TTE 4201 Transportation and Traffic Engineering

Lecture 1: Introduction to Transportation Engineering

Daniel Frolich
Instructor
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Florida International University
Tel: 725-222-8643
Email: [email protected]
 Personal Information
Daniel Frolich
Graduate
Teaching
Instructor
Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering Florida International University
Tel: (725)222-8643
Email: [email protected]

Research focus: Public

transit
Micromobility
Travel Demand Modeling

Alluvial Diagram showing SP choices. TTE 4201

Slide 2
Personal Information cont.

• I’m from Ecuador, but also

have German Ancestry
• Worked for the City of
Miami Beach
• My favorite mode of
transportation is my
electric skateboard;
however, I am also
definitely a big fan of……
TRAINS
Office Hours
 Mondays 6:00 – 8:30
 Daniel Frolich is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
 Topic: Daniel Frolich's Personal Meeting Room
 Join Zoom Meeting
 https://fiu.zoom.us/j/4389273039?
pwd=eXVVTmhvSGlkNkM0MmxXK1VKZE5MZz09
 Meeting ID: 438 927 3039
 Passcode: NkiL2s
 Other hours by appointment please
 Office Hours will be held weekly, recorded and uploaded to
Canvas

TTE 4201
Slide 5
 Course Grading

Number of Points for

Course Requirements Total Points Available Weight
Items Each

Quizzes 13 20 200 20%

Exams 3 200 400 40%

Project 1 300 300 30%

Homework TBD TBD 100 10%

Total N/A N/A 1000 100%

• The 3 quizzes with lowest score will be dropped

• The Exam with the lowest score will also be dropped
• Extra credit opportunities will be posted on Canvas

TTE 4201
Slide 6
Extra Credit Opportunities!
The purpose of these extra credit opportunities will be to expand your
idea of what transportation engineering really means beyond the
textbook into the real world and the real human effect of our
transportation systems on real people.

Book Club (up to 5% extra credit)

• We’re going to be reading excerpts from: Killed by A Traffic
Engineer
• One Excerpt per week
• Discussions will be on Canvas

Run/Walk/Bike Club (Up to 5% more extra credit)

• 1 Run/Walk/Bike per week (Could be as short as around your block
or as long as a Marathon, as long as you get outside!)
• Post Strava or similar app tracking (keep start/end location private)
• Write a small excerpt about any problems/notions/interesting things
that you saw during your Run/Walk/Bike. Examples:
• Potholes
• Cracked sidewalks
• Challenges crossing a street
• Lack of Shade
• Quiet running path
• Nature
• Discussion will be on Canvas
 Let’s play a game!

 Each student will take a colored candy from a bowl of M

and M’s (or other candy with multiple colors e.g
Skittles, Smarties, etc). The color that is chosen
then relates to a question or topic they then answer.
 Before you answer the question, you need to introduce
yourself first. For example
 What is your name? What is your major? And where are
you from?

TTE 4201
Slide 8
What does this course cover?

Module 1: Transportation System

 Introduction to Transportation Engineering
 Road-User; Vehicle, and Roadway Characteristics

TTE 4201
Slide 9
What does this course cover?

Module 2: Geometric Design

 Characteristics of the Driver, the Pedestrian,
the Vehicle, and the Road
 Geometric Design of Highway Facilities
 General Concept
 Vertical Alignment
 Horizontal Alignment

TTE 4201
Slide 10
What does this course cover?

Module 3: Transportation Planning

 Travel Demand
 Traffic Forecasting
 The 4 Step Model
 Induced Demand

TTE 4201
Slide 11
What does this course cover?

Module 4: Safety and Traffic Engineering

Studies
 Safety statistics
 The 4 E’s of Road Safety
 Road Safety Management Process
 Safety Performance Functions
 Spot Speed Studies
 Volume Studies
 Traffic Stream Parameters
 Speed, Flow and Density

TTE 4201
Slide 12
What does this course cover?

Module 5: Traffic Flow Theory

 Fundamental Traffic Flow Model
 Fundamental Relationship between
 Greenshields
 Greenberg
 Poisson Model
 Queuing theory
 Shockwaves in Traffic Streams
 What does this course cover?

Module 6: Highway Capacity and Level-of-Service Analysis

 Highway Capacity Manual method for Freeways
 Highway Capacity Manual method for Intersections
 Critical Lane Volume

TTE 4201
Slide 14
What does this course cover?
Module 7: Intersection Control Systems
 General Concepts
 Conflict Points
 Types of Intersection controls
 MUTCD
 Traffic Signal Warrants
 Signal Timing
 Concepts
 Signal Timing
 Green Time, Cycle Length, Yellow and all red
phases

TTE 4201
Slide 15
What does this course cover?
Module 8: Other Topics in Transportation
 Evaluating Transportation Alternatives
(Engineering Economy)
 Surveying
 Drainage – (Water resources)
 Soil Structures – (Geotech)
 Pavement
 Rigid and Flexible Pavements

TTE 4201
Slide 16
Traffic & Highway Engineering, 5th Edition Enhanced Garber & Hoel

Chapter 1
The Profession of
Transportation

17
 Outline

What is Transportation Engineering?

Importance of Transportation
Transportation Employment
Transportation Organizations
Transportation Modes
Transportation Systems (Demand and
Supply)

TTE 4201
Slide 18
Learning Objectives

After this lecture, students should be able to:

 Explain the importance of transportation in a
modern and developed society
 Become familiar with the critical issues in
transportation
 Discuss the principle technical areas and
employment opportunities in transportation and
highway engineering

TTE 4201
Slide 19
Transportation Engineering

Transportation engineering is
application of technology and the
principles to the planning, functionalscientific
design,
operation and management of facilities for
any mode of transportation in order to provide
for the safe, efficient, rapid, comfortable,
convenient, economical, and environmentally
compatible movement of people and goods.

TTE 4201
Slide 20
U.S. Transportation History

Late 1700s: 95% of the population lived in rural

areas

Now: Over 75% lives in urban or suburban areas

21
City Transportation Succession

Horse-drawn Carriages on steel-

Cable cars
carriages tracks

Underground
Electric streetcars Bus transportation
railroads
22
 Let’s play a game!

 If you have the red color candy, please answer the

following questions.
 What is your name? What is your major? And where are
you from?
 Can you list one of the transportation related academic
disciplines?

TTE 4201
Slide 23
 Transportation Engineering
Interdisciplinary Engineering/integration of multiple disciplines

Geography/ Geotech
Graphic
s/ GI S
Structure
CAD
Operation
& Public policy
Manageme
Hydrology
nt Economics
Materials/
Pavement Huma
Art behavi
n
Environmental eng. or
Urban
Systems Survey Statistics Plannin
engineeri g TTE 4201
ng Slide 24
 Importance of Transportation
The importance of transportation in the United States also can
be illustrated by citing statistics as follows:

 Approximately ?? percent of U.S. household expenditure is

related to transportation. 18
 Transportation accounts for about ?? percent of total
energy consumption. 28
 Almost 100 percent of the energy utilized for
propelling transport vehicles is derived from petroleum
resources.
 Over ?? percent of all petroleum products consumed
50 in
the United States are for transportation purposes.
 Over
motor??vehicle.
percent80
of eligible drivers are licensed to operate a

TTE 4201
Slide 25
 Importance of Transportation

 Each person in the Unites States travels an average of ??

miles each year. 12,000
 Over ?? percent of the work force is employed in a
10
transportation-related activity.
 There are almost four million miles of paved roadway, of
which 754,000 miles are used for intercity travel and 46,800
miles are interstate highways.
 There are approximately 140,300 miles of freight
railroads, 5300 public use airports, 26,000 miles of
navigable channels, and 359,000 miles of oil and gas
pipelines.

TTE 4201
Slide 26
Transportation Systems and their function
Transportation systems are a major component of the U.S.
economy and have an huge impact on the shape of the
society and the efficiency of the economy.

Table 1.1: Important Statistics on U.S. Highways

Statistic
2015 Value
Miles of public roadway 4.19 million
Vehicle-miles traveled 3.11 trillion
Total population of the United States 321 million
Licensed drivers 218 million
Registered vehicles 256 million
Fatalities 35,485

TTE 4201
Slide 27
Transportation Systems and their function
Revenue Sources for 2011 Highway Disbursements
Revenue
Source Percent of Total
($ billion)
41.2 State & local motor fuel taxes 26.9
28.0 Federal motor fuel & other excise 18.3
taxes
23.2 State license fees 15.2
12.7 Tolls and other local user fees 8.3
105.1 Subtotal road-user taxes 68.7
30.0 State & local general fund 19.6
allocations
18.0 Federal general fund allocations & 11.7
deficit financing
48.0 Subtotal general funds 31.3
153.1 TOTAL 100.0

TTE 4201
Slide 28
Figure 1.1: Public Highway Mileage and Annual Vehicle-Miles
Traveled in the United States, 1920–2015
(Source: Highway Statistics 2015, Federal Highway Administration,
U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C., 2015, Table VMT
421C.)

TTE 4201
Slide 29
The Nature of Transportation Demand
The relationship is circular
and ongoing. The planner
attempt to provide capacity
for observed or predicted
travel demand by building
transportation system. The
improvement of trans
system, however, make the
adjacent and nearby lands
more accessible more
attractive for development.
Thus building new
transportation facilities
leads to further increases in
land use development
which in turn results in
even higher transport
demands.
TTE 4201
Slide 30
 Question!

 If you have the yellow color candy, please answer the

following questions.
 What is your name? What is your major? And where are
you from?
 What could your future job be?

TTE 4201
Slide 31
 Transportation Employment
 Logistics and Supply-Chain Management

The physical-distribution aspect of transportation, known as business

logistics or physical-distribution management, is concerned with the
movement and storage of freight between the primary source of raw
materials and the location of the finished manufactured product.
Logistics is the process of planning,
implementing, and controlling the efficient and
effective flow and storage of goods, services,
and related information from origination to
consumption as required by the customer.
Supply-chain management: a process that
coordinates the product, information, and cash
flows to maximize consumption satisfaction and
minimize organization costs.

TTE 4201
Slide 32
Transportation Employment
 Vehicle Design and Transportation Services
Vehicle design and manufacture is a
major industry in the United States
and involves the application of
mechanical, electrical, and aerospace
engineering skills as well as those of
technically trained mechanics and
workers in other trades.

 Transportation Infrastructure Services

The primary opportunities for civil engineers are in the area of
transportation infrastructure. In this role, they are responsible
primarily for the planning, design, construction, operation, and
maintenance of the transportation system within the United
States.
TTE 4201
Slide 33
Transportation Employment
 Transportation Planning
 Transportation Design
 Infrastructure Construction
 Operations and Management
 Research and Development

TTE 4201
Slide 34
 Areas of Employment

Fher & Peers

Avenue Consultants
JUB Engineering, Horrocks
Engineering, AECOM, etc.

Transportation engineering
involves working with the public,
City Traffic with industry, with citizens’
Engineering Office groups, with elected officials,
and with employees of the
MPO(Metropolitan
Planning Organization ) agencies of local, state, and
“Careers in Transportation” federal governments.
video by ITE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVVp0t1hfQI

TTE 4201
Slide 35
Transportation Organizations

TTE 4201
Slide 36
 Question!

 If you have blue color candy, please answer the following

questions.
 What is your name? What is your major? And Where are
you from?
 Do you know any of the transportation organizations?

TTE 4201
Slide 37
 Transportation Organizations
WTS-Women’s Transportation Seminar
ITE-Institute of Transportation Engineers
AASHTO-American Association of State
Highway and Transportation Officials:
produces
manuals, specifications standards, and current practices in
highway design, which form the basis for practices
throughout the country.
TRB-Transportation Research Board:
It operates through a technical committee structure
composed of knowledgeable practitioners who assist in
defining research needs, review and sponsor technical
sessions, and conduct workshops and conferences. The
Transportation Research Board is supported
by the state transportation departments, federal
transportation administrations, trade associations,
transportation companies, and individual memberships.
TTE 4201
Slide 38
Transportation Organizations
US Dept. of Transportation
 Federal Aviation Administration
 Federal Highway Administration
 Federal Railroad Administration
 Federal Transit Administration
 Maritime Administration
 National Highway Traffic Safety Admin.

TTE 4201
Slide 39
Transportation Infrastructure
Engineering

Planning

Research &
Design
Development

Operations &
Construction
Management

40
Planning

Selection of projects for

design and construction

Defining problem, gathering

and analyzing data, evaluating
solutions

Estimating the impact of the

facility on the environment
and the community

Creating alternatives to
achieve the task at the lowest
cost

41
Infrastructure Design

Specifying all features of Creating a set of detailed

the transportation system plans in order to estimate
cost and facilitate
construction

Considering pavement and

structural requirements
and the concrete or
asphalt surface material
90% plans from the city of Miami beach

42
Construction

Inspecting and clearing the native soil

Preparing the surface for construction

Placing the final pavement

Preparing the final roadway for use by

traffic

California HSR construction progress

Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
are used in the area to establish line and
grade

43
Operations & Management

Integrating all aspects

of traffic to achieve
safety and Analyzing accidents
improvement of
traffic flow

Improving parking &

loading, traffic signs, Scheduling work
speed regulations, crews for repairs
and lighting

Minimizing delay and

District 6 SunGuide RTMC is located
cost at 1000 NW 111 Avenue, Miami,
Florida

44
 Question again!

 If you have the green color candy, please answer the

following questions.
 What is your name? What is your major? And Where are
you from?
 What mode of transportation do you use to get to
school? Why?

TTE 4201
Slide 45
 Modes of Transportation
 Freight and Passenger Traffic
• Highways – bus, auto, truck
• Railroads
• Air
• Water
• Pipeline

TTE 4201
Slide 46
Modes of Transportation
 Public Transportation
• Mass transit
• Paratransit
• Ridesharing

TTE 4201
Slide 47
Modes of Transportation

 Highway Transportation
• Interstate Highway System
• Intercity Bus Transportation
• Truck Transportation

TTE 4201
Slide 48
U.S. Highway System

TTE 4201
Slide 49
Advantages & Complementary of Modes
 Each of the modes usually complements the others in
carrying the nation’s freight and passengers.

 Each mode has inherent advantages of: cost, travel time,

convenience, and flexibility that make it “ Right for the
job” under a certain set of circumstances.

 Example:
 Automobile: reliable, comfortable, flexible.
 Air transport: When distance are great and time is premium.
 intercity bus : Lower cost, higher capacity, more environmentally
friendly

TTE 4201
Slide 50
 Modes of Transportations Cont.
 Effectiveness of modes is described in terms of
accessibility of the mode, level of mobility it provides, and
its productivity.
 Accessibility: A measure of the ease of reaching (and interacting
with) destinations. A place with "high accessibility" is one from
which many destinations can be reached, or destinations can be
reached with relative ease. "Low accessibility" implies that
relatively few destinations can be reached for a given amount of
time/effort/cost or that reaching destinations is more difficult
or costly from that place.
 Mobility: Described in terms of speed or travel time.
 Productivity: Measure of the total amount of transportation (product
of the volume of goods or passengers carried and distance)
provided per unit time. (ton-miles/yr) or (passengers-
kilometers/ day).
TTE 4201
Slide 51
 Modes of Transportation/ Highway System
 Dominant Transportation mode.
 Used by private vehicles, truck lines, and bus
lines.
 High accessibility to almost all potential
destinations.
 Direct service with very low door-to-door
travel
times.
 Moderate line-haul speeds.
 Low capacity.
TTE 4201
Slide 52
 Modes of Transportation/ Highway System

 Capital cost of physical facilities vary a great deal

depending on type and capacity of roadway.
 Mostly personal vehicles, which can have
problems for urban mobility as traffic
breakdown can occur
 Operating cost tend to be relatively high.
 High environmental impact.

TTE 4201
Slide 53
Modes of Transportation/ Urban Transit System
 Includes traditional mass transit
modes (buses, street cars
(taxi), light rail and rail
rapid transit).
 Transit passengers:
 Commuters or Choice riders: Persons
making work trips into dense central
business districts (CBD).
 Captive riders: Persons without access to
automobiles (school children, senior
citizens, single-auto families, others with
economically or physically disadvantaged).

TTE 4201
Slide 54
Modes of Transportation/ Urban Transit System
 Line-haul speed vary a great deal depending on the mode
used but generally lower than automobiles except in
CBD and for rail rapid transit.
 Greater travel times except in cases mentioned above.
 High capacities.
 High accessibility
 Capital cost for rail are high and for buses are comparable
to autos.
 Moderate operating cost.
 Lower environmental impacts

TTE 4201
Slide 55
 Public Transportation
 Transit can be anything from:
 Mass transit: fixed routes, published schedules,
vehicle such as buses and light rail, or rapid
transit with specific stops.
 Para transit: more flexible and personalized
service than mass transit in route and schedule,
available on demand by subscription or on a
shared-ride basis.
 Ridesharing: two or more persons traveling
together by prearrangement such as carpool,
vanpool, or share-ride taxi.

TTE 4201
Slide 56
 Public Transportation Cont.
 It can provide high capacity, energy efficient
movement in densely traveled corridors.
 It can serve medium and low density areas
with newer technology
 Transit ridership has declined in the US due to:
 Increased auto ownership,
 Zoning shifts to low density suburbs,
 relocation of industry and commerce a way from the
central city
 Lack of funding for transit

TTE 4201
Slide 57
Modes of Transportation/ Air Transportation System
 Includes: Commercial airlines, airfreight carriers, and
general aviation (private aircraft).
 Major market: Intercity long-distance travel.
 High line-haul speed.
 Limited accessibility.
 Moderate capacity.
 High productivity.
 High capital and operating costs.
 Environmental impacts are significant (noise) but of
much less concern than highway system.

TTE 4201
Slide 58
Modes of Transportation/
Rail Transportation
System
 Prime market: intercity freight.
 Passenger rail trips are usually
short to intermediate.
 Moderate speed.
 Moderate accessibility.
 High capital cost.
 Operating cost per ton-mile are
low.
 Environmental impact is
relatively low.

TTE 4201
Slide 49
Modes of Transportation/
Water Transportation
System
 Consist of ocean shipping and barge lines
operating on inland waterways.
 Major types of oceangoing freighters
include:
 Container ships

 Bulk cargo carriers

 Oil tankers.
 Market : intercity freight.
 Inland waterways specialize in bulk
goods.

TTE 4201
Slide 50
  Low speed.
 Low accessibility
 High capacity.
 Capital cost is high.
 Operating cost per
ton-mile are
extremely low.
 Environmental
impact is relatively
low per tonne of
Modes of Transportation/ freight but water
pollution is a
Water Transportation significant problem.
System
TTE 4201
Slide 51
 Modes of
Transportation/ Pipeline
Transportation System
 Highly specialized freight
transportation system.
 Market: Crude oil,
petroleum products, and
natural gas.
 Low speed.

 High capacity.

 Continuous flow.

 Low cost (capital cost is

80% of total cost and
operating cost is very low
depending on pumping
cost).
 Low environmental
impact.
TTE 4201
Slide 52
Transport Cost of Different Modes

TTE 4201
Slide 63
 Question again!

 If you have the brown color candy, please answer the

following questions.
 What is your name? What is your major? And Where are
you from?
 If you are the person in the following example, which
mode will you choose?

TTE 4201
Slide 64
Comparison of Transportation Modes
Example-Selecting a Transportation
Mode
$ 250, 5 hours

$ 200, 8 hours
O D

$ 150, 12 hours
25 $/h

400 miles

TTE 4201
Slide 65
Comparasions of Transportation Modes
Solution:
Air: 250+25(5)= $ 375
Auto: 200+25(8)=$ 400
Rail: 150+25(12)=$ 450
 Safety
 Reliability.
 Convenience.
TTE 4201
Slide 66
 Question again!

 If you have the orange color candy, please answer the

following questions.
 What is your name? What is your major? And Where are
you from?
 Can you tell me how traffic volume change in terms of
cost and demand?

TTE 4201
Slide 67
 Traffic Demand

The demand for highway transportation represents the

value that consumers place on traveling in a particular
time, manner, and place, as measured by their
willingness to “pay” for a trip.

TTE 4201
Slide 68
 How demand change in terms of cost

With lower
transport cost,
the traffic volume
becomes higher

Relationship between Transportation Demand and Cost

TTE 4201
Slide 69
 Transportation Supply

In determining market outcomes, supply is the

counterpart to demand. For most goods and services,
supply is simply related to production: how many toys will
be fabricated, how many tennis lessons will be taught,
etc. For highway travel, however, the relationship is more
complicated. The highway infrastructure may be built and
maintained by a public agency or private entity, but
consumers supply the vehicles (and their persons) to
travel on that infrastructure. In order to understand the
supply side of highway travel, it is first helpful to take a
look at the example that the principle of traffic flow and
how highways become congested.
TTE 4201
Slide 70
 Interaction of Supply and Demand

A B

If a bridge is built, people will use it, but the amount of traffic will depend
on cost. The cost to cross the bridge will depend on the bridge toll and
the travel time for cars and trucks. If only a few vehicles cross, little time
is lost waiting at a toll booth or in congested traffic. However, as more
and more cars and trucks use the bridge, the time required to cross will
increase unless automated toll booths are installed. Lines will be long at
the toll booth; there might also be traffic congestion at the other end.

Relationship between Transportation Demand and Cost

TTE 4201
Slide 71
Transportation Supply

If the volume of traffic

increases, the cost of
using the bridge
increases (because of
more congestion)

TTE 4201
Slide 72
Interaction of Supply and Demand

Equilibrium Volume for Traffic Crossing a Bridge

TTE 4201
Slide 73
 Interaction of Supply and Demand
Example 1 Computing the Toll to Maximize
Revenue Using a Supply—Demand Curve
A toll bridge carries 5000 veh/day. The current toll is 150
cents. When the toll is increased by 25 cents, traffic volume
decreases by 500 veh/day. Determine the amount of toll that
should be charged such that revenue is maximized. How
much additional revenue will be received?

TTE 4201
Slide 74
 Interaction of Supply and Demand
Solution:
Let x = the toll increase in cents.
Assuming a linear relation between traffic volume and cost,
the expression
for V is V = 5000-x/25 (500)
The toll is
T =150 +x
Revenue is the product of toll and
volume:
R =V*T
For maximum value of x, compute the first derivative and set
equal to zero:
dR/dt=0
We obtain x=50cents
TTE 4201
Slide 75
 Interaction of Supply and Demand
The new toll is the current toll plus the toll increase.

Toll for maximum revenue=150+50=200 cents = $2

The additional revenue, AR, is

AR=Vmax*Tmax-Vcurrent*Tcurrent
=(5000-(50/25)*500)*2-5000*1.5
=8000-7500
=$500

TTE 4201
Slide 76
Videos
 The Power of Transportation | Origins: The
Journey of Humankind
https://youtu.be/5rg7vgniCZc

 How the Interstates Changed America |

WheelHouse
https://youtu.be/FF4zIAokWhU

 Why Moving People is Complicated: Crash

Course Engineering #41
https://youtu.be/erYf6NNw8Ec

TTE 4201
TTE 4201 Slide 77
THANK
YOU!
Daniel Frolich [email protected]