Transportation in the US: Policies, Challenges, and Various Approaches - Research Paper Example

?Transportation in the United s: Policies, Challenges, and Various Approaches Introduction The overcrowded roads in California and other major cities in the United States need no charts or detailed formulas in order to be exposed. Congestion is tangible and salient; it affects every social class, every segment of the economy, and every aspect of one’s daily life. A brief background and overview of the congestion problem in the United States will help us to better understand the reasons for congestion and the proper policies needed to address the problem. The growing number of private cars and the rise of the automobile industry as well as innovative designs paved the way for various researches that came up with a number of approaches to traffic flow and traffic jam modeling as well. It is therefore imperative to have a thorough understanding of these approaches and traffic jam models. Thus, the paper deals with the theory of kinetic waves, principles underlying the traffic jam behavior, the classic car-following models, Optimal Velocity Model (OVM), and the Time-Oriented CA (TOCA). Similarly, it is essential to prove into the transportation policies of the nation as well and so the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) is elaborately discussed in the paper. The paper also deals with the relation between transportation costs and the economics of commodity markets and throws light on how transportation affects sustainability and environmental justice. The results of the study pinpoint that the current transportation system is unsustainable and needs to be refocused to a long-term sustainable model. This necessitates a comprehensive policy that promotes an accessible and reliable system of public transit that can withstand the drawbacks of the current system. Approaches to Traffic Flow and Traffic Jam Modelling Nagel, Wagner & Woesler (2003) deal elaborately with the various approaches to traffic flow and traffic jam modeling. During the 1950s the theory of kinetic waves was employed to provide the fundamental insights to traffic jams, their formation and stability. Traffic flow was often described with the use of a so-called fundamental diagram where traffic flow was represented by q and density by p. As such, it was estimated that there was “no flow when there is no car on the road, p = 0, and there is also no flow when there is a dense jam, p = Pmax” (Nagel, Wagner & Woesler, 2003, p. 682). Thus, there takes place free flow regime at low densities whereas high densities would contribute to a congested regime. Even though traffic jams cannot be directly observed from the fundamental diagram, it is evident that traffic jams, once made, remain stable and prevent the flow of traffic. It is also possible that there can be phase transitions from free flow to synchronized, from synchronized to the jammed phase and from free flow to jammed. However, when it comes to traffic measurements measurement of density unlike flow or velocity requires space averaging too. Similarly, large errors of density estimate can be resulted from even small errors at low velocities. Field measurements can also get varied due to spatio-geometrical factors such as upstream or downstream roads, inflows or outflows. Usually, jam occurs when there are more vehicles added to the upstream front than that are being released at the downstream front. The spatial extension of the traffic block can be understood by the theory of kinetic waves. However, it is also necessary to take into account such basic ingredients as excluded volume, inertia, and slow acceleration and at times it is also essential to add further complexity to create real-world forecasts (Nagel, Wagner & Woesler, 2003, p. 684). Intuitive jam stability occurs when more vehicles join at the queue at the upstream end when the first vehicle starts to move at the downstream end after the traffic jam. This can contribute to a cluster of vehicles of velocity zero in the traffic jam queue and in such cases the outflow from the jam will be a fixed quality leading to Intuitive jam stability. A clear understanding of the traffic jam behavior necessitates a knowledge regarding such factors as stability, break down and phase transitions. Modeling traffic flow deserves attention in this regard. Dynamical traffic modeling consists of two principal methods, namely microscopic and fluid dynamical. While microscopic methods regards every individual car as a particle some sorts of aggregation takes place in the fluid-dynamical approach. It is also worthwhile to consider the reaction argument which emphasizes that when two vehicles move at a constant speed and distance the space headway should be proportional to speed. For instance, when two cars move with a constant distance and constant speed it is likely that there occurs a crash or breaking when the reaction delay and anticipation level of the second car driver varies from the first one when the first car suddenly brakes at some point. Therefore, it is imperative that drivers pay attention to maintaining the same breaking distance to avoid accidents or crashes. As such the relation between one’s space headway and the reaction delay is significant which highlight that the headway should be larger than one’s reaction time to avoid traffic jams caused by crashes. All these point towards the need to measure and determine the desired distance to be travelled at various speed levels. For this, one needs to take into account such variables as the spatial location, the speed, and the acceleration. The classic car-following models stress on the instability of traffic flow. Nagel, Wagner & Woesler observe that any space headway is in a fixed-point solution when the following car has the same speed as the leader car. The fixed-point solution is to be understood in tune with the limit set and velocity of the leading car. On the other hand, the Optimal Velocity Model (OVM) holds that homogeneous solution becomes unstable when vehicles move at different velocities and in such cases regions of free flow is likely to be separated by one or more jams. Thus, it can be argued that variations in densities will often result in linear instability. However, it can be seen that the OVM is not absolutely free of crashes as it depicts unrealistic large accelerations. The effectiveness of combined models has also been pointed out. Such combined models take into account such factors as the drivers’ goals, the surroundings, desired velocity and desired gaps. Cellular Automata Models that resort to computer implementations take into account discrete time and discrete space. Thus, the CA Models for traffic not only deals with time and reaction time but also the length that a vehicle occupies in a jam (Nagel, Wagner & Woesler, 2003, p. 694). It can also be seen that the CA Models are rule based rather than being equation based. The start-stop regime needs to be clearly defined in terms of the average speed and average flow. With regard to traffic jams, if jams are to be stable, “the reaction time and thus the minimum time headway need to be smaller than the escape time of vehicles from the jam” (Nagel, Wagner & Woesler, 2003, p. 696). The Time-Oriented CA (TOCA) is yet another effective realistic model that where “vehicles should accelerate and decelerate at larger distances to the vehicle ahead than in the STCA, and resort to emergency braking only if they get too close” (Nagel, Wagner & Woesler, 2003, p. 697). The velocity of the car ahead is a significant variable in the CA Models and the primary purpose is to maintain a collision-free parallel environment. The concept of synchronized traffic, the open versus closed boundaries, modeling headways, Micro-Macro link and Kinetic theory, regional traffic stimulations, multilane traffic, and more Realistic Single-Lane Models have also contributed towards transportation management. Transportation: the Rise of the Automobile Industry and Innovative Designs Congestion in California will continue to worsen because we are a growing population that relies heavily upon our automobiles to get us to where we need to be. Congestion causes delay, and delay leads to costs. Wasted fuel results from idling cars, and so does increased pollution. Congested roads also lead to more traffic accidents which in turn lend to more delay. Mount (1999) makes it clear that the growing number of private cars in the United States has increased the significance of the automobile industry. There have also been increased efforts made by car manufacturing companies to design new products that cater best to the changed social, economic, and environmental conditions and demands of customers. Thus, it can be seen the new generation of cars attract large number of customers through highly innovative designs as well as affordable prices. Ford's Model T and the original Volkswagen Beetle, for instance, have brought about revolutionary changes in the car industry. These changes have prompted the automobile exhibition undertaken by the Museum of Modern Art to look at “innovation in materials, structures, and marketing of these economy cars” (Mount, 1999, p. 4). There have also been attempts to design cars that suited for different environments. As a result, the modern era witnessed the introduction of such cars as the Smart Car by Daimler Chrysler ‘intended for transportation in overcrowded urban environments’, the Al 2 by Audi ‘manufactured largely from aluminum, which saves weight and adds strength’, and the 1996 Ford Ka and the new Rover Mini which are perfect examples for ‘the new redesign of the affordable, populist cars’ (Mount, 1999, p. 4). It is thus evident that these new types of smaller economic cars have contributed heavily towards the overcrowded roads in Californian and other states of the nation. Transportation Costs and the Economics of Commodity Markets Roehner (1996) shows how transportation costs dominate the economics of commodity markets in the United States and the author tries to analyze the effect of changing transport costs taking into account variables such as “the magnitude of spatial price differentials, the progress of market integration and the corresponding decrease in spatial price differentials, the historical evolution of price volatility, and the development of trade” (Roehner, 1996, p. 339). It can be seen that decreases in transport costs are likely to reduce price volatility and vice versa. More of trade relations are likely to take place when transportation rates get decreased as it becomes easier for distant markets to collaborate each other. It has been identified that “when transportation costs are high, the price volatility is equal to the standard deviation of local shocks” and “when transportation costs are low, the price volatility tends to a lower limit” (Roehner, 1996, p. 344). Similarly, when the transportation costs are high, the market has no regularization effect. Transportation policy of the United States Transportation plays an important role in the society and also in the day today life of every individual as it is connected with the transfer of goods and services. The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) which was signed in the year 1991 has contributed immensely towards the reformation of surface transportation system of the United Sates and succeeded in reducing traffic congestions and also in the reconstruction of infrastructure. The reauthorization made in the ISTEA and also the introduction of the ‘Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century’ in the year 1998 has authorized the member states of the United States to make independent decisions regarding the direction of their transportation system. The Congress decided to increase the ISTEA budget by 30 percent and also the transportation funds considerably for the member states along with providing flexibility in transferring funds allocated for a particular program to another (Dilger, 1998, p 49). ISTEA produced “$24 billion surface-transportation block grant, established a new, $21 billion, 155,000-mile National Highway System, created a $32 billion mass-transit program” and also provided funds for some particular transportation means such as interstate maintenance and bridges (Dilger, 1998, p 49). ISTEA also supported the ‘Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs)’ in various areas such as the selection of projects, identification of innovative techniques to solve the problem of traffic congestion and pavement maintenance and also to revise reimbursement rates for different means of transportation. It gave importance to various issues such as traffic blocks, air pollution and also the improvement of economic productivity (Dilger, 1998, p.50). The surface transportation block grant amounting to $ 24 billion created by ISTEA is considered to be the most important part of its decentralized transportation policy making. The states are provided with the directions to use the fund and were directed to keep 10 percent each of the funds exclusively for transportation safety programs and also for transportation enhancement activities such as beautification and landscaping, utilization of idle railway tracks by converting them in to bicycle tracks or walkways and also the regulation of outdoor advertising media and activities. Activities such as, rehabilitation, construction of highways and mass transit constitute the areas were rest of the fund could be used. The common method adopted by majority of the states is to allocate 62.5 percent of the STP funds towards programs to be carried out in urban areas and the remaining amount to other regions (Dilger, 1998, p.51). There are restrictions for the fund transfer even though the states are allowed to transfer fund allocated for a particular program to another. It is necessary for a state to get approval from the US Secretary of Transportation for the complete reallocation of fund from the highway funds to any other non highway transit program but the states are allowed to make partial transfers up to 50 percent of the fund without any approval. States are also authorized to transfer 20 percent of their interstate maintenance fund and 50 percent of their bridge funds to their STP and a complete transfer of the interstate maintenance fund is possible if their interstate maintenance needs are met. Therefore transportation administrators are able to plan and execute suitable transportation programs and projects for their states using the STP fund allocation formula together with the flexible funds (Dilger, 1998, p.51). Most of the state departments of transportation have favored highway construction projects in urban areas where the density of population is high and therefore allocated their transportation funds mainly towards such projects. It became the responsibility of each state to formulate their long term and short term transportation plans consulting with the MPOs and local governments in metropolis and suburban areas respectively to bring about improvements in transportation as a result of the decentralized transportation policy and it is also necessary to get the plans reassessed and sanctioned by the US secretary of transportation at an interval of two years. The clause of consultation with MPOs while formulating transportation plans necessitated ISTEA to form MPOs in urban areas where no MPOs were present. The preparation and renewal of long term as well as short term transportation policies for the metropolis were considered to be the primary responsibilities of MPOs. Provisions for maximizing the mobility of people and goods and also for reducing air pollution and fuel consumption related with transportation were expected to be considered while formulating these policies. The priority listing of transportation events is yet another important area of the policy formation process for transportation (Dilger, 1998, p.52). Sustainability, Environmental justice and transportation The environmental justice factor and also the principle of sustainability are two essential elements to be considered while formulating transportation policies. According to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (2002), “Environmental justice is based on the principle that all people have a right to be protected from environmental pollution and to live in and enjoy a clean and healthful environment. Environmental justice is the equal protection and meaningful involvement of all people with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies and the equitable distribution of environmental benefits” (Agyeman & Evans, 2003. p.36). Pollution is one of the major environmental issues faced by the global population and one could find a number of factors which cause or enhance environmental pollution. Transportation is an important causative factor of pollution and therefore the transportation policy formulation should focus on the reduction of pollution and should consider all possible methods to satisfy the objective of pollution control. Agyeman, Bullard, and Evans (2002) have defined the concept of sustainability as “the need to ensure a better quality of life for all, now and into the future, in a just and equitable manner, whilst living within the limits of supporting ecosystems” (Agyeman & Evans, 2003. p.36). Social equity, economic growth and environmental protection are the three interdependent concepts which together constitute the idea of sustainable development. One could find a relationship between the concepts of sustainable development and environmental justice as the former emphasizes on the assurance of better quality of life which could only be satisfied if environmental pollution is controlled together with bringing out social equity and economic growth. Transportation causes air pollution resulting from the expelled waste of automobile engines and also noise pollution during the construction and operation of vehicles (Agyeman & Evans, 2003. p.36). Conclusions The current transportation system is unsustainable and needs to be refocused to a long-term sustainable model. In order to address this complicated problem we need a comprehensive policy that promotes an accessible and reliable system of public transportation that can offer solutions to the existing transportation issues in the nation. Even though there are a large number of traffic jam transportation models it is evident that the present transportation scenario requires a much better comprehensive model. It is also evident from the above discussion that the ISTEA had immense impact in regulating the surface transportation of the United States and the reauthorization enabled the member states of the union to carry out appropriate planning and execution of transportation policies in order to solve transportation problems such as traffic congestion and environmental issues associated with transportation. The provision for transfer between projects also supported the local governments to execute transportation as well as infrastructure reconstruction programs according to their preferences. However, it can also be observed that the changed transportation scenario that has witnessed an undue growth in the automobile industry and innovative car designs requires more comprehensive transportation policies. References Agyeman, J. , & Evans, T. (2003). Toward just sustainability in urban communities: Building equity rights with sustainable solutions. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 590, 35-53. Dilger, R. (1998). Tea-21: Transportation policy, pork barrel politics, and American federalism. Publius, 28(1), 49-69. Mount, C. (1999). Different roads: Automobiles for the next century. MoMA, 2(6), 2-5. Nagel, K. , Wagner, P. , & Woesler, R. (2003). Still flowing: Approaches to traffic flow and traffic jam modeling. Operations Research, 51(5), 681-710. Roehner, B. (1996). The role of transportation costs in the economics of commodity markets. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 78(2), 339-353. Read More