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29th Annual Conference of the TSSP
The Transportation Science Society of the Philippines (TSSP) held its 29th Annual Conference today, December 7, 2023. Following is the program for the conference, which featured a panel discussion in the morning and technical sessions in the afternoon.
This was the first mainly face-to-face or in-person conference for the society since 2019. Previously, the conferences were online. As reported in the concluding part of the program, there were 84 participants who showed up at the venue while there were 30+ participants who were online via Zoom.
There were a couple of awards at the conference. These were the Best Paper Award and the Best Presentation Award. The Best Paper Award, based on the scores garnered from the blind review of the papers went to:
Maria Belen Vasquez and Jun T. Castro of UP Diliman for their paper entitled “Exploring Travel Patterns of Mobility of Care in Guiuan, Eastern Samar: Assessment of Gender and Sociodemographic Factors Using Spatial Analysis”
There was a tie for the Best Presentation Award. The two were Ms. Vasquez for the presentation of the paper on the Mobility of Care in Eastern Samar, and Mr. Erris Sancianco for the presentation of a paper he co-authored with Noriel Christopher Tiglao, Niki Jon Tolentino, Gillian Kate Hidalgo, Mary Joy Leanda, and Lester Jay Ollero entitled “Evaluating the Fuel Efficiency and Eco-Driving Potential of the EDSA Carousel using On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) and Mobile Crowdsourcing“. These papers will likely find their way to the Philippine Transportation Journal’s next issue.
Though it was not announced, a likely venue for the next conference will be Vigan, Ilocos Sur in the Northern Philippines. The likely host will be the University of Northern Philippines, the premier state university in that province. Previously and most recently, the conference was held in Cebu City (hosted by the University of San Jose-Recoletos) in 2019 and before that in Cagayan De Oro City (hosted by Xavier University) in 2018. TSSP was already organizing the 2020 conference when the pandemic struck and the country went on a lockdown. That conference was supposed to have been held in Baguio City in Benguet, and to be hosted by St. Louis University.
More information on the conference may soon be found at the TSSP’s official website: https://ncts.upd.edu.ph/tssp/
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Article share: Drought and the Panama Canal
Here’s a quick share of an article on how a drought is affecting operations of the Panama Canal:
Eavis, P. (November 1, 2023) “Drought Saps the Panama Canal, Disrupting Global Trade,” Wired, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/01/business/economy/panama-canal-drought-shipping.html?unlocked_article_code=1.7kw.9CNJ.NKhQS8RCMh9h&smid=url-share [Last accessed: 11/3/2023]
From the article:
“But a drought has left the canal without enough water, which is used to raise and lower ships, forcing officials to slash the number of vessels they allow through. That has created expensive headaches for shipping companies and raised difficult questions about water use in Panama. The passage of one ship is estimated to consume as much water as half a million Panamanians use in one day…
Without a new water source, the canal could lose significant amounts of business. Other ocean routes are, of course, longer and more expensive, but they are less likely to have unpredictable delays. One alternative is to transport goods between Asia and United States through the Suez Canal to the East Coast and Gulf Coast. Another is to ship goods from Asia to the West Coast ports — and then transport them overland by train or truck…”
I suddenly remembered the current work along the Marikina River. The government is supposed to be working towards making the river navigable for the Pasig River Ferry to extend operations there. However, the depth of the river prevents regular, reliable operations. I wonder if the current project that includes flood control, riverside roads and erosion control components also will lead to a navigable depth for the river for most if not the whole year.
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Reference share – study on transport equity
Here is a quick share of a study report on equity in public transportation from the Mineta Transport Institute:
Defining and Equity in Public Transportation, https://transweb.sjsu.edu/research/2100-Public-Transit-Equity-Metrics-Measurement
Perhaps income, physical ability/disability, age and gender are the more applicable aspects of equity in our case. However, the concepts and methodology in the report may still be applicable and can be customized or contextualized for the Philippine setting.
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On micro mobility use of low-income people
We conclude September 2023 with another article share. This time it is about how low-income people use micro mobility.
Wilson, K. (September 20, 2023) “Study: How Low-Income People Really Use Micromobility,” StreetsBlog USA, https://usa.streetsblog.org/2023/09/20/study-how-low-income-people-really-use-micromobility [Last accessed: 9/30/2023]
To quote from the article:
“Low-income people are using shared micromobility a lot like they use public transit, a new study finds — and researchers think cities should thoroughly embrace (and subsidize) the mode as part of the larger ecosystem of buses and trains.
Researchers at Monash University, using survey data from micromobility giant Lime users across all income levels in the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand, dug deeper into how low-income people uniquely use the company’s vehicles.
Participants in the Lime Access program, which grants discounts of around “70 or 80 percent” to riders who qualify, were significantly more likely to list essential reasons like “shopping” for groceries (35 percent) and “commuting” (31 percent) than non-Access riders, 11 and 21 percent of whom rode to complete errands or go to work, respectively.
The discount recipients were also highly unlikely to go use bikes and scooters for non-essential reasons like social outings (12 percent), “joy-riding” (9 percent) or exploring (2 percent), quashing the stereotype that all micromobility trips are spontaneously generated. And a whopping 44 perccent of their trips connected to a traditional transit ride, compared to just 23 percent of people who paid full price.ago
Perhaps the most surprising findings, though, were riders’ qualitative responses about what micromobility meant to them, and how their lives were made better by having access to affordable ways to get around without a car. Calvin Thigpen — director of policy research for Lime and co-author of the report — says he was particularly moved by the number of riders with invisible disabilities who said Lime Access helped them get where they needed to go, even when local transit schedules didn’t meet their needs.”
The study was made in the First World (i.e., US, Australia and New Zealand) so while the methodology is sound, the subjects (i.e., what they defined as low-income) are not quite the same as low-income people in low to medium-income countries. The poor in the latter countries have more difficult lives but then these countries may already have the modes for them to be mobile – paratransit. Motorized tricycles, pedicabs and motorcycle taxis have been operating in these countries way before the arrival (or definition) of micromobilities.
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Article share: On the benefits of sidewalk networks
Here is another quick share of an article by Todd Litman on Planetizen. The article contains a lot of information or data about why we should be investing in sidewalks or pedestrian facilities (i.e., for walking).
Litman, T. (August 6, 2023) “Completing Sidewalk Networks: Benefits and Costs,” Planetizen, https://www.planetizen.com/blogs/124999-completing-sidewalk-networks-benefits-and-costs?utm_source=newswire&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news-08142023&mc_cid=cd3b2e2ba5&mc_eid=9ccfe464b1 [Last accessed: 9/23/2023]
To quote from the article:
“Walking is the most basic and universal travel mode, and sidewalks are the most basic walking infrastructure, but they are often overlooked and undervalued in transportation planning. Completing and improving sidewalk networks can help achieve many economic, social and environmental goals.
Recent case studies indicate that typical North American communities spend $30 to $60 annually per capita on sidewalks, and would need to double or triple these spending levels to complete their networks. This is a large increase compared with current pedestrian spending but small compared with what governments and businesses spend on roads and parking facilities, and what motorists spend on their vehicles. Sidewalk funding increases are justified to satisfy ethical and legal requirements, and to achieve various economic, social and environmental goals. There are several possible ways to finance sidewalk improvements. These usually repay their costs thorough savings and benefits.”
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Another look at home location choices
I recently shared an article showing the results of a survey conducted in the US. That survey appears to show that Americans prefer sprawl. But that may be due to many factors including political leanings that are actually mentioned in the article. I share another article that appears to be a reaction to the first one.
Lewyn, M. (August 14, 2023) “Do Americans Really Prefer Sprawl?” Planetizen, https://www.planetizen.com/blogs/125112-do-americans-really-prefer-sprawl?utm_source=newswire&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news-08142023&mc_cid=cd3b2e2ba5&mc_eid=9ccfe464b1 [Last accessed: 8/16/2023]
To quote from the article:
“Why do these surveys yield such drastically different results? The Pew survey notes that 3/4 of rural respondents favor the less walkable alternative; thus, that survey was apparently designed to include a representative sample of Americans, including rural Americans who typically do live in very spread-out environments. It seems to me quite natural that rural Americans would prefer rural lifestyles.
But once rural respondents are excluded, the balance between sprawl and walkable communities in the Pew survey becomes almost a toss-up. 57 percent of urban respondents refer houses with smaller yards and more walkability, and an almost-equal percentage of suburban respondents prefer the opposite.”
Again, I wonder what would be the outcomes if a similar survey were done in the Philippines. Will it reveal preferences for single detached homes rather than condos? Who will prefer the latter or the former? What could be the factors affecting home location choices in the Philippines? Cost is definitely a major factor. Commuting times perhaps and even commuting costs? But how do people weigh these factors? And what other influences are there to the decisions to purchase homes?
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Article share: On the busiest shipping routes
Here is an article on maritime transportation. I don’t get to feature similar topics here as mostly I have written about land and air transport. I thought this article is interesting because it describes maritime transport traffic volume. Statistics like these appear to be trivial but are important especially from the perspective of logistics as well as, if you delve in to it, maritime security.
Piper, G. (July 11, 2023) “The busiest shipping routes in the world by the numbers,” Medium, https://grantpiperwriting.medium.com/the-busiest-shipping-routes-in-the-world-by-the-numbers-c09571ad5af6 [Last accessed: 8/2/2023]
To quote from the article:
“The vast majority of world trade sees Asia as the focal point. Both Europe and North America do heavy volumes of trade with Asia, mostly imports. But three of the five busiest shipping routes in the world are all internal routes. Europe-Europe, North America-North America, and Asia-Asia. That means that vast amounts of global trade are still relatively local.
Large importers like the United States and England drive massive amounts of trade. Large exporters, like China, Korea, and Japan, also drive massive amounts of trade. The areas where these terminuses link up are the busiest hotspots for global trade.”
A while back in 2004-2005, I was involved in an inter-regional passenger and freight flow study in the Philippines. We gathered data on maritime transport and were able to derive the OD tables for inter-regional and inter-island passenger and freight flow. Unfortunately, those studies and surveys had no follow-up or updating afterwards. There is a saying that “you can’t manage what you can’t measure.” This applies to transport as well so perhaps there are data somewhere and someone’s using them. We hope government agencies are able to collect the data required to analyze and improve maritime transport in the country.
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On using Google Maps to determine the best route from the pollution perspective
I saw this article on digital maps (i.e., Google Maps) being used to determine the best route for traveling between an origin and destination on land. It is interesting because what we usually use as basis for selecting our routes (assuming we can do so since people taking public transport basically have fewer options due to PUVs having mostly fixed routes) are travel time, travel distance and travel cost. Here is the article discussing the addition of fuel efficiency and emissions to the criteria:
Calma, J. (July 25, 2023) “People are using Google Maps to cut down tailpipe pollution,” The Verge, https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/24/23805652/google-maps-fuel-efficient-routes-transportation-emissions [Last accessed: 7/29/2023]
To quote from the article:
“According to Google’s own analysis, many drivers are taking the path of least pollution in their cars. To calculate the tailpipe emissions that prevented, the company compared how much fuel Maps users likely consumed on the routes they drove to how much fuel they would have burned through had they taken the fastest route without its eco-friendly routing tool. The savings amounted to 1.2 million metric tons of avoided CO2 emissions between October 2021, when Google launched the tool, and December 2022.”
While this seems to be a first foray into the including of eco-friendly items in route choice, these items are already and actually included in many travel planners including those used by people selecting which flights to take. We probably just didn’t notice them before or the information were not explicitly stated or posted. Would this really affect or influence the way we travel like how it is reported in the article? Or do we continue to go with the usual and familiar routes?
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Article on “Fair Share Transportation Planning”
I am sharing this new article from Todd Litman on fair share transportation planning. The content is relevant and very timely in the Philippines considering many people including and especially transport officials are struggling with the thought of allocating resources to provide or improve facilities geared towards more equitable transport systems (e.g., more facilities for active transport).
Here’s the summary as quoted from the article:
“To be efficient and equitable, a transportation system must serve diverse demands. A diverse transportation system allows travelers to use the most efficient option for each trip—safe walking and bicycling for local errands, efficient public transit when traveling on busy travel corridors, and automobiles when they are truly the most cost-effective mode considering all impact—and it ensures that people who cannot, should not, or prefer not to drive receive their fair share of public investments.
Current transportation planning practices are biased in various ways that overinvest in automobile infrastructure and underinvest in more affordable, inclusive, and efficient modes. It is time for planners to reconsider our analysis methods and funding practices to ensure that non-auto modes, and therefore non-drivers, receive their fair share of transportation resources.
This is not anti-car. Motorists have good reasons to support more investments in non-auto modes that reduce their traffic and parking congestion, reduce their chauffeuring burdens and crash risk, and provide better options when their vehicles are unavailable. Everybody wins from a more diverse and efficient transportation system.”
A Serious Critique of Congestion Costs and Induced Vehicle Travel Impacts
Here is a quick share for today. This is an article by Todd Litman critiquing congestion costs and induced vehicle travel impacts:
Quoting from the article:
It is time for planners to rethink the way we evaluate congestion problems and solutions. Vehicle travel is not an end in itself; our ultimate goal is to improve accessibility. Traffic congestion is one constraint on accessibility, but others are more important. For example, the study, “Does Accessibility Require Density or Speed?” found that a given increase in urban density, and therefore proximity, has a far greater impact on overall accessibility than an increase in travel speed, and therefore congestion reductions. This is particularly true of disadvantaged groups who cannot drive or are financially burdened by vehicle expenses.
It is irresponsible for transportation agencies to expand highways in ways that contradict other community goals. If they do nothing, at worst, traffic congestion will maintain equilibrium; people will manage within its constraints. Even better, transportation agencies can invest in resource-efficient alternatives—better walking, bicycling, public transit, and telework opportunities—that improve accessibility, increasing transportation system efficiency.
If we truly want to truly optimize our transportation systems, we need a more comprehensive analysis of impacts and options, including the full costs of urban highway expansions and the full benefits of non-auto mode improvements and TDM incentives. Highway expansion should be a solution of last resort, only implemented when all other solutions have failed and users are willing to pay the full costs through tolls.
It’s time to stop obsessing about congestion and instead strive for efficient accessibility that serves everybody in the community.
Source: A Serious Critique of Congestion Costs and Induced Vehicle Travel Impacts
Caught (up) in traffic 