TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM

a set of elements and the

interactions between them that
produce both the demand for travel
within a given area and the provision
of transportation services to satisfy
this demand.

TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS
Transportation systems are complex, dynamic and internally
interconnected, as well as interconnected with other complex
dynamic systems (e.g., the environment, the economy).
They vary in space and time (at different time scales for different
components). Service is provided on complex networks. The
systems are stochastic in nature.
Human decision-makers with complex decision calculi make
choices that shape the transportation system.
Modeling the entire system is almost inconceivable. Our
challenge is to choose relevant subsystems and model them
appropriately for the intended purpose, mindfully reflecting the
boundary effects of the unmodeled components.

All Models Are Wrong; However,

Some Are Useful.

IRON TRIANGLE
L AND USE
TRANSPORTATION

ENVIRONMENT

Economic Quality

Growth of Life

DRIVING FACTORS IN
TRANSPORTATION
TECHNOLOGIES
RESOURCES/ EXTERNALITIES

ISSUES:
Economic Development
Quality of Life
Social Equity
Sustainability
Environmental Issues
INSTITUTIONAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL
REALITIES

TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM DIMENSIONS

ORGANIZATIONAL SCALE
Integrated Supply Chain
Intermodal
Modal
GEOGRAPHIC SCALE
Urban
Regional
National
Global
TIME SCALE
Real-Time
Tactical Planning
Strategic Planning
APPROACHES

Quantitative Models (OR, Planning Simulation)

Qualitative Frameworks for Analysis

Transportation Domain Knowledge

CRITICAL CONTEMPORARY ISSUES (CCI)

Mobility
Energy
Global Climate Change
. Urban Form
Developing world
Developed world
. Population
Growth in developing world
Shrinkage in parts of developed world
Economic development/growth
Environmental issues
Social equity
. Productivity
. Manufacturing
Security

KEY ISSUES IN TRANSPORTATION

Transportation is a strategic investment essential to strengthening the
American economy. America needs a fully integrated domestic transportation
system as well as safe and efficient connections to the rest of the world.

1)
2)
3)
4)
5)

Safety
Mobility
Global Connectivity
Environmental Stewardship
Security

 The transportation system is vulnerable to attacks by terrorists and

saboteurs.
The demand for passenger travel and freight movement is straining the
capacity of the U.S. transportation system.
The aging transportation infrastructure must be rebuilt,
but the costs involved exceed revenues.
Transportation organizations are having difficulty
attracting and retaining the technically diverse personnel
needed in the 21st century.
Consumer benefits from deregulation are threatened by
industry consolidation.
The burden of owning and operating vehicles is increasing
for the lowest-income families.

 Telecommunications and information technologies are

likely to have significant but uncertain consequences.
Transportation faces formidable barriers to innovation,
which are
compounded by growing constraints on research
investments.

IRON TRIANGLE
L AND USE
TRANSPORTATION

ENVIRONMENT

Economic Quality

Growth of Life

TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

1) Traffic Congestion
Traffic congestion exists wherever demand exceeds the
capacity of the transportation system.
2) Traffic Safety
Traffic accidents are of concern for all modes of transportation,
but are most visible in highways and commercial air.
3) Equality of access
This refers to providing adequate access tot he transportation
system for all sorts of people. Three groups in particular have
been seen as generally underserved. These are the poor, the
elderly, and the physically handicapped.

4) Environmental Protection
One of the most important challenges tot he transportation
system is that of dealing with the environmental impacts and
with the impacts of other economic activities, such as land
development, on transportation.
5) New Technology
In the past, the introduction of new technology has often has a
revolutionary impact on transportation systems. This has been
especially true when there have been radical changes in vehicle
technology.
6) Funding
Securing adequate financial resources is another potential
challenge, both for public agencies providing transportation
facilities and for private-sector firms providing transportation
services. Facility-oriented public agencies have rarely been able
to find revenue sources adequate to meet the needs for
facilities they have identified.

7) Institutional Arrangement
Provision of adequate institutional arrangements for the
transportation system is also a challenge. In most cases, new
institutional arrangements have come about as a response to
perceived deficiencies in the existing system. Often they have
been imposed by outside agencies (by legislatures, or by the
government) and in many cases they have been resisted by
established institutions. In the recent past, the most
conspicuous and enduring areas of institutional change have
been 1) adjustments tot he relationship between the public
and private sectors and 2) attempts to overcome modal and
jurisdictional fragmentation.
Some of these arrangements are privatization, government
involvement, legislations, etc.
Modal fragmentation is rooted in the independent
development of different modes of transportation and was
reinforced by government regulations that prohibited
integration of firms across modal lines.

Jurisdictional fragmentation stems from the fact that most

large metropolitan areas in the United States are composed
of a large number of local jurisdictions, and from the
overlapping jurisdictions of states and local government
for instance, coexistence of both state highways and local
streets and roads in the same geographic area.