of the semester.
Class Participation and
Attendance: Class lectures will be highly interactive and students are expected to actively participate
in the class discussions.
Academic
Honesty:
The purpose of homework is to help you learn the course material. Working on
homework in groups is permitted. However, each person must turn in a separate writeup and solution prepared by his/her own hand. This means that the problem description,
steps taken to solve the problem, and computer input and output must be generated by
each person individually. By University regulations, copying another person's
homework is considered plagiarism, and is not permitted. Please refer to the latest issue
of the Texas A&M University Student Rules, under the section "Scholastic
Dishonesty."(http://student-rules.tamu.edu/). Additionally, be sure to abide by these
rules, and the rules on plagiarism, when writing your final report.
The handouts used in this course are copyrighted. "Handouts" means all materials
generated for this class, which include but are not limited to syllabi, quizzes, exams, lab
problems, in-class materials, review sheets, and additional problem sets. Because these
materials are copyrighted, a student does not have the right to copy the handouts unless
the instructor expressly grants permission.
“An Aggie does not lie, cheat, or steal or tolerate those who do.” Students are expected to understand and abide by the
Aggie Honor Code presented on the web at: http://www.tamu.edu/aggiehonor No form of scholastic misconduct will be
tolerated. Academic misconduct includes cheating, fabrication, falsification, multiple submissions, plagiarism, complicity,
etc. These are more fully defined in the above web site. Violations will be handled in accordance with the Aggie Honor
System Process described on the web site.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA):
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that
provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among
other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a
learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities.
If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact the
Department of Student Life, Services for Students with Disabilities, in Cain Hall or call
845-1637.
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CVEN 632 – TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT
TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE (subject to change)
Date
Class
Topic
Reading, Description
1/18/11
1
Course Introduction & Engineering Economics
Appendix on Engineering Economics, Bonds
Transportation Financing
Basic Economic Analysis & Utility of Public
1/20/11
2
Works
On the Measurement of the Utility of Public Works,
Value of a Statistical Life
1/25/11
3
Funding of Transportation
Slides
1/27/11
4
Innovative Financing Methods
Innovative Finance from ITE and FHWA (Note: just
skim the big FHWA document)
Guest Speaker
Dr. David Ellis
Evaluation of Transportation Alternatives
2/1/11
5
Cost – Benefit Analysis
2/3/11
6
Cost – Benefit Analysis – example using
Electronic Toll Collection
Cost Benefit Analysis of Electronic Toll Collection.
CBA of QuickRide. BCA Primer
Cost Benefit Analysis of Electronic Toll Collection.
CBA of QuickRide. BCA Primer
2/8/11
7
Other Evaluation Methods
Transportation Performance Measures
Demand for Transportation
2/10/11
8
Disaggregate Models
Chapter 2: Discrete Choice Methods
2/15/11
9
Introducing New Travel Options
Stated Preference Data
2/17/11
10
Elasticity of Travel Demand
HERS Model Technical Report Appendix C
Transportation Costs
2/22/11
11
Cost and Production Functions: Cobb-Douglas &
Translog. Variable, Fixed, Average, and Marginal
Costs
Chapter 3: Transportation Costs
2/24/11
12
Value of Travel Time
Measurement of the Valuation of Travel Time Savings.
Trucking Fees and Their Impact
Trucking Fees
Environmental Externalities
Environmental Externalities of Motor-Vehicle Use in
the U.S.
3/1/11
3/3/11
13
14
Student:
Student:
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3/8/11
15
Cost Allocation Principles
3/10/11
16
Air Pollution and Cost Allocation
3/22/11
17
Modal Cost Structures
Highway Cost Allocation
Development of Sustainable Transportation Metrics for
Vehicular Pollutants & Chapter 7: Politics of
Controlling Auto Air Pollution
A Desire Named Streetcar & Chapter 11: The Urban
Transportation Problem & New Starts
Dr. Joe Zietsman
Student:
Pricing of Transportation Services
3/24/11
18
Shadow, Ramsey, 2nd Best Pricing
Chapter 4: Pricing
3/29/11
19
Marginal Cost Pricing, Congestion Pricing in
theory
Slides on Pricing Projects
3/31/11
20
Midterm Exam
4/5/11
21
Congestion Pricing in Practice
Discrete Choice Models of Traveler Participation in
Time of Day Variable Toll Rates, Burris & Pendyala,
Transport Policy, 2002
4/7/11
22
Pricing, Regulation, and Performance (Airlines)
U.S. Airlines
Student:
Dr. Jeff
Borowiec
Management Issues
The Bottom Line: Analysis of Company Financial
Reports
The Bottom Line: Analysis of Company Financial
Reports
Equity Issues in Transportation
4/12/11
23
4/14/11
24
4/19/11
25
4/21/11
26
Transportation and Land Use
4/26/11
27
Open Topic
4/28/11
28
Student Presentations of Term Papers
5/6/11
29
FINAL EXAM, 12:30 to 2:30
Analyzing Company Reports
Student:
Analyzing Company Reports
Student:
Evaluating Transportation Equity
Student:
Chapter 12: Transportation and Land Use, and slides
Students:
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Class Presentation (10%) & Term Paper (35%) Instructions
Each student is required to make a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation on one of the subjects covered
in the course material or a related topic. In advance of the presentation (at least two days prior to the
presentation), the student will supply the instructor with a final draft of their presentation.
TOPIC AREAS
Below is a list of potential topics and (in some cases) some suggested readings. You will have to
reference additional sources for the paper and presentation.
1) Value of Travel Time – Measurement of the Value of Travel Time Savings (Class 12)
 Define VTTS and its importance in transportation
 Different measurement techniques
 How the values vary under different circumstances, different travelers
 Value of travel time reliability
2) Environmental Externalities (Class 14) – Green House Gasses are a big issue
Mark A. Delucchi, J. of Trans. Econ & Policy, May 2000.
3) Modal Cost Structures - Chapter 11 & Don Pickrell, A Desire Named Streetcar, APA Spring 1992
(Class 17)
4) Pricing of Transportation Services – Marginal Cost (Congestion) Pricing in Practice
Chapter 4 & 6 & Discrete Choice Models of Traveler Participation in Time of Day Variable Toll
Rates, Burris & Pendyala, Transport Policy, 2002 (Class 21)
 Examine how this theory has been applied in practice
5) Equity Issues in Transportation (Class 25)
Todd Litman Article
6) Transportation and Land Use (Class 26)
7) The Bottom Line: Analysis of Company Financial Reports (Class 23)
 Investigate the financial health of a (transportation) company by looking at its balance sheet,
income statement, and stock price performance.
Topics presented during student presentation days (Classes 28 & 29)
1) Should insurance agencies license drivers instead of state governments?
 How would this impact various fees?
 Would this be practical to implement?
 What impacts would it have on drivers? Externalities?
 What are the potential costs and benefits?
2) How would VMT (Vehicle Miles Traveled) fees impact travelers – particularly spending on
transportation?
3) Transportation Utility Fees – redistribution of transportation financing through a fee based on trips
generated. Use ITE Trip generation book to compare gas tax and property tax to an impact fee.
Could do for BCS with new TransCAD data.
4) What would be the implication of adding fees to the purchase of gas to cover uninsured motorists?
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
Compare and contrast the costs and benefits of current accounting for uninsured motorists
as compared to the addition of a fee on gas.
5) Examine the potential costs and benefits of just about any transportation related project you can
think of. (For example, a student examined the costs and benefits of the Wellborn pedestrian
underpass in a previous class).
6) Examine the difference between stated and revealed preference surveys.
 How do the results of stated preference surveys compare to results after the proposal being
surveyed is implemented?
 How do we combine stated and revealed preference data to obtain an improved model?
7) The purchase of toll roads/bridges by private firms
8) How much do drivers of hybrids in California value their time? They can receive a free trip on the
HOV lanes if they have a hybrid with a special, limited number of, registered stickers. These are
now causing the price of used vehicles to increase dramatically.
9) Travel time variability – how do travelers value reliability of their travel time?
10) Replacing the gas tax with a vehicle miles traveled fee.
11) Financing of new roadway projects through the use of tax increment financing or other tool that has
land owners paying for a portion of the cost of the facility.
12) I have several datasets that need more analysis:
 Katy Freeway Managed Lane travelers
 Houston and Dallas Travelers
 Austin Truck Drivers
 Others…
11) Other topics of interest to the student.
STRUCTURE OF THE PAPER
Note – this is a guideline. It is possible that the Research Approach and Data sections may not fit
your topic well and you will need to rearrange/drop/combine sections. Remember your goal is a
logical paper that is easy/intuitive for the reader to follow. Your paper should tell the reader a story…
The Title of your paper should let those interested in your topic know that this is a paper that they
should examine (as part of their general reading/knowledge or a literature review for their work). The
Abstract is then a way for the reader to get a quick summary of (a) the importance of the topic (b)
your research efforts and (c) your results. For managers/politicians this may be all they will read – so
make sure your main findings are included. Next the Introduction provides your reader with the “big
picture” context of the issue you are studying (how does this issue fit into transportation engineering
and planning or the world in general) and why is it important. Explaining the importance of your
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research is important so that (a) the reader is motivated to read on and (b) to be clear in your own mind
the importance and place for this research.
The Literature Review then highlights the efforts conducted by others in this area of research. This
provides the reader a background for what is going on in the field and lets them know you have “done
your homework” and are not ignoring the important work already done in the research area. This leads
into how your research differs from others as outlined in your Research Objectives. The research
objectives section also highlights the issue you are investigating and the exact question(s) you hope to
answer. You expand on this in your Research Methodology, so the reader knows how you answered
the question and can be assured you followed a proper scientific analysis process. This section may
overlap /merge with the Data section as you explain to the reader what data you obtained, how you
obtained it, any data validity issues and how you dealt with them, how you may have manipulated the
data for use in your study and what statistical tests you used for analysis of the data.
Now that the reader is confident in your data and the methods used to analyze the data, you can present
your Results and discuss their meaning, how they answered your research questions, and implications
towards the “big picture” you mentioned in your introduction. Your Conclusions should then briefly
re-iterate the problem, approach and your findings – with a focus on the most important findings. Also
mention potential future research. Finally, include an Acknowledgements section and list your
References. In some cases an Appendix or two may be necessary to present some of your data.
Students may choose to work alone or in group as large as 3. If working in a group the paper may be
longer (up to 40 pages) and will be graded according to the number of students in the group. The
greater the number of students, the higher the expected quality of the report.
ASCE Reference Style:
To cite sources in the text, use the author-date method; list the last names of the authors, then the year.
The formats are as follows: one author—(Smith 2004); two authors—(Smith and Jones 2004); three or
more authors—(Smith et al. 2004). Prepare a reference section listing all references alphabetically by
last name of the first author. For anonymous reports and standards, alphabetize by the issuing
institution. Below are samples of properly formatted and complete references:
Journals:
King, S., and Delatte, N. J. (2004). “Collapse of 2000 Commonwealth Avenue: Punching shear case
study.” J. Perf. Constr. Facil., 18(1), 54-61.
Conference Proceedings and Symposia:
Fwa, T. F., Liu, S. B., Teng, K. J. (2004). “Airport pavement condition rating and maintenance-needs
assessment using fuzzy logic.” Proc., Airport Pavements: Challenges and New Technologies, ASCE,
Reston, Va., 29-38.
Include the sponsor of the conference or publisher of the proceedings, AND that entity’s location—city
and state or city and country.
Books and Reports:
Feld, J., and Carper, K. (1997). Construction failure, 2nd Ed., Wiley, New York.
Book references must include author, book title, publisher, and the publisher’s location. If a specific
chapter is being used, list the chapter title and inclusive page numbers. For reports, include the full
institution name (not just the acronym) and its location.
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Unpublished Material:
Unpublished material is not included in the references. It may be cited in the text in the following
forms: (John Smith, personal communication, May 16, 1999) or (Jones et al., unpublished manuscript,
2002). As an exception to the rule, articles that are accepted for publication may be included in the
references as follows: Gibson, W. (2003). “Cyberspace: The postmodern frontier.” J. Comp. in Fiction,
in press.
Web Pages and On-line Material:
Burka, L. P. (2002). “A hypertext history of multiuser dimensions.” MUD history,
<http://www.ccs.neu.edu> (Dec. 5, 2003).
Include an author if possible, a copyright date, a title, the Web address, and the date the material was
accessed or downloaded (in parentheses at the end).
CD-ROM:
Liggett, J. A., and Caughey, D. A. (1998). “Fluid statics.” Fluid mechanics (CD-Rom), ASCE, Reston,
Va. Include authors, copyright date, titles, medium, and producer/publisher and their location.
GRADING SCHEME
Title Page:
Abstract:
Table of Contents:
Body of the Report:
References:
Title, Name, Class, Date:
Provides good summary of the report:
Less than 300 words:
Includes all parts of report:
Correct page numbers:
1.5 spaced:
15 to 25 pages (can be longer if more than 1 student):
Flow/organization:
Content ** worth the most **:
Grammar:
Notes:
Includes all necessary references:
Correct and consistent reference style:
Note: use ASCE style
DUE DATES
To keep everyone on track towards the goal of an excellent research paper I will examine drafts of
parts of the paper a couple times during the term. I will also assign grades that will count towards the
paper grade.
February 8th – Title and abstract (note – you should talk with me for 5-10 minutes regarding your
topic before you write this)
March 22th – Title, Abstract, Introduction and Literature Review, Research Problem, Research
Approach or Methodology, and Data.
April 14th – Draft of entire paper (if you are not finished the analysis indicate what you plan to write
about in your results and conclusions).
May 6th – Final Paper.
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