Transportation Today
Policy, Freight, Intercity
Travel
Norman W. Garrick
Lecture 2
CE 2710
Transportation Today
Cars and Planes
Two modes of travel have come to dominate transportation
in modern America:
1. the gasoline engine automobile, which was invented in
Germany in 1888,
2. the airplane, which dates back to the early 1900s.
Manufacturing of automobiles on a production line basis
dates back to 1908.
Since the 1950s, the automobile has dominated short and
medium distance travel and has facilitated the
suburbanization of American cities.
Transportation Today
Transportation and Land Use
Transportation cannot be effectively planned or designed without considering
the related land use.
The type of transportation that is available helps to shape the land use
pattern.
On the other hand, the land use pattern, to a large extent, helps to determine
which type of transportation will be chosen by people.
Transportation Today
Transportation and Land Use
Land use influences
the viability of a
given transportation mode
Land Use Pattern
Transportation
Options
Transportation options
shapes the
Land use pattern
Transportation Today
Transportation and Land Use
For example, let’s take look at two different types of
development pattern in Connecticut: West Hartford Center and
the Buckland Hills area of Manchester.
If we were to provide the same level of transit service in both
areas, people would be much more likely to use transit in West
Hartford than in Buckland Hills.
West Hartford is much more compact and it is much more
convenient to get around by walking - therefore using transit is
much more viable and attractive.
Transportation Today
Policy, Planning, Operations and Management
Transportation is not just a physical system.
Equally as important as the physical aspects of the system are
the policies that determine how transportation is planned,
designed, built, managed, priced and funded.
Engineers typically focus on understanding the physical
infrastructure, but the same infrastructure will serve
transportation needs very differently, depending on the policy
framework within which that infrastructure is located.
Engineers must be fully versed on how policy might support or
hinder specific planning or design goals.
Transportation Today
Policy, Planning, Operations and Management
Transportation Infrastructure includes physical aspects of the
system, such as vehicles, travel way, terminus, toll or ticket
purchasing systems and intermodal transfer.
Transportation Policy may include issues such as governance
(who builds, who owns, who maintains), taxes and incentives
that determine the relative cost of different types of travel,
zoning and design regulations, and the approach to planning.
Transportation Today
Policy, Planning, Operations and Management
In the USA, there are many different agents involved in the
provision of transportation service – both public and private.
Typically, transportation involves a partnership between many
different agents.
For example, in air transportation the fixed infrastructure like the
airports are usually owned and operated by the government,
while the air service itself is provided by private
companies. Transportation may also involve many levels of
government from the Federal to the State, Regional, and Local
level
Transportation Today
Freight Transportation
Freight transportation refers to the movement of goods of any
type.
Much of this course focuses on transportation in the public sector,
and primarily on passenger transportation.
Freight transportation is largely a private sector activity, but the
public sector provides much of the infrastructure that is need for
freight transportation to operate. It is therefore important not to
overlook the presence of freight and to understand its influence
on the economy.
Transportation Today
Freight Transportation
Almost all businesses in the USA now depend on ‘just-in-time’
delivery, and internet commerce has significantly increased the
importance of timely delivery of goods in all sectors of the
economy. Therefore freight transportation is an increasingly
important and complex field of operation.
Transportation Today
Freight Transportation
Why is this background important?

Freight services use public infrastructure including
roads, rail (often the rail is owned by the freight company
and used by public sector and not the other way around),
bridges, tunnels, ports, airports

Freight operations are regulated by government

Government policies affect freight operations

The freight industry is an important source of jobs for
transportation planners and engineers.
Transportation Today
Freight Transportation
Modes of Freight Transportation
Motor
Carriers
Railroads
Pipelines
Water
Air
borne vessels
carriers (including mail parcel companies)
Transportation Today
Intercity Travel
Intercity transportation refers to transportation for travel
between cities located in different urban regions.
These may include trip lengths any where from about 50
miles to thousands of miles.
Transportation Today
Intercity Travel
Modes for Intercity Travel
 Automobile
 Bus
 Rail
 Air
 Water borne vessels
Transportation Today
Intercity Travel
How do the modes differ?
 Cost to build and operate
 Cost to user (out-of-pocket and overall)
 Door-to-door travel time (access, waiting and invehicle time)
 Convenience/service/comfort
 Safety
 Energy use
 Environmental factors (noise, air pollution, water)
 Compatibility with surrounding land use (parking
demand, nuisance, space needed)
 Who pays for what (level of Government support)
Transportation Today
Intercity Travel
Energy Use of Different Modes in USA
in Mega-Joules per Passenger
(Ref: Newman and Kenworthy)
Auto
2.9
Bus
1.6
Heavy Rail (electric)
0.4
Heavy Rail (diesel)
1.4
Light Rail
0.8
http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/11/why-more-northeast-us-travelers-takethe-train-than-a-plane-in-2-charts/383158/
http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/11/why-more-northeast-us-travelers-takethe-train-than-a-plane-in-2-charts/383158/
http://www.citylab.com/commute/2014/11/why-more-northeast-us-travelers-takethe-train-than-a-plane-in-2-charts/383158/
Transportation Today
Intercity Travel
Factors affecting people’s choice of mode

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





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Type and purpose of trip
Ownership status
Cost (mostly out of pocket cost)
Door-to-door travel time
Convenience/service/comfort
Prestige
Availability
Accessibility of mode
Land use characteristics of start and end point
Transportation Today
Intercity Travel
Europe versus USA
In the USA intercity travel is dominated by automobile and air
(except in the Northeast and to a lesser extent in California).
In many European countries, rail is much more important that
in the USA for trips from about 60 to 300 miles.
Transportation Today
Intercity Travel
Europe versus USA
A number of European and Asian nations have fast train
systems that travel up to 200 miles per hour. Top speed in the
USA rarely exceeds 80 miles per hour. Many of these counties
started developing their systems in the 1980s and have
continued to expand.
However, speed is not the only issue that is important for
promoting train travel. For example, Switzerland does not have
a high-speed train system but still boasts one of the best and
most well used networks on the continent.
Transportation Today
Live View of Swiss Trains (click on Picture)
Transportation Today
Intercity Travel
The main factors that contribute to people using train
more in Europe include
 More compact, more walkable cities
 Better public transit in cities
 Less and more expensive parking
 Few highways penetrating the cities
 High fuel taxes
 Government support for rail (more comfortable, more
reliable, more frequent trains)
 Integration of the different modes (including rail and air)