Department of Civil Engineering

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Browsing Department of Civil Engineering by Subject "Advanced traveller Information system (ATIS)"

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    A stepwise approach towards achieving a multimodal platform within the context of the CoCT’s land transport networks
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013-03) Struwig, Claudia Bernadine; Bester, C. J.; Andersen, Simen Johann; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Engineering. Dept. of Civil Engineering.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The importance of transport should not be underestimated. Transport progresses a person’s quality of life: it connects people to one another and provides access to work, services and recreational opportunities. However, post-apartheid South Africa is unfortunately still faced with a legacy of segregation. While the less-privileged, who mostly live at the fringe of Central Business Districts (CBDs), are captive users of public transport, the private vehicle trend, under the privileged, is becoming more evident. This research project thus proposes that a balanced and integrated sustainable transport system be promoted. That is, one that will aid South Africa in growing and improving its general socio-economical status by providing all its citizens with (equal) access to a balanced transport network. It is believed that, if a multimodal system is promoted, the deficiencies of the current heterogeneous non-integrated systems may be overcome. Therefore, if South Africa’s transport network is augmented with a multimodal platform, the nation will be able to move its citizens effectively and efficiently, without jeopardising the economy, social matters and the environment, today and in the future. Moreover, South Africa will also have the necessary stimulus to utilise the already available resources at its disposal by working together as ‘one’. This research project thus stipulates a (generic) sequential approach needed in achieving an integrated (sustainable) public transport system. The goal of this research project is to create awareness of the benefits that may arise from, and the implementation steps required in obtaining, such a multimodal platform. The focus area for researching the proposition made herein is the City of Cape Town’s (CoCT’s) land transport networks. The City has a management facility, with resultant transport data repository, known as the Transport Management Centre (TMC). This TMC is regarded as one of the finest state of the art facilities in the world and the features thereof offer a sufficient base and point of departure for the promotion of a multimodal transport system. By conducting research in this field, the following portraying aspects, needed for the realisation of the proposition made herein, were found. Firstly, in order to obtain an integrated sustainable transport system, the appropriate Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) need to be integrated. It is believed that, if an intelligent transport scheme, grounded on ITS applications, is advocated, the City will be in the position to more effectively monitor what is going on, to more accurately predict what might happen in the future, and to manage its transport system proactively on an area-wide basis. Secondly, in order to meet the integration requirements imposed by multimodal transport, a centralised database needs to be created. With such a database in place, information sharing across all modes of private- and public land transport, and thus also between the investors or the operators, will be possible. An example of such a database was developed in Microsoft Access and the modes considered therein are: MyCiti, Metrorail and Golden Arrow Bus Service (GABS). The data stored in this database is historic, but the incorporation of real time information was also catered for. Thirdly, it is believed that the success of the City’s transport system, and the development of a multimodal system, is dependent on the provision of an efficient Advanced Traveller Information System (ATIS). The idea is to promote multimodal transport as a convenient transit option by providing travellers with information on journey planning that aims to counteract their reluctance to change. In order to develop such a multimodal Journey Planner (JP), the unimodal networks considered herein were combined into a supernetwork on which Dijkstra’s Shortest Path Algorithm was applied. This algorithm was programmed in Microsoft Excel’s Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) and it incorporates the following user criteria: the origin, the destination, the user’s mode preference, and the user’s optimisation preference of either time or distance. In conclusion, it can be argued that, with information becoming such a vital commodity in everyday life, the catering for informed travellers are the key to successful future transport services. If travellers are informed about the transport networks’ performance, a positive attitude is fostered. Moreover, by providing travellers with information on journey planning, their feelings of uncertainty and fear of the unknown, that are present in (especially) public transport services, may be neutralised. This information will give the public carte blanche to make decisions that give them the perception of having more ‘control over their lives’. Therefore, if a multimodal JP that can be accessed from one portal is created, people’s inclination to acquire more information will be met. And as a result, traversing in an integrated manner may become the norm.