In this paper, a bilevel programming model for the bus frequency design is presented, which determines the optimal bus frequencies aiming to minimize the total travel time of passengers subject to the constraint on the overall fleet size of each company by accounting for the route choice behaviors of the users. The objective of the lower level is to assign transit trips to bus route network based on optimal strategy. In the upper level, bus frequencies of routes are optimized as a result of passenger assignment. An iterative approach, which consists of a genetic algorithm and a label-marking method, is used to solve the bilevel model. Finally, the model and the algorithms are illustrated with two test examples. The results show that the optimization can improve the local service level of one company, and the proper integration of several companies probably improves the efficiency of resources and the service level of the whole transit system.

Effective prediction of bus arrival times is important to advanced traveler information systems (ATIS). Here a hybrid model, based on support vector machine (SVM) and Kalman filtering technique, is presented to predict bus arrival times. In the model, the SVM model predicts the baseline travel times on the basic of historical trips occurring data at given time‐of‐day, weather conditions, route segment, the travel times on the current segment, and the latest travel times on the predicted segment; the Kalman filtering‐based dynamic algorithm uses the latest bus arrival information, together with estimated baseline travel times, to predict arrival times at the next point. The predicted bus arrival times are examined by data of bus no. 7 in a satellite town of Dalian in China. Results show that the hybrid model proposed in this paper is feasible and applicable in bus arrival time forecasting area, and generally provides better performance than artificial neural network (ANN)–based methods. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In order to explore the effect of curb parking on dynamic traffic and formulate some reasonable and effective traffic management measures, the effects on capacity and traffic safety are studied. Four road segments with curb parking were selected as the investigation location. Several traffic characteristics and parameters were then investigated and counted, including traffic flow volume, speed, headway and traffic conflict. Based on a reduction of lane effective width and the Gap Acceptance Theory, two effect models describing curb parking and road capacity were constructed. Considering the factors involved in motor vehicle conflicts (such as non-motor vehicle lane distribution and stopping sight distance), the effects of curb parking on both motor vehicle and non-motor vehicle traffic safety was analyzed, as well as pedestrian crossing safety. This case study analyzes both the capacity and traffic safety of all four investigation segments. Results show that the lane effective width of road segment with curb parking significantly influences the road capacity and impacts the traffic flow volumes of the parking lane and its adjacent lane. Curb parking significantly effects traffic operation safety; however, it can be improved by implementing traffic safety management measures.

The pursuit of better performance by the local government can influence the investment decision-making related to port expansion. This paper compares the ceilings at which the port enterprise and the local government would stop making investments. To achieve this, the benefits to the port enterprise and the local government are measured over a given time period. An empirical study investigating how a port would respond if a rival port uses a type of capacity investment strategy is conducted for two major ports in Liaoning. The time at which the local government and the port enterprise would stop making investments and the final equilibrium are developed using the data from 2010. From the empirical results, it was found that investment in port capacity contributes greatly to the local government’s performance. Meanwhile, different investment ceilings are discovered for the port enterprise and the local government. This research is meaningful for discussing the institutional relationship between the local government and the port enterprise in China’s current decentralized port governance system. This paper is a revised and expanded version of a paper entitled ‘Port expansion mechanism in the context of political achievement of local government: a special phenomenon in China’ presented at International Association of Maritime Economists 2012 Taipei Conference during 5th September –8th September.