Fueled by a multitude of factors: technological advancements and rapid urbanization, e-commerce sales ratios have nearly tripled globally between 2014 and 2019. There has never been a time of greater change for the “last mile”. Consumers order more things online, expecting more control and faster deliveries. This desire is currently satisfied by an increasing number of delivery vehicles, with an estimated 36% increase in these vehicles among the top 100 global cities by 2030. Consequently, emissions from delivery traffic will increase by 32% and congestion will rise by over 21%, equaling an additional 11 minutes of commute time for each passenger every day.
Iowa State University Tom Maze Seminar along with ATPIO is jointly hosting a webinar on “Asset Management of Transportation Infrastructure” on 8th March, 2019; 12:00 PM ET (10:30 PM IST).
Webinar Registration: Please register for the webinar by filling out your details in https://bit.ly/2rlsWX6 or sending emails to atpio.secretary@gmail.com, with the following subject: “Webinar Mar 2019 Registration”.
Abstract:
With trillions of dollars invested in the US transportation infrastructure, the need for its well-planned life cycle management is undeniable. This presentation will discuss Vision, Mission, Goals & Components of basic asset management plans; as they relate to infrastructure health, safety and transportation mobility. Further, it will discuss required multi-disciplinary approach, conceptual framework and the process of systematic lifecycle management of transportation assets. Although focus of the presentation will be on roads, bridges and highway infrastructure, the conceptual framework and process will be similar for other modes of transportation, as well. The presentation will include observations and examples of post- Interstate era asset management practices in US. It will conclude with observations on potential hurdles, relevant issues and current trends in the development and implementation of transportation asset management plans.
Speaker: Arun Shirolé, PE, FIE President & CEO, S & A Shirolé, Inc.
Arun Shirolé has Master’s degrees in civil engineering and in business administration. He was a Transportation Fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Mr. Shirolé is internationally well known for his engineering and management expertise. He has over 40 years of experience covering planning, design, construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of bridges and highways. He was the first Executive Director of the National Steel Bridge Alliance (NSBA) and is now NSBA’s Executive Director Emeritus. Previously, he served as the Director of Structures and the Deputy Chief Engineer (1989-95) for the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) in Albany, NY. Mr. Shirolé is well-known for directing the development and implementation of NYSDOT’s comprehensive Bridge Management and Safety Assurance (BSA) Programs as well as NYSDOT’s own Uniform Code of Bridge Inspection. Mr. Shirolé has been involved in the constructability reviews of Owensboro Bridge in Kentucky and T Y Lin’s Signature, Bay Bridge design. In 2001-02, he served as a member of the Independent Review Team of national experts for Woodrow Wilson Bridge in Washington, DC. Mr. Shirolé was responsible for risk assessment and mitigation aspects for highway infrastructure in the development of asset management framework for the Interstate System.
We would like to invite you to the Association of Transportation Professionals of Indian Origin (ATPIO) annual meeting at the 2019 TRB Annual Meeting in Washington DC.
Date and Time: Sunday, January 13, 2019 from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Location: TRB Annual Meeting, Room 103B Convention Center, Washington, DC
Like previous ATPIO meetings, this will also be semi-formal setup. Agenda and further details will be provided in a few days. It is an opportunity to become member, student member and/or volunteer of ATPIO.
Feel free to forward the invite to your colleagues and friends who will be attending TRB and will be around on Sunday. This is an excellent networking opportunity to get started at TRB 2019.
Traditionally within the United States, transportation choices have featured personal vehicles and to a lesser extent alternative modes, like transit, bicycles, and taxis. Bureau of Transportation Studies (BTS) indicated that more than 75% of the trips are “Drive alone” and the remaining 25% trips include all the alternative transport modes. A study conducted by researchers in California suggests that the United States transportation activity by itself accounts for nearly 70% of all petroleum consumption and about 30% of all the Greenhouse gas emissions. It roughly consumes 96% of all energy in the form of gasoline or diesel (Martin, E. W., & Shaheen, S. A. (2011)).
Source: EPA’s Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks 1990-2016
Revisiting the impacts of vehicular pollution, the EPA states that the majority of greenhouse gas emissions from transportation are due to the combustion of fossil fuels resulting in Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions. Majority of the Carbon Monoxide (CO) is produced when the vehicle is moving slow or when it is stuck in a poor traffic condition. Traffic congestions which are a product of the higher volume of vehicular flow lead to higher production of greenhouse gases.
Thanks to the emerging technologies as travelers are currently able to hail a private driver and vehicle (e.g., Lyft and Uber); rent an automotive or a bicycle for a brief trip (e.g., Zipcar and Bay area Bike Share); ride a shuttle on-demand (e.g., Bridj, Chariot, Via); and have groceries or takeaway delivered in someone’s personal vehicle (e.g., Postmates and Sidecar Deliveries)—all with the support of the web and smartphones. These innovative transportation services are increasing at a time when agencies, like State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) and regional Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), are more and more targeted on rising system potency and alleviating the negative environmental impacts of transportation.
Researchers around the world have studied and quantified the impacts of these shared mobility platforms and have suggested that there is a considerable impact on the environment and the traffic behavior with the improving usage statistics of these modes.
Although the percentage impact of Bike-share has not been widely quantified, early documented impacts include increased mobility, reduced GHG emissions, reduced automobile use, economic development, and health advantages. Past research by Shaheen, S. A. et al (2014) indicates that 50% of the respondents in their survey reported a reduction in personal vehicle usage. 5.5% of the respondents have reported having sold or postponed a vehicle purchase, 58% increased cycling.
Car-pooling / Ride-sharing reduces about 109,000 to 155,000 tons of GHG/year by observed impact (evaluation based on emissions that physically occur) and between 158,000 to 224,000 tons of GHG/year for full impact (based on emissions that would have happened anyway but were avoided or delayed due to carsharing). A study in SF estimated a total reduction of 450,000 to 900,000 gallons of gasoline per year is observed in the San Francisco Bay Area, which accounts up to 50-100 gallons per participant. Minett, P., & Pearce, J. (2011) estimated a total reduction of 450,000 to 900,000 gallons of gasoline per year is observed in San Francisco Bay Area, which accounts up to 50-100 gallons per participant.
All these aside, Ride-hailing is observed to have a negative impact on reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) by cannibalizing the public transit ridership by 33% and by 8% due to induced travel effect on the carless community. A study conducted by Henao, A. (2017) in Denver, indicated that the ride-hailing takes more vehicular trips to move fewer people (approximately, 100 vehicle miles to transport a passenger 60.8 miles (or nearly 40% out of service miles).
The more the number of vehicles on the road, the higher is the volume, the lower is the flow and hence the higher will be the emissions due to CO. Policy briefings are always important in order to facilitate the free movement of the HOVs. Also, licensure laws have to be adaptive in design, based on the city and its capacity to accommodate these shared vehicular fleet, which will stay on the roads most of the time. The below figure by Minett, P., & Pearce, J. describe the relationship between the energy consumption, vehicular flow rate, and speed.
The relationship between the speed/flow, vehicular congestions & Fuel consumption [Minett, P., & Pearce, J. (2011)]
Shared mobility collectively has a great potential to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions, however, there are certain limitations in terms of the policies and the accommodations that have to be addressed succinctly in order to facilitate a smooth transition between the modes. Policy advocacy plays an important role in controlling the food chain for these shared modes to fit into the bigger picture of the transport business model, otherwise might lead to cannibalization of existing low emission alternatives by smaller capacity cars that make multiple trips to facilitate the utilitarian needs of the users.
References:
Martin, E. W., & Shaheen, S. A. (2011). Greenhouse gas emission impacts of carsharing in North America. IEEE Transactions on intelligent transportation systems, 12(4), 1074-1086.
Shaheen, S. A., Martin, E. W., Cohen, A. P., Chan, N. D., & Pogodzinski, M. (2014). Public Bikesharing in North America During a Period of Rapid Expansion: Understanding Business Models, Industry Trends & User Impacts, MTI Report 12-29.
Minett, P., & Pearce, J. (2011). Estimating the energy consumption impact of casual carpooling. Energies, 4(1), 126-139.
Kaviti, S., M.M. Venigalla, S. Zhu, K. Lucas, and S. Brodie. (2018). Impact of Pricing and Transit Disruptions on Bikeshare Ridership and Revenue. Transportation. Springer Publications. (http://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-018-9904-5).
Arun Shirolé has Master’s degrees in civil engineering and in business administration. He was a Transportation Fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Mr. Shirolé is internationally well known for his engineering and management expertise. He has over 40 years of experience covering planning, design, construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of bridges and highways. He was the first Executive Director of the National Steel Bridge Alliance (NSBA) and is now NSBA’s Executive Director Emeritus. Previously, he served as the Director of Structures and the Deputy Chief Engineer (1989-95) for the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) in Albany, NY. Mr. Shirolé is well-known for directing the development and implementation of NYSDOT’s comprehensive Bridge Management and Safety Assurance (BSA) Programs as well as NYSDOT’s own Uniform Code of Bridge Inspection. Mr. Shirolé has been involved in the constructability reviews of Owensboro Bridge in Kentucky and T Y Lin’s Signature, Bay Bridge design. In 2001-02, he served as a member of the Independent Review Team of national experts for Woodrow Wilson Bridge in Washington, DC. Mr. Shirolé was responsible for risk assessment and mitigation aspects for highway infrastructure in the development of asset management framework for the Interstate System.
