GIS in Transportation:
GIS - T
Prof. Yuji Murayama - Instructor
Hao HOU – Teaching Assistant
Division of Spatial Information Science
University of Tsukuba
What is GIS–T
 Geographic information systems for transportation (GIS-T)
refers to the principles and applications of applying
geographic information technologies to transportation
problems (Miller and Shaw, 2001).
(www.gis.fhwa.dot.gov/documents/Newsletter_Winter2014.asp)
Evolution of GIS–T
 The evolution of GIS-T is characterized in three stages: the map view,
the navigational view, and the behavioral view (Goodchild, 2000) .
map view
navigational view
behavioral view
GIS Components in Transportation
Encoding
Management
Analysis
Reporting
(Rodrigue, et al. 2013)
GIS Encoding in Transportation
 Deals with issues concerning the representation of a transport system
and its spatial components. To be of use in a GIS, a transport network
must be correctly encoded, implying a functional topology
composed of nodes and links. For instance, an encoded road
segment can have data related to its width, number of lanes,
direction, peak hour traffic, etc (Rodrigue, et al. 2013) .
GIS Management in Transportation
 In order to manage GIS data for analysis and visualization, a
database is often used for better arrangement. GIS database for
transportation can be arranged by spatial, thematic or temporal
principles.
 Spatial Principles: organize data by spatial attributes, such as scale
of region, country, census units, etc.
 Thematic Principles: organize data by different themes.
Different usage - highway, transit, railway, terminals, etc.
Different width – 1 m, 5 m, 10 m, 30 m, etc.
Different material - concrete, cement, mud, etc.
 Temporal Principles: organize data by time period, such as year,
month, week, etc.
GIS Analysis in Transportation
 GIS analysis in transportation can be as easy as a simple query to by
an element of a transport system to find the position (e.g., where is
the nearest bus station) and as hard as to build a model to predict
future development or to help urban planning with several index
including accessibility, density, cost, etc. (e.g., if a new road was
added, what would be the impacts on traffic and future land use
developments).
Find Position
Modeling
(http://geospatialworld.net/Paper/Application/ArticleView.aspx?aid=1611)
GIS Reporting in Transportation
 1. Visualization and
data reporting
 2. Link between GIS
researchers and
public users
 3. Convey complex
information in a
visual format
(displayed or
printed).
(http://www.esri.com/esri-news/arcnews/fall13articles/implementing-web-gis)
GIS for Transportation
Manage Transportation Logistically
GIS is an integrating technology that helps:
 Manage variable costs and routing and
scheduling effectively
 Track your mobile assets in real time
 Implement fuel-saving green initiatives to
minimize carbon emissions
 Meet customer expectations
(http://www.esri.com/news/arcnews/fall11articles/city-of-woodland-refines-water-crew-dispatch.html)
GIS for Transportation
Different Fields
 Aviation
 Roads and Highways
 Ports and Maritime
 Public Transit
 Railways
GIS for Transportation
Aviation
Airports comprise different
departments and interact with
various entities. GIS can help
arrange the flying time as well as
flying route. Applications includes:
 Airports system
 Air Traffic Management system
(http://www.esri.com/~/media/Files/Pdfs/news/arcuser/0114/TurningaRequirement.pdf)
GIS for Transportation
Roads and Highways
GIS is used in six aspects to help plan, monitor and manage a safe &
effective road infrastructure.
 Planning: Identify deficiencies and determine optimal solutions.
 Design: Integrate GIS with other design tools to bring great analytic
and cost-estimation capabilities to infrastructure design process.
 Survey: Manage and store spatial data with survey measurements.
 Construction: Integrate project and financial management software
with GIS to better manage infrastructure projects.
 Maintenance: Easily manage disparate assets.
(http://www.esri.com/library/brochures/pdfs/gis-sols-for-highway.pdf)
GIS for Transportation
Ports and Maritime
For water, traffic, and navigation
managers, GIS combined with
Global Positioning System (GPS)
technology offers a superior solution
for tracking vessels and managing
traffic in crowded waterways.
( http://www.esri.com/industries/ports-maritime/business/ports )
GIS for Transportation
Public Transit
Public transit is key to meeting transportation challenges presented by
rapidly growing cities, rising fuel prices, budget constraints, and global
environmental issues. GIS visualization and analysis tools can help to
integrate critical information for effective public transit planning,
operations, monitoring, and delivery.
Such GIS applications include:
 Route Planning Systems
 Operations and Integrated Transportation Systems
 Safe and Secure Public Transportation Systems
 ……
GIS for Transportation
Railways
Railway managers, whether focused on
passenger or freight delivery, can use the
spatial and analytic components of GIS
to efficiently manage assets, maximize
throughput, and monitor safety. The
ability to share maps and information
online improves communication with
your stakeholders, including customers.
(http://www.esri.com/industries/railways)
WebRail - Asset Management by Sysfer
Popular GIS Functions in Transportation
Buffer Analysis
The simplest approach to building transit
catchment areas is to create a buffer
around an entire route. The buffer is
centered on the route of interest and is
defined by the maximum distance that
riders find convenient to walk to. This
method is commonly used to describe
fixed-route service areas for federal
reporting purposes.
(http://media.tmiponline.org/clearinghouse/gis/octa/octa.pdf)
Popular GIS Functions in Transportation
Optimum Path Analysis
A spatial analysis function using network
analysis to determine the path along a
network of lines that may have some
predetermined criteria (such as shortest
length, shortest travel time, etc).
(http://media.tmiponline.org/clearinghouse/gis/octa/octa.pdf)
Popular GIS Functions in Transportation
Network Analysis
Most GIS software has network analysis
capabilities that can be used to
create network-based catchment
areas. The user specifies the origin
points (stop locations) and maximum
walk distance. The network tools then
determine the walk network around
each origin point (bus stop) that lies
within the user-specified distance.
(http://media.tmiponline.org/clearinghouse/gis/octa/octa.pdf)
Conclusion
GIS technology has opened up new horizons in transportation. It
provides a means of communication that allows for an interactive
understanding between the public and transportation professionals As
the increase of available transportation database and development
in information technology, more applications will be developed for
transportation planning or analyzing in the future.
(http://jksafelogistics.com/Domestic%20Transportation%20Services.html)
Reference

Banos, A., & Thévenin, T. (Eds.). (2011). Geographical Information and Urban Transport Systems. ISTE.

Goodchild, M. F. (2000). GIS and transportation: status and challenges. GeoInformatica, 4(2), 127-139.

Miller, H. J., & Shaw, S. L. (2001). Geographic information systems for transportation: principles and applications.
Oxford University Press.

Rodrigue, J. P., Comtois, C., & Slack, B. (2013). The geography of transport systems. Routledge.

www.gis.fhwa.dot.gov/documents/Newsletter_Winter2014.asp (Accessed 14 Febrary 2015)

http://geospatialworld.net/Paper/Application/ArticleView.aspx?aid=1611 (Accessed 16 Febrary 2015)

http://www.esri.com/industries/ports-maritime/business/ports (Accessed 16 Febrary 2015)

http://www.esri.com/esri-news/arcnews/fall13articles/implementing-web-gis (Accessed 16 Febrary 2015)

http://www.esri.com/~/media/Files/Pdfs/news/arcuser/0114/TurningaRequirement.pdf (Accessed 16 Febrary 2015)

http://www.esri.com/industries/railways (Accessed 17 Febrary 2015)

http://www.esri.com/library/brochures/pdfs/gis-sols-for-highway.pdf (Accessed 17 Febrary 2015)

http://media.tmiponline.org/clearinghouse/gis/octa/octa.pdf (Accessed 17 Febrary 2015)

http://jksafelogistics.com/Domestic%20Transportation%20Services.html (Accessed 17 Febrary 2015)