PRINCIPLES OF TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING

CHAPTER 1

Introduction to
transportation planning &
engineering
Introduction to transportation planning &
engineering

CHAPTER OUTLINE
❖ WHAT IS TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING?

❖ WHAT ARE THE MODES OF TRANSPORT?

❖ WHY IS TRANSPORTATION PLANNING ESSENTIAL TO ENGINEERING WORKS?
• TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PROCESS
• MAIN PURPOSE
• MAIN OBJECTIVES
• 4 STEPS OF TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
• TRANSPORTATION SAFETY
TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING
It is the application of technology and
scientific principles to:

❑ The planning
❑ Functional design
❑ Operation and management
facilities for any mode of
transportation in order to
provide:
❑ Safe
❑ Efficient
❑ Rapid
❑ Comfortable
❑ Convenient
❑ Economical
❑ Environmentally compatible
movement of people and
goods
TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING

It is a branch of civil engineering

profession that is involved in planning,
design, operation and maintenance of
safe and efficient transportation
systems.

➢ under this discipline are the following

• Highway Engineering
• Railway Engineering
• Port & Harbor Engineering
• Airport Engineering
Modes of transportation
It is the application of technology and
scientific principles to:

❑ ROADWAYS/HIGHWAYS
❑ RAILWAYS
❑ AIRWAYS
❑ WATERWAYS

ROADWAY./HIGHWAY

❑ A means of transportation by land.

Also known as highway
❑ It consist of modern highway, city
streets, feeder roads and village
roads, catering for a big range of
vehicles and the pedestrians
❑ Only mode giving maximum service to
one and all
❑ Possible to provide door to door
service
Modes of transportation

RAILWAY

➢ a steel track laid on the ground

over which the trains move is
known as railways.
➢ maintenance is more costly
compared to roadways
➢ It has been used for long as well
as short distances and also for
urban travels
➢ for longer distances, railways
transportation is more effective
and advantageous than highways
Modes of transportation

AIRWAY

➢ In the airways, air crafts and

helicopters are used
➢ Air system of transportation is one
of the fastest system
➢ it provides comfort and also saves
time to the passengers
➢ more costly compared to all other
modes of transportation
Modes of transportation

WATERWAYS

➢ the transportation by water is the

slowest among the four modes

➢ this mode of transportation uses

oceans, rivers, canals and lakes
for the movement of boats and
ships.
TRANSPORTATION PLANNING

➢ Is the preparation of
transportation systems such as
highways and traffic facilities
➢ it is necessary for civil
engineering company to ensure
that these hazards and conditions
are routinely fixed and are made
up to standard to guarantee
safety of those on the road
➢ Forecasting/prediction of the
condition of the traffic network
system over a certain period of
time to plan ahead possible
mitigation or contingency plan.
PURPOSE OF PLANNING
➢ Identify multiple options,
problems, and solutions to a
transportation system

➢ Optimization of existing
transportation systems and
structural design

➢ Guarantee the safety and

efficiency of the delivery of
persons, goods and services

➢ address current and future

transportation, land use, economic
development, traffic demand,
public safety, health and social
needs
OBJECTIVES OF PLANNING

1. Traffic congestion reduction

2. Parking Cost Savings
3. Consumer Savings and Affordability
4. Improve mobility for non-drivers
5. Improve Safety
6. Energy Conservation
7. Air, Noise, and Water pollution reduction
8. Habitat protection
9. Support local economic development
10.Improve public fitness and health (from
increased walking & cycling)
STAGES OF TRANSPORTATION PLANNING

1. Transportation Survey, data collection and analysis

2. Use of Transportation Model

3. Future Land Use Forecasts and alternative policy strategies

4. Policy and Evaluation

Transportation survey, data collection and
analysis
• This includes all the different types of available
data gathered for transportation such as journey
behavior patterns, nature and intensity of
traffic, freight structure, costs and benefits like
income and employment estimates, etc.
• The comprehensive knowledge of traffic flows
and patterns within the area is essential.
• Aside from traffic data, planners also require
the land use and population data for the study
area
• Travel patterns should be divided into zones so
that the origins and destinations can be
geographically monitored.
• The data collection involves different types of
interviews
Transportation survey, data collection and
analysis
1. Road side interview variables
• day and date of journey
• Vehicle type and occupancy
• Origin and destination journey
• Origin starting date
• Goods carried and their weight (Commercial Vehicle)
2.Home interview variables
• day and date of journey
• Origin address and time
• Destination address and time
• Journey purpose
• Mode of travel
• Ticket or parking cost
3.Household Variables
• Number of persons, their age and sex composition and
family relationships
• Economic activity status of persons and their occupations
• Vehicle ownership
• Tenure and property type
• Household Income
When data processing is complete, planners can now begin their
data analysis
Use of transportation model

• This transportation model is a process a data analysis

where it is a key to predicting future travel demands
and network needs and is derived in four recognized
stages such as:

✓ TRIP GENERATION – number of trips within a zone

✓ TRIP DISTRIBUTION – number of trips from one zone

to another

✓ MODEL SPLIT – number of trips in different modes of

transport

✓ TRAFFIC ASSIGNMENT – estimates the volume of

traffic of every route in network
Future land use forecasts and alternative policy
strategies
• Land use forecast is ideally based on existing and
future land developments. This is essential on
transportation planning since travel demands are
variable to the type of area, population, commercial
demands, etc. especially for urban planning
developments. Trips are made due to necessities of
an individual according to his purpose. Planning is
made in a long term either 10 to 30 year prediction.

• Travel demand forecasting is necessary to predict

the volumes of traffic in every network as the
population grows and provide solutions or policy to
manage the traffic when congestion is inevitable in
the future.

• These two forecasting methods were likely based on

the result of transportation models used during the
data analysis.
Future land use forecasts and alternative policy
strategies

The most important variables in this stage are:

➢ Population – its size, age structure and distribution

➢ Employment – as the journey to work is the greatest
travel demand
➢ Personal income and expenditure
The above groups of variables have a compound
influence upon the overall level of demand for travel
at some future date. Further complications arise
when their impact upon the spatial pattern of this
demand is assessed. So, forecasts of population and
economic variables are an important input into the
use of the transportation model for forecasting
future travel demands.
Policy and evaluation
• The final stage of the transportation planning process is one of evaluating the alternative
policies, which have been suggested. The evaluation stage is the most important of all since
here lies the economic impacts of the said planning. An economic evaluation of transport
proposals is necessary because vehicle-km and road space are commodities, which are not
directly bought and sold.

• The technique of cost benefit analysis has consequently evolved as an investment criterion in
the public sector. As such, it provides an economic evaluation.

• On the cost side of the calculation, estimates are made for capital outlay, land purchase and
maintenance.

• The benefits are those accruing to users, e.g., savings in time, vehicle operation and
accidents

• The individual cost and benefits are assessed over a particular number of years and
discounted back to the base year so that a rate of return can be calculated.

• On the basis of transportation plan, transport policies should be formulated and implemented
properly so that systematic sustainable development of transport can be done.
Transport policy

❖ Nowadays, every country is particular regarding the planned

development of transport system, thus, they formulate their
own transport policy, which depends upon their needs and
resources.

❖ The nature of transport policy varies with time and space. In

formulating transport policy, one should take into
consideration the coordination and competition.

❖ Coordination involves the relationship between two or more

different modes of transport

❖ Competition has occurs as a consequence of the

public/private sector interaction
Transport safety
❖ It is a required factor in the planning process and transportation planners are key partners
ensuring that safety is an integral component of all planning processes.

❖ With knowledge and understanding of safety and safety planning, transportation planners can
enhance collaboration, communication and coordination with their safety specialist partners to
achieve the goal of reducing serious injuries and fatalities.

❖ The goal of safety planning is to reduce fatalities and serious injuries on all public roads
THE 4 E’S OF SAFETY

1. ENGINEERING: Engineers play a critical role in identifying and recommending solutions to address safety
performance of the transportation infrastructure

2. ENFORCEMENT: Law enforcement personnel generally are responsible for collecting crash data, traffic law
enforcement, behavioral safety campaigns, and sharing information with transportation professionals

3. EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES: This group includes first responders and paramedics, fire and rescue
personnel, law enforcement, Department of transportation (DOT) personnel, and tow truck operators.

4. EDUCATION: Highway users are not always aware of the risks associated with their behaviors so proper
knowledge and education of the use of highway and safety along the way is highly recommended for all.