CE 408 - TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING

MODULE 1 – PART 2
TRANSPORTATION AS A SYSTEM
Christian Y. Ibonia, RCE
2nd Term A.Y. 2023 - 2024
WHAT IS
TRANSPORTATION
SYSTEM?

• Mobility is a basic need

• Transportation plays a
major role in the
development of the
human civilization.
 TRANSPORTATION AS A SYSTEM

In the last couple of decades transportation systems analysis has emerged as a

recognized profession. More and more government organizations, universities,
researchers, consultants, and private industrial groups around the world are
becoming truly multi-modal in their orientation and are opting a systematic
approach to transportation problems.
 DIVERSE CHARACTERISTICS

1. Multi-modal: Covering all modes of transport; air, land, and sea for both
passenger and freight.
2. Multi-sector: Encompassing the problems and viewpoints of government,
private industry, and public.
3. Multi-problem: Ranging across a spectrum of issues that includes national
and international policy, planning of regional system, the location and design
of specific facilities, carrier management issues, regulatory, institutional and
financial policies.
 STUDY CONTEXT
1. Planning range: Urban transportation planning, producing long range
plans for 5-25 years for multi-modal transportation systems in urban areas
as well as short range programs of action for less than five years.
2. Passenger transport: Regional passenger transportation, dealing with
inter-city passenger transport by air, rail, and highway and possible with
new modes.
3. Freight transport: Routing and management, choice of different modes of
rail and truck.
4. International transport: Issues such as containerization, inter-modal co-
ordination.
FOUR CRITICAL DIMENSIONS OF CHANGE IN TRANSPORTATION
SYSTEM
1. Change in the demand: When the population, income, and land-use
pattern changes, the pattern of demand changes; both in the amount and
spatial distribution of that demand.
2. Changes in the technology: As an example, earlier, only two alternatives
(bus transit and rail transit) were considered for urban transportation. But,
now new systems like LRT, MRTs, etc. offer a variety of alternatives.
FOUR CRITICAL DIMENSIONS OF CHANGE IN TRANSPORTATION
SYSTEM
3. Change in operational policy: Variety of policy options designed to
improve the efficiency, such as incentive for car-pooling, bus fare, road
tolls etc.
4. Change in values of the public: Earlier all beneficiaries of a system was
monolithically considered as users. Now, not one system can be beneficial
to all, instead one must identify the target groups like rich, poor, young,
work trip, leisure etc.
 THE ROLE OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEER
• The core of this is the transportation system analysis approach.
• The focus of this is the interaction between the transportation and activity
systems of region.
• This approach is to intervene, delicately and deliberately in the complex
fabric of society to use transport effectively in coordination with other
public and private actions to achieve the goals of that society.
• Must have substantial understanding of the transportation systems and
their interaction with activity systems; which requires understanding of the
basic theoretical concepts and available empirical knowledge.
 BASIC PREMISE OF A
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
MODES
• Conveyances used for the mobility of
passengers and freight
• Mobile elements of transportation

INFRASTRUCTURES
• Physical support of transport modes,
such as routes and terminals
• Fixed elements of transportation
including superstructures
 BASIC PREMISE OF A
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
NETWORKS
• System of linked locations (nodes)
• Functional and spatial organization of
transportation

FLOWS
• Movements of people, freight and
information over their network
• Flows have origins, intermediary
locations and destinations
MAJOR DISCIPLINES OF
TRANSPORTAION

Transportation engineering can be

broadly consisting of the four major
parts:
1. Transportation Planning
2. Geometric Design
3. Pavement Design
4. Traffic Engineering
TRANSPORTATION PLANNING

This involves the

development of a transport
model which will accurately
represent both the current
as well as future
transportation system.
 GEOMETRIC DESIGN

It deals with physical

proportioning of other
transportation facilities, in
contrast with the structural
design of the facilities.
• Cross-sectional features
• Horizontal alignment
• Vertical alignment and
intersections
PAVEMENT ANALYSIS AND
DESIGN
Pavement design deals with the
structural design of roads, both
(bituminous and concrete),
commonly known as flexible
pavements and rigid pavements
respectively.
It deals with the design of paving
materials, determination of the
layer thickness, and construction
and maintenance procedures.
PAVEMENT ANALYSIS AND
DESIGN

Structural design ensures the

pavement has enough strength to
withstand the impact of loads,
functional design emphasizes on
the riding quality, and the drainage
design protects the pavement
from damage due to water
infiltration.
TRAFFIC ENGINEERING

Traffic engineering covers a broad

range of engineering applications
with a focus on the safety of the
public, the efficient use of
transportation resources, and the
mobility of people and goods.
It involves a variety of engineering
and management skills, including
design, operation, and system
optimization.
TRAFFIC ENGINEERING BECOMING MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER
1. With the rise of international trade, traffic engineering and logistics are
becoming more important than ever before.
2. People are not afraid to order from foreign e-shops these days and goods
are flowing around the whole world.
3. This is, of course, very demanding in terms of transportation logistics so
companies are always looking for capable traffic engineers.
TRANSPORTAION PLANNING
Transportation planning essentially
involves the development of a transport
model which will accurately represent
both the current as well as future
transportation system.
OTHER IMPORTANT DISCIPLINES
- PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

• It deals with study of the transportation system that meets the

travel need of several people by sharing a vehicle.
• The major topics include characteristics of various modes;
planning, management and operations; and policies for
promoting public transportation.
OTHER IMPORTANT DISCIPLINES
- FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

• Transportation facilities require large capital investments.

• When government invests in transportation, its objective is not
often monetary returns; but social benefits.
• On the contrary, private sector investments require monetary
profits from the projects.
OTHER IMPORTANT DISCIPLINES
- ACCIDENT ANALYSIS AND REDUCTION

• One of the silent killers of humanity is transportation.

• Several statistics evaluates that more people are killed due to
transportation than great wars and natural disasters.
• This discipline of transportation looks at the causes of
accidents, from the perspective of human, road, and vehicle
and formulate plans for the reduction.
OTHER IMPORTANT DISCIPLINES
- INTELLIGENT TRANSPORT SYSTEM

• Intelligent transportation system offers better mobility,

efficiency, and safety with the help of the state-of-the-art-
technology.
 ROLE OF TRANSPORTATION IN SOCIETY
• It exhibits a very close relation to the style of life, the range and location of
activities and the goods and services which will be available for
consumption.
• Transportation is responsible for the development of civilizations from very
old times by meeting travel requirement of people and transport
requirement of goods.
• In developed and developing nations, a large fraction of people travel daily
for work, shopping and social reasons.
• However, transport also consumes a lot of resources like time, fuel,
materials and land.
 ECONOMIC ROLE OF TRANSPORTAION
• The place, time, quality and utility of goods.
• Changes in location of activities
• Transport extends the range of sources of supply of goods to be
consumed in an area, making it possible for user to get
resources at cheap price and high quality.
• The use of more efficient systems of supply results in an
increase in the total amount of goods available for
consumption.
• Since the supply of goods is no longer dependent on the type
of mode, items can be supplied by some alternative resources
if usual source can not supply what is needed.
 SOCIAL ROLE OF TRANSPORTAION
• Formation of settlements
• Size and pattern of settlements
• Growth of urban centers
 POLITICAL ROLE OF TRANSPORTAION
• Administration of an area
 The government of an area must be able to send/get
information to/about its people. It may include laws to be
followed, security and other needful information needed to
generate awareness.
• Political choices in transport
 The political decision of construction and maintenance of roads
has resulted in the development of transportation system.
 ENVIRONMENTAL ROLE OF TRANSPORTAION
• Safety
• Air Pollution
• Noise pollution
• Energy consumption
 TRANSPORTAION TECHNOLOGY

Technology has also contributed to substantial shifts in transportation

equilibrium.
• A dramatic example was the introduction of jet aircraft, which can
minimize the travel time compared to passenger ship.
• The creation of bullet train which can travel as fast as 320 kph has
becoming popular nowadays in most developed countries because of its
safety and efficiency compared to aircraft.
 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

• The environmental effects of transport is significant because transport is a

major user of energy, and burns most of the world’s petroleum.
• This creates air pollution, including nitrous oxides and particulates, and is a
significant contributor to global warming through emission of carbon
dioxide.
• To address the situation, the government formulates a variety of transport
regulation and policies in order to control the over supply of transportation
from private to public transport.
 PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Public Transportation is a generic term
used to describe the family of transit
services available to urban and rural
residents.

TRANSIT MODES
Mass Transit
Characterized by fixed routes, published
schedules, designated networks and
specified stops like buses, light rail,
jeepneys and etc.
 PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Paratransit
Characterized by flexible and
personalized service intended to replace
conventional fixed-route, fixed-schedule
mass-transit lines like taxi, car rental and
etc.
Ridesharing (“Pakyawan”)
Characterized by two or more persons
travelling together by pre-arrangement
like uber, grab and etc.
 TRANSPORTAION ORGANIZATION

These organizations/agencies were essential to the transportation system to

function.

7 Categories of Organization in Transportation

1. Private Companies – available for hire companies (Transport Companies)
2. Regulatory Agencies – monitors the transport companies (LTFRB)
3. National Agencies – legislation for national level (DOTr)
 TRANSPORTAION ORGANIZATION

4. State and Local Agencies and Authorities – planning, design and

construction (DPWH)
5. Trade Associations – representatives for marketing and business
(petroleum companies, automobile companies)
6. Professional Societies – planning consultants (AASHTO)
7. Users of Transport Services – transportation consumer (CUP)
 THE ROLE AND FUTURE OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Public transportation is an important element of the total transportation

services provided within large and small metropolitan areas.
It also serves medium- and low-density areas by offering an option for auto
owners who do not wish to drive and an essential service to those without
access to auto-mobiles, such as school children, senior citizens, single-auto
families, and others who may be economically or physically disadvantaged.
 FACTORS BAD FOR TRANSIT

• Growth of suburbs
• Industry and employment moving from the central city
• Increased suburb-to-suburb commuting
• Migration of the population to the south and west
• Loss of population in "frost-belt" cities
• Growth in private vehicle ownership
• Increased diversity in vehicle types such as SUVs, pickup trucks, and RVs
• High cost per km to construct fixed-rail transit lines
• High labor costs
 FACTORS BAD FOR TRANSIT

• Emphasis by the federal government on air quality

• Higher prices of gasoline
• Depletion of energy resources
• Trends toward higher-density living
• Legislation to encourage "livable cities" and "smart growth"
• Location of mega-centers in suburbs
• Need for airport access and circulation within airports
• Increased number of seniors who cannot or choose not to drive
 FACTORS NEUTRAL FOR TRANSIT

• Increases in telecommuting may require less travel to a work site.

• Internet shopping and e-commerce could reduce shopping trips.
• Changes in work schedules to accommodate childcare could increase trip
chaining
• Staggering work hours, flex-time, and four-day work weeks reduce peak-
hour congestion.
• Aging population, most of whom are not transit users, may continue to
drive.
• Increased popularity in walking and biking could be a substitute for transit
riding.
END OF DISCUSSION