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TSSP 2016 Conference Program
I am sharing the banner and final program for the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines 23rd Annual Conference to be held on Monday, August 8, 2016. The final program features a Keynote Speech by the Undersecretary for Road Transport and Infrastructure Anneli R. Lontoc, a Panel Discussion on Road Safety, and technical sessions in the afternoon.
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TSSP 2016 Conference – August 8, 2016
I start August with an announcement, promoting the 23rd Annual Conference of the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines (TSSP). The theme of this year’s conference is “What Gets Measured, Gets Managed: Transportation, Data and Statistics.” The conference will have a panel discussion in the morning and parallel technical sessions in the afternoon.
The topic for the panel discussion is “Road Safety Data: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities”. Confirmed are resource persons from the Department of Transportation, the Department of Public Works and Highways, and the Global Road Safety Partnership Philippines. The session will feature presentations and reactions on agency or organization initiatives on road safety with emphasis on road safety data. An open forum will immediately follow for the audience to be able to participate in the discussions.
The afternoon will feature 4 parallel technical sessions where selected papers will be presented. These would be the output of researches from leading universities including the University of the Philippines, De La Salle University and Mapua Institute of Technology. I will post on the paper titles as soon as I get a copy of the program.
The one-day conference will be held at the National Center for Transportation Studies at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.
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Undergraduate research topics on transportation for Academic Year 2015-2016
Our students at the University of the Philippines Diliman are currently making their final presentations for the research topic proposals to be implemented in the next second semester (January to May 2016). The first semester (August to December 2015) focused on research topic formulation including problem identification and formulation, review of related literature, and development of methodologies for data collection and analysis. Here are the topics of our students in transportation engineering and planning (not in any order):
- Economic Feasibility of Electric Tricycles as Shuttle-Type Transport Service in Medium Density Residential Areas with Linear-Type Local Road
- A Study on Road Public Transport Policies and Planning in Metropolitan Manila: 1970s to the Present
- Comparative Study of GrabTaxi and Regular Taxi within Metro Manila
- Comparative Study of Uber and Regular Taxi
- An Analysis of Road User Behavior Influence on Unsignalized Intersection Performance
- An Assessment of Cycling and Bicycle Lanes along Marcos Highway
- Energy Efficiency of Electric Jeepneys
- Application of Discrete Choice Modeling in UP Diliman
- Development of Vissim Traffic Simulation Model of UP Diliman (Focus on Vehicle Characteristics)
- Evaluation of Runway Design and Capacity of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL)
- Determination of Satellite Parking Locations and Capacities in the University of the Philippines Diliman Campus
- Critical Review of Practices Abroad Towards Identifying Pavement Performance Indicators in the Philippines
- A Study on the Suitability of Tricycles as an Urban Transport Mode in the Philippines
- Benefit Monitoring and Evaluation of the South Metro Manila Skyway Project (Stages 1 and 2)
- Predicting Student Trip Patterns Using Enrolment Data within UP Diliman
- Video Image Processing for Parking Management
- Analysis of Occupancy and Dwell Time of Buses in EDSA
- Development of Public Transport Information System in UP-Diliman
- Philippine Air Transport Safety: Analysis of Incidents over the Last Two Decades
- Evaluation of Transfer Facilities for Public Transportation in Metro Manila
- Survey of Maintenance Practices for Concrete Structures in Transportation Facilities
- Road Safety Audit Evaluation of Expressways
- Calibrating MOBIL Lane Changing Model for Local Traffic Micro- Simulators
- Development of VISSIM Traffic Simulation Model of UP Diliman
Again, note that there are many topics here that have as a study area the UP Diliman campus. These are part of the studies the Institute of Civil Engineering and the National Center for Transportation Studies are conducting to address transportation issues in the campus, which is an open campus with public roads.
Working with big data on transportation
There have been a few initiatives working on big data from government agencies whose responsibilities are primarily on transportation. Among them are past projects implemented by the University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) and current projects being implemented by UPD, Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) and De La Salle University (DLSU) with support from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). While these projects are more oriented towards some specific objectives often linked to research & development (mandates of DOST and these academic institutions), there are still a lot of data out there that needs to be digitized, processed and analyzed. UPD has done this to some extent through its National Center for Transportation Studies (NCTS), which had been a repository for data and reports from DOTC and DPWH. However, the center does not have a funded program to undertake that repository or archival function it is expected to do. Despite much lip service from DOTC, DPWH and NEDA, no support has been extend by these agencies in the past many years.
I recently came upon this excellent work from a private firm specializing in data science. Here’s a link to one of their recent ‘stories’ showing us relevant statistics on road safety in Metro Manila:
http://stories.thinkingmachin.es/road-danger-pedestrians/
Their website says the data set the stats and graphs are based from are from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), which maintains the Metro Manila Accident Reporting and Analysis System (MMARAS). This is good work and something road safety experts can use to be able to come up with programs and projects to improve safety in Metro Manila. I hope they could also get a hand of the DPWH’s Traffic Accident Reporting and Analysis System (TARAS) data that covers national roads. Unfortunately, the DPWH has stopped encoding TARAS data recently (the PNP still collects data though) so I am not sure how recent their data set is.
We need more of such work on a lot of data our agencies are producing including data from the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB). Such information could be used to understand our transport systems including determining how to optimise supply and demand when combined with other data sets such as geographical information systems (GIS) and socio-economic data from the census.
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Local papers presented at the EASTS 2015 conference – Mapua Institute of Technology
Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT) has a relatively young program under its School of Civil Engineering. This is led by their Dean, Dr Francis Aldrine Uy, who is also active with the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers (PICE). Mapua has been aggressive the recent years in presenting and publishing papers in transportation engineering and planning. Following are the papers from the MIT:
- Integrated Non-Motorized Transportation System For A Sustainability Oriented Intramuros [Francis Aldrine Uy]
- A Study on the Effectiveness of Eco-Mobility Component: E-Jeepneys in Makati City [Francis Aldrine Uy]
- Comparative Study of the Effects of Fuel Sources (Diesel, Gasoline and Autogas) in Public Transportation in Metro Manila on Price, Emission and Health Issues [Francis Aldrine Uy]
- Determinants of Demands of Pasig River Ferry Service [Francis Aldrine Uy]
- Determination of Cost Impact using Mathematical Model Comprising City Logistics to Quick Service Restaurants in Metro Manila [Francis Aldrine Uy]
- Development of Evacuation Plan by Utilizing Transportation Modeling in the City of Borongan, Eastern Samar [Riches Bacero]
- Operational Performance Analysis of Median U-Turn Intersections as Traffic Control Facility in EDSA [Riches Bacero]
- Community Perception on Trans-operability of Intramuros [Riches Bacero]
- Paradigm Shift Strategy of Inclusive Mobility: The Applicability of Bus Rapid Transit along Commonwealth Avenue [Riches Bacero]
- Evaluation of Strontium Aluminate in Traffic Paint Pavement Marking for Rural and Unilluminated Roads [Riches Bacero]
- Study on the Impact of the Construction Activity of Skyway Stage 3 on Traffic Conditions along Osmeña Highway and San Andres Street [Geoffrey Cueto]
- A Design for Silver Star Integrated Green Bus Terminal [Geoffrey Cueto]
- Proposed Diversion Road to Improve Traffic Movement of Commercially Developed Areas in Bacoor, Cavite [Geoffrey Cueto]
- Establishing the City Logistic Concept in Improving the Freight Distribution in Metro Manila [Geoffrey Cueto]
- An Analysis on the Accessibility Level of Public Transit for Persons with Disability: In care of Light Rail Transit (LRT 1) [Geoffrey Cueto]
- Design and Development of the Puerto Princesa Airport Passenger Terminal [Jocelyn Buluran]
- Design and Development of Passenger Terminal at Batangas Port [Jocelyn Buluran]
- Design and Development of Passenger Terminal Extension of Clark International Airport [Jocelyn Buluran]
- Determinants of “Travel with Dignity” of Passengers of MRT3 [Jocelyn Buluran]
- Integrating Sustainable Non – Motorized Public Transport in the City of Manila, Philippines Through Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) [Jocelyn Buluran]
My only comment about certain papers in the list is that many do not seem to be research papers and definitely more on the practice (i.e., design) side than the academic. I can say this based on the presentations made that I was able to attend as well as the papers themselves in the proceedings of the conference that I was able to browse. Still, Mapua has very good potential to come up with good papers from the prolific Dr Uy and his young faculty members led by Engr. Riches Bacero.
The current President of Mapua, Dr Reynaldo Vea, is also the current President of the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines (TSSP). Dr Vea was formerly Dean of UP Diliman’s College of Engineering and Officer-in-charge of UP’s National Center for Transportation Studies (NCTS). His specialty is on maritime transport as he has a degree in naval architecture.
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Local papers presented at the EASTS 2015 conference – De La Salle University
De La Salle University (DLSU) has a strong program in transportation engineering and planning. This program is under its Department of Civil Engineering and led by Dr Alexis Fillone. Following is a list of papers from DLSU:
- Mode Shift Behavior of Bus Passengers to Rail System under Improved Rail Conditions [Alexis Fillone & Germaine Ann Dilay]
- Evaluating Proposed Transportation infrastructure Projects in Metro Manila using the Transport Co-Benefit Analysis [Alexis Fillone]
- Inter-Island Travel Mode Choice Analysis: Western Visayas Region, Philippines [Nicanor Roxas Jr & Alexis Fillone]
- Revisiting Volume-Delay-Functions Used in Transport Studies in Metro Manila [Jiaan Regis Gesalem & Alexis Fillone]
- Characterizing Bus Passenger Demand along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), Metro Manila [Sean Johnlee Ting, Kervin Joshua Lucas & Alexis Fillone]
- Optimized Bus Schedules in Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA), Metro Manila Using Fuzzy Rule-Based System [Alexis Fillone, Elmer Dadios & Ramon Intal]
- Opinion Survey about Pedestrianization of Heritage Sites in the City of Iloilo, Philippines [Alexis Fillone & Frederick Sosuan]
- Factors Influencing Footbridge Usage Along Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA), Metro Manila [Aaron King, Rigel Cadag, Jireh Despabiladeras, Rei Tumambing & Alexis Fillone]
- A Compact Scheduling and Revenue Estimation Spreadsheet for Bus Operators [Raymund Abad & Alexis Fillone]
- Adaptive Driving Route of Busses along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), Metro Manila, using Fuzzy Logic [Alexis Fillone, Bernard Yasay & Elmer Dadios]
I thought DLSU could have published more papers in this conference. I was actually surprised that all the papers are practically attributed to Dr Fillone considering his co-authors are mostly his students. But then there are only 2 to 3 faculty members who are doing transport research in DLSU and Dr Fillone is the most involved and prolific among them in terms of published research outputs.
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Local papers presented at the EASTS 2015 conference – University of the Philippines
There were a lot of technical papers from Philippine universities that were presented in the recently concluded 11th International Conference of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies (EASTS 2015). In the interest of dissemination, I will be featuring a list of papers produced by leading universities in the Philippines that are doing studies on transportation. Following is a list of papers from University of the Philippines Diliman that were presented at the EASTS 2015 held in Cebu City last Sept. 11-13, 2015:
- Innovative Collection of Road and Traffic Data for Road Safety Audit (Aileen Mappala & Ricardo Sigua)
- Study on Safety of Railway/Highway Grade Crossings in the Philippines (Albie Clarito, Beverly May Ramos & Ricardo Sigua)
- Instantaneous Fuel Consumption Models of Light Duty Vehicles and a Case Study on the Fuel Consumption at Different Traffic Conditions in Metro Manila using Shepard’s Interpolation Method (Ernesto Abaya, Karl Vergel, Ricardo Sigua, Edwin Quiros & Jose Bienvenido Biona)
- Development of Drive Cycles and Measurement of Fuel Economies of Light Duty Vehicles in Metro Manila (Ernesto Abaya, Karl Vergel, Ricardo Sigua & Edwin Quiros)
- Selection of Metro Manila BRT Corridors Using Multi- Criteria Assessment (Ricardo Sigua & Cresencio Montalbo, Jr.)
- An Assessment of Walkability in a Medium-Sized Philippine City (Hilario Sean Palmiano, Sheila Flor Javier & Jose Regin Regidor)
- Traffic Noise Measurement, Perception, and Modelling in a University Campus (Hilario Sean Palmiano, John Carlo Villar & Michelle Monelle Quilatan)
- Assessment of Metro Manila Bus Fare Computation (Sylvia Chavez & Hilario Sean Palmiano)
- Estimating Road Roughness Conditions Using Ubiquitous Smartphones and Geographic Information Systems and its Application to Road Network Planning in the Philippines (Joel Cruz & Jun Castro)
- Fuel Economy and Public Utility Jeepneys Using 2% and 5% Coco-Metyl Ester (CME)-Diesel Blends (Edwin Quiros & Karl Vergel)
- Comparison of Fuel Economy of Fuel and Operating Characteristics of Diesel and Auto-LPG Jeepneys through On-Road and Vehicle Tests (Edwin Quiros, Karl Vergel, Ernesto Abaya, Ervin Santos & Jose Gabriel Mercado)
- Challenges of Urban Transport Development in Metro Manila: A look back at the last 40 years (Maria Sheilah Napalang & Jose Regin Regidor)
- An Assessment of the Public Necessity Concept for Estimating the Requirements for Public Transport Vehicle (Arnel Manresa, Karl Vergel & Jose Regin Regidor)
- State of Pavement Engineering in the Philippines and Implications on the Economic Life of National Roads (Maria Sheilah Napalang, Jose Regin Regidor & Nathaniel Diola)
- Planning Metro Manila’s Mass Transit System (Ricardo Jose, Daniel Mabazza, Jose Regin Regidor, Marco Stefan Lagman & Jonathan Villasper)
- Evaluation of Compliance of Dimensions and Selected Systems and Components of Customized Local Road Vehicles (CLRV) with Vehicle Regulations and Standards (Karl Vergel, Rachel Habana, Nonilo Peña, Loreto Carasi, Albert Mariño & Alorna Abao)
- An O-D Approach of Estimating Energy Demand and CO2 Emission for the Luzon Road Transport using Inter- Regional Passenger and Freight Flow Data (Marloe Sundo & Karl Vergel)
- Dignity of Travel: BRT Development in the Philippines (Cresencio Montalbo Jr & Colin Brader)
- Mending a Metropolis – Understanding Passenger Demand Across Metro Manila To Improve Road Transit (Nicholas Greaves & Cresencio Montalbo Jr)
- Accident Hotspot Mapping in Quezon City: The case of Katipunan Avenue (Jerome Ballarta, Nelson Doroy, Ishtar Padao & Cecil Villanueva)
Not included in the list are papers coming out of International Research Groups (IRG) as well as those where involvement by UP faculty were incidental to projects. Many of these papers will soon be posted on the official site of the International Scientific Committee of EASTS as part of either Proceedings or Journal of EASTS. Some may be nominated for the Asian Transport Journal (ATS), which is also published by EASTS.
Transportation research in UP Diliman is the most developed among schools doing research on these topics in the country. Papers came from a variety of disciplines and academic units including Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Urban Planning, Geography and History. These mostly were and are undertaken through the National Center for Transportation Studies (NCTS), which is with UP Diliman.
Next up: De La Salle University
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EASTS 2015 – Cebu City, September 11-13, 2015
The 11th International Conference of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies (EASTS 2015) will be held in Cebu City this September 11-13, 2015. For information on the conference and program, check out their website here:
You can also download a brochure about EASTS here:
The conference is hosted by the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines (TSSP), which is the local affiliate of the EASTS. More information on the TSSP are found below:
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2015 National Science and Technology Week and the Hybrid Road Train
The Philippines’ Department of Science and Technology National Science and Technology Week 2015 on July 24-28, 9am-6pm, SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia, Pasay City. NSTW 2015 has 9,300 square meters showcasing 145 technologies, 51 forum sessions, 11 technology demonstrations, 25 other S&T events, 1 road train. Admission is free. Details at National Science and Technology Week 
A special feature this week is the Hybrid Electric Road Train developed by the Metals Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC) with 5 coaches and capacity of 240 passengers. You can find a description of the road train project in the MIRDC’s site from this link. Here’s a screen grab from the same site/link showing what the road train looks like:
Incidentally, the MIRDC is also the DOST center in-charge of development of Automated Guideway Transit (AGT) vehicles currently being tested in the University of the Philippines Diliman and the MIRDC Compound in Bicutan. Free rides are scheduled on July 24 12nn-4pm; July 25-28, 10am-12nn, 2-4 pm. The road train is envisioned to provide for mass transit needs of cities particularly those with long stretches of major roads like EDSA or C5 in Metro Manila.
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Transport research agenda
As promised, I am posting our research agenda from the last academic year. This has been revised every year since we established our undergraduate research program more than a decade ago. Back then, the document had been informal in the sense that it was not an official document that was submitted to the university for approval. Over the years, the agenda had been developed alongside that of the National Center for Transportation Studies and has evolved according to the current issues and concerns (including trending topics) in transportation.
A. Traffic Flow Theory and Analysis, and Traffic Engineering
1. Evaluation of Intersection Performance Considering Pedestrian Movement
2. Car-Following and Lane-Changing Models for Local Traffic Micro-simulators
3. Optimization of Traffic Signal Settings
4. Highway and Intersection Capacity and Level of Service
B. Highway Engineering
1. Local Pavement Design Practice
2. Coordination of Horizontal and Vertical Alignments
C. Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS)
1. Advanced Traveller Information and Navigation
2. Advanced Public Transportation and Travel Information
3. Microscopic Traffic Simulation Modelling
4. Advanced Parking Management
5. Integrated Fare Collection for Public Transport
6. Probe Car System for Road Safety and Travel Time Assessment
7. Development of Devices/Sensors for In-Vehicle Air Quality Measurement
8. ITS Support for PWDs, Senior Citizens and Women
9. Smart City and PUV Connectivity for Fully Automated Driving: Internet of Vehicles (IoV)
10. Advanced Traffic Data Collection Tools and Methods
D. Transport Safety
1. Road Safety Audit
2. Road Crash Data Analysis and Management System
3. Road-Based Public Transport Safety
4. Philippine Air Transport Safety
5. Philippine Maritime Safety
6. Safety and Comfort Assessment of Public Utility Vehicles
7. Safety Assessment of Buses Equipped with GPS
E. Public Transport
1. Indigenous Modes of Transport
2. Public Transport Operation and Management
3. Public Transport Station/Stop and Terminals
4. Assessment of Mass Transport Options (e.g. BRT, AGT, AFV)
5. Multi-Modal Transfer Stations in Urban Areas
F. Mobility Management
1. Parking Management Systems
2. Traffic Calming
3. Bikeways Planning and Management
4. Pedestrian Facilities and Walkability
5. Assessment of Freight Vehicle Restraint Schemes
G. Transportation, Environment, Energy and Vehicle Technologies
1. Fuel and Energy Efficiency of Alternative Fuel Vehicles for Public Transport
2. Roadside Air Quality Assessment and Modelling
3. Roadside and Airport Noise Modelling
4. Utilization and Customization of GHG Emissions Estimation Tools for Assessment of Avoid-Shift-Improve Policies and Transport Infrastructure Projects
5. Customized Local Road Vehicles for Public Transport (jeepneys and tricycles)
6. Transport Energy Demand
Note from the above agenda that there are few items that are very specific. The above are not working titles for researches but very general topics that can be the basis for formulating specific topics for each student/group that will be working on that topic. Not indicated in the agenda are information on which faculty members are assigned to each topic. Faculty members have various specializations and have contributed items to the agenda. Students choosing a particular topic will be assigned to the faculty member who will be guiding the students towards proposal formulation and eventually, research implementation.
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Caught (up) in traffic 