Transportation Systems Management (TSM)

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Urbanization and Transportation Trends
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Developed Countries (such as USA)

 Industrialization

 Urbanization (~ 70% population)

 Transportation in urban centrers

 Developed extensive networks
 Greater mobility needs
 Higher vehicle ownership
 Supply shortages
 Environmental concerns
 Funding and space restrictions
 Look for alternate solutions
Today’s Urban Transport Scenario
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Traffic Congestion

Tokyo

London

Los Angeles
 Urbanization and Transportation Trends
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 Developing Countries (such as India)
 Recent Industrialization

 Urbanization (~ 30% population in urban areas) – Rapid

growth recently
 Transportation in urban centers
 Developing networks and transport
infrastructure
 Greater mobility needs
 Increasing vehicle ownership
 Supply shortages already being felt
 Environmental concerns
 Funding and space restrictions
 Looking for alternate solutions
 Ghana’s position
 Today’s Urban Transport Scenario
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Traffic Congestion
Jakarta
Delhi

Nairobi

Ghana
 Transportation Land Use Cycle
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Greater Traffic Needs

Increased Trip Added Transportation

Generation Facilities

Changed land Use Increased Accessibility

Increased Land Value

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 Major difficulty in transportation problem solving – the solution will

affect its own environment when implemented

 Hence, systems approach desirable

 Systems approach: decision making process for complex problem

solving

 Systems approach is basically aimed at detailed study of

interactions and interrelationships within and between the elements

of the systems
 System Planning Process (SPP) Recommended for Traffic Planning and
Analysis Purposes

Reexamination of Goals and Objectives

Values Goals

Problem Definition Policy

ENGINEER’S REALM
System Boundaries

Alternatives Objectives

Resources Modeling Criteria

Data collection Consequences

Evaluation

Scheduling
Monitoring
Selection
Area of interest in
Traffic Analysis Implementation Constraints
Source: “Traffic Systems: Data, Analysis and Presentations,” by Taylor, Bonsall and Young, Ashgate
Publishing Ltd. (2000) ,
Adapted from “Survey Methods for Transportation Planning,” by Richardson, Ampt and Meyburg, Eucalyptus
 Today’s Urban Road Transport Challenges
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– Deficiencies in infrastructure
– Traffic Congestion
• Fast increasing vehicle population
• Inadequate road capacities
• Decreasing public transport use
• Traffic management issues
– Safety (Accidents)
– Environmental Pollution
 What Can We Do?
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Optimising Managing
Supply Demand

Building
Infrastructure Applying
Adv. Tech.
 Transportation Systems Management (TSM)
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Background:
• Initiated by Urban Mass Transportation
Administration (UMTA) and the Federal
Highway Administration (FHWA) during 1970’s.
• Regulations required that TSM projects
selected for implementation by urbanized
areas be included in their Transportation
Improvement Program (TIP)
 12
( contd. )

• Requirement calls upon urbanized area to

consider a wide range of actions with low-
capital investment requirements that can
improve transportation service in the short
term.
 13

Need ?
• Steeply rising costs.
• Environmental concerns.
• Intense competition for available resources.

The above made it imperative that better and more

efficient uses for existing investments in transportation
infrastructure be found before making additional
investments.
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• Major Objective of TSM: To make efficient use of the

highway and transit systems already in place, thus
reducing the need for new capital investments and for
operations assistance.

• TSM designed to address the short-term transportation

system needs through more efficient use of existing
transportation facilities.
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“TSM encompasses a range of improvement strategies

that are non-facility and low-capital oriented and that
use both demand management and supply optimization
to capitalize on existing highway and transit-related
facilities to achieve transportation-related goals.”

(C. K. Orski)
 TSM Actions*
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Categories:
- Improved Vehicular Flow
- Preferential Treatment of High-Occupancy
Vehicles
- Reduced Peak-Period travel
- Parking Management
- Promotion of Non-Auto or High-Occupancy Auto Use
- Transit and Paratransit Service Improvements
- Transit Management Efficiency Measures
* Ref: Transportation Systems Management – State of the Art, USDOT/UMTA & FHWA
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1. Improved Vehicular Flow:

• Improvements in Signalized Intersections
• Freeway Ramp Metering
• One-way Streets
• Removal of On-street Parking
• Reversible Lanes
• Traffic Channelization
• Off-street Loading
• Transit Stop Relocation
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2. Preferential Treatment of High Occupancy Vehicles:

• Freeway Bus & Carpool Lanes and Access Ramps

• Bus & Carpool Lanes on City Streets and Urban
Arterials
• Bus Preemption of Traffic Signals
• Toll Policies
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3. Reduced Peak-Period Travel:

• Work Rescheduling
• Congestion Pricing
• Peak-period Truck Restrictions

4. Parking Management:
• Parking Regulations
• Park-and-ride Facilities
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5. Promotion of High- Occupancy and Non-

vehicular Travel Modes:
• Ridesharing

• Human-Powered Travel Modes

• Auto–restricted Zones
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6.Transit and Paratransit Service Improvements:

• Transit Marketing

• Security Measures

• Transit Shelters

• Transit Terminals

• Transit fare policies and fare-collection techniques

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7. Transit Management Efficiency Measures:

• Route Evaluation
• Vehicle Communication and Monitoring
Techniques
• Maintenance Policies
• Evaluation of System Performance
 Elaboration on TSM Actions
23

1. Improved vehicular flow:

a. Improvements in Signalized Intersections:
• Refinements in the signal timings of
pre-timed and traffic-actuated signals
• Computerized traffic-responsive control system
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b. Freeway Ramp Metering:

• Improves use of existing facilities,
increasing overall vehicular flow, and
decreasing total travel time
• Controls vehicles entering freeway and
smoothes traffic flow
• Simple or computerized metering
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Advantages:
• Optimum utilization of freeway’s design capacity
• Improved average peak hour speeds
• Travel time savings, fuel efficiency and air
quality gains
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c. One way streets:

Advantages:
• Decreases number of potential vehicular
conflicts at intersections => safety and
effectiveness of progressive traffic signal
timing are improved.
• More efficient than two-way operations
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Disadvantages:
• Increased passenger walking distances
• Increased Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT)
• Pedestrian safety may be reduced in cases where 4
or more one-way lanes do not allow for a center
island
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d. Removal of On-street Parking:

• Improves vehicular flow by increasing
street capacity
• Only 55-65% of roadway capacity is
utilized on 2-way streets where on-street
parking is permitted

• Improved traffic speeds, a

reduction in peak travel time,
reduction in traffic delays and
stops. Also, improved safety.
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e. Reversible Lanes:
• Can be adopted where directional flow is
unbalanced (ex: 65/35 directional split)

Parking

Parking
Morning Evening
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• Can be used during peak periods to increase the

capacity of the roadway in the peak direction of flow.

• Effective and inexpensive way of increasing the

efficiency of existing facilities.

• Improves traffic safety, reduces peak- period traffic

congestion, and reduces travel time.
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f. Traffic Channelization:
• Directing traffic into defined paths on
roadways.

• Channelization techniques help optimize

the capacity of an intersection.

• Can reduce or eliminate potential hazards

to motorists and pedestrians and avoid
confusion in traffic flow.
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• Can improve safety.

• Achieved through islands, pavement markings or other

suitable means.

• Effective channelization can increase traffic speed.

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g. Off-street Loading:

• Preventing curbside truck loading or unloading

removes traffic impedance.

• However, providing off-street loading facilities in

CBDs may be too costly!
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h. Transit Stop Relocation:

• Curbside loading/unloading of
transit passengers can seriously
impede traffic flow.

• Turnout bays - ideal solution.

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2. Preferential Treatment of High-

Occupancy Vehicles

a. Freeway Bus and Carpool Lanes and Access

Ramps:
• Dedicated lanes; substantially decreases
passengers’ travel time.
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• Smaller variations in trip travel time.

• User out-of-pocket savings (decreased parking

costs, reduced need for second cars)

• Increased bus patronage, greater service

reliability
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b. Bus and Carpool Lanes on City

Streets and Urban Arterials:

• Expedite the movement of high-

occupancy vehicles through congested
areas in or near the center city.

• Improve travel time, increase utilization

of existing facilities, reduce stop-and-go
driving for qualifying vehicles.
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c. Bus Preemption of Traffic Signals:

• Significant amount of bus travel time on CBD routes
is spent waiting at traffic signals.
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• To reduce this delay, signal systems that allow the bus

to preempt normal traffic signal timing patterns have
been developed (signal heads equipped with optically
or electronically actuated detectors that respond to
signals transmitted from a device on the bus)
• Improves transit service

Disadvantage:
Generally results in increasing auto delay at
the intersection
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d. Toll Policies:
• Preferential treatment at toll collection points can
be given to high-occupancy vehicles
- By permitting nonstop passage
through toll stations, or
- Instituting differential tolls that favour
HOVs.
 41

3. Reduced Peak-Period Travel:

a. Work Rescheduling:
• Staggered or flexible work hour programs
- Employee starting and quitting times scheduled to
occur at more frequent intervals than usual
(staggered work hours)
- Employees permitted to adjust work schedules
according to personal preference
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Advantages:
• Work rescheduling programs can be readily implemented at a
relatively low cost.
• Successful implementation may reduce peak-period congestion

on roadways and transit facilities

• May lead to shorter travel times, increased speeds and reduced

idling
• May also improve employee morale
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Implementation Considerations:
• Careful consideration to effect on ridesharing

efforts
• Must also be carefully coordinated with local

transit authorities
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Shortened Workweek:
 Two forms:
- Four-day, ten-hour schedule

- Four-day, <40 hrs/week

 Adaptability - depends on the type of business
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b.  Congestion Pricing

Charging peak-period users of the
transportation more than off-peak users; to
decrease peak-period traffic volumes and to
influence modal choice
Applying differential pricing policies to control
roadway use
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Can be applied to a variety of situations

Eg:

 Raising peak-period transit fares

 Parking surcharge on long-term parking to
discourage commuting in low occupancy
vehicles.
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c. Peak-Period Truck Restrictions

• Truck movement in CBD - contributor to traffic

congestion

• Regulations such as instituting truck routes and

preventing truck travel on certain streets will reduce
the level of congestion.
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4. Parking Management
a.  Parking Regulations

• To control number and type of vehicles entering

congested activity centers.

• When carefully coordinated with complementary TSM

actions, the number of vehicles entering congested areas
can be reduced.
        
 49

• Parking Charges:

- To regulate the number of vehicles

entering the CBD and the trip
purposes these vehicles serve

- Parking charges must be instituted in

a fairly large control area; otherwise
parking simply shifts to surrounding
areas.
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• Limiting parking space:

- Restricts supply

- Traffic will be diverted either to other

locations or to other modes of travel

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b. Park-and-ride Facilities
• Combining fringe or corridor
parking facilities with express
transit service to activity centers -
can reduce the number of CBD-
directed autos
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Advantages:
• Shift parking from the center city to outlying
areas
• Help reduce VMT and congestion in urban
activity centers
• Energy conservation and improved air quality
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5. Promotion of High-Occupancy and Non-

Vehicular Travel Modes

a. Ridesharing:
 Prearranging shared rides for people traveling
at similar times from approximately the same
origin to approximately the same destination
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• Carpools:

- Several places
- Employer incentives

• Vanpools:

- Matching procedures – manual or computerized

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• Ride sharing benefits:

- Rider benefits:
• Reduction in travel costs
• Reduction in the use of his/her own vehicle

- Employer benefits:
• Reduced demand for parking facilities
• Reduced congestion near employment site
• Company advertisement in vans (company owned/leased)
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- Community benefits
• Reduction in VMT
• Reduction in congestion, air pollution
• Fuel savings and efficiency
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• Implementation considerations:
- Other TSM actions must be tailored to
complement the goals of ridesharing program
(ex: HOV lanes to be assessed for applicability
to a ridesharing program)
- Coordination of area-wide pooling programs
with local transit
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b. Human-Powered Travel Modes:

• Bicycling and walking

• Potential effect of a substantial shift from autos
to human-powered travel modes on reducing
congestion - great
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• Bicycling as Substitute for

Auto Travel

- Actions to encourage increased

bicycling (eg.: physical separation of
bicycle traffic from pedestrian and
vehicular traffic, parking facilities near
major trip generators)
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• Walking as a substitute for Auto Travel:

- Walking short distances rather than

driving can have a significant effect on
reducing urban congestion and air
pollution and on conserving fuel

- Need to improve pedestrian traffic flow

and safety, and motivate the public to
walk short distances
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c. Auto-restricted Zones

- Restricting vehicles from entering or traveling

through specified zones.

- Reduces congestion, and can be used to attain

a number of community goals.
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6. Transit and Paratransit Service

Improvements:
a. Transit marketing
b. Security measures
c. Transit shelters
d. Transit terminals
e. Transit fare policies and fare
collection techniques
 63

a. Transit Marketing:
 Selling the transit system
• Market research
• Pricing policies
• Communication programs
• Program monitoring and evaluation
 64

b. Security Measures:
 Perception of security influences modal choice

 A number of TSM actions can help reduce

exposure to crime (eg.: improved scheduling
information and reliable frequent service –
reduce waiting times)
 65

• Station and vehicle patrol

• Alarms and signals

• Aerial surveillance

• Station design features

- Important
- Based on concept of visibility
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- Considerations.
• Minimizing the number of locations where a person can
conceal
• Improving lighting
• Concentrating the number of passenger waiting areas
and entry/exit points
• Increasing the transparency of shelters
• Optimizing lines of sight
• Closed circuit television - provides visual
information
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c. Transit Shelters:
- Amount of excess time (time to and from pickup
point and/or waiting time) deterrent to transit
travel – this time to be reduced
- Reduce the disutility of waiting by adding
amenities at stops (eg.: shelters)
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- Amenities at shelters – lighting,

telephones, heating, trash
receptacles, route maps and
schedules, bicycle racks, etc; Clear
visibility from the shelter is important

- Sheltered stops can be combined

with bus services to promote
efficiency (eg.: “semi-express”
service)
 69

d. Transit Terminals:
- Satisfy collection, distribution and transfer
functions
• Central area terminals

• Outlying transfer terminals - function as collection

centers
 70

e. Transit Fare Policies and Fare Collection

Techniques:
• Fare levels: peak vs. non peak fares
• Fare collection techniques
- Exact fare systems
- Prepaid fare systems
- Postpaid fare systems
- No-barrier fare collection systems (no fare gates for
control of entry and exit)
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7. Transit Management Efficiency Measures:

a. Route evaluation
b. Vehicle communications and
monitoring techniques
c. Maintenance policies
d. Evaluation of system performance
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a. Route Evaluation:
- To determine how well existing routes and
schedules respond to demand
- Major parameters: spacing of route and transit
stops, determining headways and route layout,
and assessing vehicle loading standards
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b. Vehicle Communication and Monitoring

Techniques:

- Fleet-to-base real-time information exchange

allows for supervising and monitoring route
operations more effectively
 74

• Two-way radio systems

• Automatic Vehicle Monitoring (AVM)

• Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL)

• Street monitoring

- Transit checkers
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c. Maintenance Policies:

- Effective maintenance:
• Minimizes repair and operating costs
• Reduces number of vehicles out of service
• Improves reliability and dependability of the vehicles
in service

- Main element - improved scheduling of maintenance

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d. Evaluation of System Performance:

- Important aspect

- Internal efficiency largely depends on the type of control

management exercises over the financial and
operational aspects of the system’s performance
 Discussion on IRC SP:43
77

Guidelines on Low-cost Traffic Management

Techniques for Urban Areas
- Indian Roads Congress Special Publication 43
 Regulation and Control of Heterogeneous Traffic
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Heterogeneous Traffic:
 Mix-up of vehicles is high
 Ordered queue and lane disciplines seldom exist
 Complex vehicle interactions & manoeuvres

Homogeneous Traffic

Heterogeneous Traffic Heterogeneous Traffic

Homogeneous Traffic
 Traffic Engineering and Other Measures*
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Segregation of Traffic
 Physical

 By time

 By direction

Restriction of Slow Moving Traffic on Certain Roads

Restriction of Heavy Commercial Vehicles on Certain
Streets
Restriction of Public Transport Buses on Certain Streets
One-way Streets
* Guidelines on Regulation and Control of Mixed Traffic in Urban Areas, IRC:70, Indian Roads
Congress
 80

Avoiding Penetration of Through Traffic

Bus Curb-loading Areas
Loading and Unloading
of Commercial Traffic
Cycle Traffic
Pedestrian Traffic
 Pedestrian Precincts
 Pedestrian Sidewalks
 Crosswalks
 Refuge Island
 Pedestrian Guard-rails
 Sub-ways and Overbridges
 Summary
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 Today’s urban transportation problems – cause for serious

concern

 Need for short-, medium- and long-term solutions

 A spectrum of TSM actions (low-cost, short-term) are relevant

 They can serve as interim solutions

 Need is to identify appropriate actions for given situations,

evaluate the implications of their implementation, and
adopt/adapt them suitably
 Acknowledgement - Websites
(for pictures)
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http://www.teamstersonline.com/forums/community-lounge/8271-traffic-los-angeles.html
http://allworldcars.com/wordpress/?p=11866
http://philip9876.com/2008/07/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/riot/48712135/
http://www.techrequirements.com/NEWS/Hyderabad/200706300512.htm
http://www.ghanatoghana.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/accra-ghana.jpg
http://www.ghanalinx.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/ghanatraffic-300x222.jpg