NATIONAL CENTER FOR METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH

ANNUAL REPORT

FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2002

July 31, 2002

Table of Contents

A. Center Theme.......................................................................................... 3

B. Description of Management Structure....................................................... 7

C. Description of Research Programs......................................................... 12

D. Description of Education Accomplishments............................................ 22

E. Description of Technology Transfer Accomplishments............................ 32

F. List of Projects...................................................................................... 39

G. Funding Sources and Uses..................................................................... 42

H. Appendix.............................................................................................. 44

I. Financial Status................................................................ Financial Section

J. Performance Indicators.................................................... Financial Section

A. CENTER THEME

The theme of the National Center for Metropolitan Transportation Research (METRANS) is transportation within large metropolitan areas. METRANS works on developing and examining solutions to the transportation problems of major metropolitan areas using an integrated approach that blends engineering, policy, planning, business administration, and public administration expertise. Within the context of large metropolitan areas, METRANS addresses national transportation issues such as advanced transportation technologies, urban transportation research, transportation infrastructure technologies, intermodal efficiency, and transportation and the environment. METRANS also has become a national resource for information on solutions to metropolitan transportation problems.

The Center addresses problems related to all five of DOT’s Strategic Science and Technology Goals, with focus on the types of problems that occur within the Southern California region:

Provide a Safer Transportation System

· Enhanced safety for the transportation infrastructure, public transit patrons, drivers and passengers, and pedestrians

Achieve a High Level of Transportation System Security

· Safety, security, productivity and survivability of the transportation infrastructure under natural disasters, such as earthquakes and floods

Improve Environmental Quality and Energy Efficiency

· Reduced air pollution impacts of transportation

· Upgrading United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and United States Customs Service (Customs) border operations to enhance and expedite passenger and cargo processing, thereby reducing air pollution

· More energy efficient transportation systems

Foster Economic Growth and Productivity

· Reduced congestion on highways, rail, shipping, and air transport systems

· Development of the infrastructure and processes to better support international trade and transportation industries

Ensure Improved Access and Increased Mobility

· Mobility and accessibility for immigrant, disadvantaged, aged, and minority populations

· Improved logistics through ports and the transportation corridors serving them

METRANS also directs its work at several of DOT’s Strategic Partnership Initiatives, with research focused in the following areas:

· Enhanced Goods and Freight Movement at Domestic and International Gateways

· Accessibility for Aging and Transportation-Disadvantaged Populations

· Monitoring, Maintenance, and Rapid Renewal of the Physical Infrastructure

· Environmental Sustainability of Transportation Systems

· Smart Vehicles and Operators

· Physical Infrastructure

Our research directed at these initiatives also crosses into several other DOT initiatives, such as National Intelligent Transportation Infrastructure, and Next Generation Motor Vehicles. Research is conducted in these areas as a means to solve problems in metropolitan areas.

METRANS also serves DOT’s needs in International and Multidisciplinary Education, and in Mid-Career Training. USC and CSULB are uniquely positioned in these areas because of their highly diverse and international student bodies, diverse faculty, excellent facilities, location in the center of the nation’s dominant region for international trade with Asia, and unique course offerings and degree programs. For example, USC has created an interdisciplinary certificate program in transportation, and CSULB has an established reputation for professional education in international trade and port operations. In March 2001, CSULB began instruction in the new MA in Global Logistics program to train professionals to deal with the complexities of supplier relations, supplier selection, purchasing negotiations, operations, transportation, inventory, warehousing, third-party vendors, electronic commerce, and customer relations.

METRANS complements the two other University Transportation Centers in California by placing special emphasis on transportation issues in Southern California, an area encompassing more than 5 percent of the nation’s population and nearly 2/3 of California’s population. This includes study of Southern California’s major investments in transportation (e.g., goods movement and transit) as well as the prominent problems of congestion, air pollution, and limited mobility for disadvantaged populations. In addition, METRANS’ emphasis on blending technology and policy research, and on technology transfer, is unique.

METRANS is committed to focusing on high-priority topics and issues in metropolitan regions. In its first two calls for proposals, METRANS requested research on methods for improving mass transit and methods for improving goods movement and logistics. In its third call for proposals, METRANS added the area of infrastructure renewal to mass transit and goods movement. Using Southern California as our laboratory, our goal is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of major transportation projects, while simultaneously building the human resource capacity to improve transportation in the United States.

This Annual Report covers the fourth year of METRANS’ existence. During this time, METRANS has once again made substantial progress in its research, technology transfer and educational activities, and demonstrated its commitment to cooperation with Southern California transportation agencies. METRANS has established itself as a truly interdisciplinary center, operating as a partnership between public and private universities. The most significant accomplishment of 2001-2002 was METRANS’ success in the Group B/C competition, which provides an additional two years of DOT funding at double the existing level. Additional highlights of the 2001-2002 year include:

• METRANS reached a cumulative total of 31 funded research projects. As of June 30, 2002, 16 projects were completed, and 6 projects were in peer review or undergoing final revision by faculty. These 31projects involve 27 faculty and 49 students, working in 14 academic departments.

· CSULB enrolled its first class in the Master of Arts Degree in Global Logistics. The MA-GL combines the analytical skills of a traditional MBA with a strong emphasis on logistics in a global setting. It is a 30-unit graduate program that can be completed in less than two years. It is designed to prepare the professional to deal with the complexities of supplier relations, supplier selection, purchasing negotiations, operations, transportation, inventory, warehousing, third-party vendors, electronic commerce, and customer relations.

• METRANS organized and supported several major technology transfer and outreach events, including the Industry Stakeholder Workshop 2 and Town Hall meeting 4. METRANS also provided the organization and logistics for the FHWA Operations Workshop “Building Freight Capacity through Better Operations: Defining the National Agenda,” held July 26-27, 2001 at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach.

• The METRANS Annual Conference “Public Transportation and Future Mobility” was held March 22, 2002 on the USC campus, and featured results from several METRANS research projects. The keynote address was given by Congresswoman Diane Watson. Fifty-two Southern California high school students participated in the “Transportation in the Future” art contest and exhibition, held in conjunction with the METRANS Annual Conference.

• Several transportation students won awards, including the graduate and undergraduate regional Women’s Transportation Society awards, and outstanding Master of Planning student award. Laurel Chun, undergraduate in civil and environmental engineering, was selected as School of Engineering valedictorian.

• Marianne Venieris, METRANS Deputy Director, was honored as the recipient of the 2002 Women of Distinction Award for International Goodwill and Understanding by the Soroptimist International of Long Beach.

• METRANS has obtained dollar-for-dollar matching funds from Caltrans. In addition, USC has committed a cumulative total of $187,554 in matching funds, and an additional match of $261,150 has been obtained from South Coast Air Quality Management District, Southern California Association of Governments, Toyota, Boeing, California Trucking Association, Pacific Maritime Association, Port of Long Beach, Port of Los Angeles, ILWU, Gateway Cities Partnership, City of Long Beach, and Long Beach City College.

• The METRANS website was enhanced with streaming video of selected research projects, as well as a brief overview of the center. The website continues to have all METRANS reports on-line, as well as conference presentations and summaries and conference videos.

B. DESCRIPTION OF MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE

University of Southern California holds the prime grants that fund METRANS from the US DOT and CALTRANS. Center administration is the responsibility of the USC Principal Investigator, but all policy matters are jointly decided by USC and CSULB through the METRANS Executive Committee. Due to the modest size of the grant, METRANS presently has no full-time staff members. Instead of full-time positions, METRANS is organized to leverage available skills at both USC and CSULB. The total staff commitment was approximately 1 FTE in the 2001/2002 fiscal year, spread among all administrative positions.

Several changes were made in the management of METRANS this fiscal year. Genevieve Giuliano, Professor, School of Policy, Planning, and Development, became Director. Marianne Venieris, Executive Director of the CSULB Center for International Trade and Transportation became METRANS Deputy Director. The Executive Committee membership lost one member to retirement and gained two new members.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee is responsible for all METRANS project selections (research, education, and technology transfer) and for setting METRANS policies. In July 2001, the Executive Committee was one member short, as a replacement for Richard Williams (former CSULB Dean of Engineering) was not appointed. In the fall of 2001, Forrest Harding (CSULB, Business) announced his retirement. Subsequently, Professors Mike Mahoney and Joseph Magaddino were invited to join the Executive Committee. Current membership is:

· Dan Barber, Professor of Public Administration, CSULB

· Genevieve Giuliano, Professor of Policy, Planning, and Development, USC

· Randolph Hall, Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Associate Dean of Research, School of Engineering, USC

· Petros Ioannou, Professor of Electrical Engineering-Systems, USC

· Joseph Magaddino, Professor of Economics and Chair, Department of Economics, CSULB

· Mike Mahoney, Professor of Computer Science and Dean, School of Engineering, CSULB

· James E. Moore II, Professor of Civil Engineering, USC

· Marianne Venieris, Executive Director, Center for International Trade and Transportation, CSULB

Executive committee membership is a voluntary (unpaid) service activity.

Director

Genevieve Giuliano, Professor in the School of Policy, Planning, and Development replaced Randolph Hall as Director of METRANS upon Professor Hall’s appointment as Associate Dean for Research, School of Engineering. The Director is responsible for the overall management of METRANS, including reporting, matching fund solicitation, outreach, publications, education, supervision of the METRANS Administrator, project management and development of the center research agenda, and requests for proposals/qualifications. The center director is responsible for chairing meetings of the Executive Committee (joint CSULB/USC) and the Advisory Committee.

Deputy Director

Ed Thicksten served as Acting Deputy Director until April 2002. The CSULB Foundation underwent a restructuring, and at that time appointed Marianne Venieris to serve as METRANS Deputy Director. Ms. Venieris has been responsible for the CSULB technology transfer activities since METRANS’ inception. She is an experienced manager and the leading force behind METRANS’ goods movement outreach activities. Ms. Venieris’ other (non-METRANS) activities include serving as Director of Transportation Programs, CSULB Foundation, as well as leadership for CSULB’s certificate programs in global logistics and transportation.

The Deputy Director is responsible for collecting performance statistics related to CSULB activities, distributing information to CSULB faculty and students and overseeing the METRANS technology transfer program. The Deputy Director works under the direction of the METRANS Director.

Associate Director

To expand activities for CSULB and USC students, Professor James E. Moore II serves as Associate Director for Education. Dr. Moore is responsible for organizing curriculum proposals, internships, teaching exchanges, field trips, and student outreach events. The Associate Director works under the direction of the METRANS Director. Dr. Moore is also Professor in Civil Engineering and Policy, Planning, and Development at USC. He is Director of the Civil Engineering Department’s graduate program in Transportation Engineering.

Center Administrator

Christine Lavoie of USC serves as Center Administrator. She is responsible for the day-to-day administration of center activities, reporting to the Center Director. This has included coordination of outreach efforts, gathering information needed for annual reporting, coordination of the proposal review process, operation of the internship program and identification of matching fund sources. With the change in Directorship, Ms. Lavoie’s METRANS activities were reduced, and Linda Bakabak, Contracts and Grants Coordinator, took on the additional duties.

CSULB Administrator

Michelle King serves as CSULB administrator. The position is responsible for the collection of performance data at CSULB, and for communicating METRANS information to CSULB faculty, staff, and students. The position is also responsible for assisting with the METRANS Annual Conference, and for developing center promotions. The CSULB Administrator works under the guidance of the Deputy Director and the Center Administrator.

Promotion Manager

Marianne Venieris, METRANS Deputy Director and Director of the CITT (Center for International Trade and Transportation) at CSULB, has served as the Promotion Manager. This position is responsible for developing outreach materials and managing the development of the website. Ms. Venieris was not budgeted for the 01/02 fiscal year because the task of developing outreach activities was already finished. It is anticipated that new staff will be appointed in the coming year, as all promotional materials must be updated, and Ms. Venieris’ new position makes her unavailable for this activity.

Webmaster

Greg Raitz of CSULB Foundation serves as webmaster. He is responsible for developing and maintaining the METRANS web page. He works under the direction of the Center Administrator and Center Director.

Advisory Committee

The Director has formed an Advisory Committee (Table 1), composed of representatives from agencies and companies that participate in center activities. The Advisory Committee is used to solicit suggestions for research, to assist in student job placements, and to assist in outreach and technology transfer activities. The Advisory Committee met once during the 2001/2002 fiscal year.

Faculty Members

METRANS has funded 27 faculty at USC and CSULB, who are now members of the METRANS Center. Keeping to METRANS’ interdisciplinary theme, the faculty come from four branches of engineering (civil, electrical, industrial, and mechanical), as well as business, economics, geography, public policy, planning, and public administration. These faculty act as principal investigators on METRANS-funded projects, and have responsibility for overseeing individual research projects. They also come together periodically to share insights through coordination meetings and conferences.

Tridib Banerjee Policy, Planning, and Development USC

Daniel Barber Public Administration CSULB

Satish Bukkapatnam Industrial & Systems Engineering USC

Anastasios Chassiakos Engineering Technology CSULB

Maged Dessouky Industrial & Systems Engineering USC

Michael Driver Business Administration USC

Genevieve Giuliano Policy, Planning, and Development USC

Peter Gordon Policy, Planning, and Development USC

Lisa Grobar Economics CSULB

Randolph Hall Industrial & Systems Engineering USC

Le Dam Hanh Civil Engineering USC

Petros Ioannou Electrical Engineering Systems USC

Ken James Electrical Engineering CSULB

Erik Johnson Civil Engineering USC

Tim Jordanides Electrical Engineering CSULB

Behrokh Khoshnevis Industrial & Systems Engineering USC

Ilias Kosmatopoulos Electrical Engineering Systems USC*

John Kuprenas Civil Engineering USC

Joe Maggadino Economics CSULB

Naj Meshkati Civil Engineering USC

Emily Parentela Civil Engineering CSULB

Hamid Rahai Mechanical Engineering CSULB

Mansour Rahimi Industrial & Systems Engineering USC

Paul Ronney Mechanical Engineering USC

Reza Toossi Mechanical Engineering CSULB

Chris Williamson Geography USC

Hung Leung Wong Civil Engineering USC

* Has left USC

Table 1. METRANS Advisory Committee

Name	Title	Organization
Richard DeRock	Executive Director	Access Services Incorporated
Gill Hicks	President	ACTA
Rebecca Brewster	Deputy Director	ATA Foundation
Lynn Terry	Deputy Executive Officer	California Air Resources Board
Joel Anderson	Executive Vice President	California Trucking Association
John Allison	Program Manager	Caltrans
Cindy Quon	District Director	Caltrans
Robert Sassaman	District Director	Caltrans
Amir Sedadi	Council Liaison	City of Los Angeles
Paul Teng	Director, Office of Infrastructure	Federal Highway Administration
Sandra Balmir	Transportation Planner	Federal Highway Administration
Richard Hollingsworth	President/CEO	Gateway Cities Partnership, Inc.
Susan Collette	Supervising Transportation Planner	Los Angeles World Airport
David Solow	Chief Executive Officer	Metrolink
James de la Loza	Executive Officer County Wide Planning and Development	Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Charles Wallace	Vice President Southern California	Pacific Maritime Association
Geraldine Knatz	Director of Planning	Port of Long Beach
Norm King	Executive Director	San Bernardino Association of Governments
Eric Pahlke	Director of Transportation	San Diego Association of Governments
Barry Wallerstein	Executive Director	South Coast Air Quality Management District
Jim Gosnell	Director, Planning and Policy	Southern California Association of Governments
Bert Arillaga	Chief, Service Innovation Division	U.S. Department of Transportation
M.J. Fiocco	Transportation Specialist	U.S. Department of Transportation
Ronald Knipling	Chief, Research Division	U.S. Department of Transportation
Michael Onder	Team Leader, Freight Operations	U.S. Department of Transportation
Richard Walker	Director	U.S. Department of Transportation
Charles Holland	Portfolio Project Manager	United Parcel Service

C. DESCRIPTION OF RESEARCH PROGRAMS

METRANS elected not to issue a request for proposals for the 2002/2003 academic year until the results of the DOT Group B/C competition were announced. In METRANS’ case, success in the competition would mean an approximate doubling of the research budget, while lack of success would mean almost complete elimination of the research budget. Under such uncertainty, the prudent strategy was simply to wait until the competition results were known. The announcement did not occur until after both USC and CSULB had completed the academic year, too late to issue an RFP in time for an August 2002 start date. The RFP will therefore be issued in late summer (August), with selections made by November, and start dates shortly thereafter. The four completed rounds of proposal selection as well as the planned fifth round are listed below:

Timing of METRANS Requests for Proposals

Fiscal Year RFP Issued Due Date Selections Start Date

98/99 3/19/1999 4/28/1999 6/1/1999 7/1999 to 9/1999

99/00 7/7/1999 8/11/1999 9/27/1999 1/1/2000

00/01 2/11/2000 3/17/2000 5/8/2000 8/2000

01/02 12/12/2000 2/23/2001 4/24/2001 8/15/01

02/03 8/15/2002 9/30/2002 11/30/2002 12/15/2002

METRANS’ goal has been to make selections within three months after the RFP is issued. This allows about 5 weeks for proposal preparation, 4 weeks for peer review, and 3 weeks for compilation of results and communication with the METRANS Executive Committee. Subsequent delay from selection to award is largely due to requirements of proposal revision, assemblage of a complete proposal package for Caltrans, and processing the awards at Caltrans.

The first two RFPs restricted proposals to the two focus areas of goods movement and public transit. For the third and fourth RFP, infrastructure renewal was added as a third focus area. A summary of the submitted proposals is provided below:

Summary of Proposals Submitted to METRANS

			Number of Proposals by Area
Fiscal Year	Proposals	$ Requested	Goods	Transit	Infrastructure	Multiple
98/99	15	$ 808,497	6	8	0	1
99/00	12	$ 451,335	6	5	0	1
00/01	17	$ 906,370	10	6	1	0
01/02	16	$ 882,261	7	3	6	2
Total	60	$3,048,463	29	22	7	4

The number of proposals in the infrastructure area grew substantially in the 01/02 year, proposals were fairly steady in the goods movement area, and proposal dropped in the transit area. The growth in infrastructure was largely the consequence of a concerted effort to encourage faculty to submit proposals.

The selection process is competitive. Though the success rate has been fairly high (approximately 50%), we have ordinarily been unable to fund all proposals that were recommended for funding by referees. A concern for the center has been the small number of proposals submitted by CSULB faculty. With significantly more funding available in the coming year, we are considering alternative ways of promoting transportation activities at CSULB, including joint proposals with faculty from other universities, student scholarships, and placement of USC Ph.D. graduates in research positions at CSULB.

As summarized in the following table, the awards retain the center’s strength in goods movement and freight, while also sustaining activities in transit and infrastructure. One of the proposals that fit multiple-topic areas fit in both the infrastructure and transit areas; the other multiple-topic proposal fit in the transit and goods movement areas. Funding for research declined somewhat in 01/02, as more funds were devoted to technology transfer and educational activities.

Summary of Proposals Awarded by METRANS

			Number of Proposals by Area
Fiscal Year	Proposals	$ Requested	Goods	Transit	Infrastructure	Multiple
98/99	6	$ 294,299	3	2	0	1
99/00	7	$ 324,898	4	3	0	0
00/01	11	$ 580,882	5	6	0	0
01/02	7	$ 446,602	3	1	1	2
Total	31	$1,646,681	15	12	1	3

In reference to DOT subject areas (Table 4b), our biggest emphases in the most recent selection rounds were in transportation and logistics system operations and management ($130,000), infrastructure maintenance and operations ($108,332), and intermodal operations ($104,104), and fleet operations management ($54,166). These emphases reflect METRANS’ depth in goods movement and transit, and METRANS’ expansion into the infrastructure area.

With respect to goals, our largest emphasis has been on mobility (six projects and $396,602) and economic growth and trade ($234,104). These are consistent with the goals for large metropolitan regions, such as Southern California. In terms of enabling research, our largest emphasis has been on tools for modeling and design (five projects and $374,935). For modal emphasis, highways are the most prominent ($234,167), reflecting our research on highway infrastructure and trucking. Maritime, rail and transit are also represented, with amounts ranging from $108,331 to $125,771.

As intended, all projects selected by METRANS are directed toward DOT’s strategic initiatives. The following list is cumulative, covering all funding rounds to date:

Enhanced Goods and Freight Movement at Domestic and International Gateways

· Hanh: Re-engineering the Logistics of Empty Cargo Containers in the SCAG Region (01/02)

· Gordon and Williamson: Development and Test Methodology for the Evaluation of Highway Widening Plans to Facilitate Freight Flows Throughout a Major Metropolitan Area (01/02)

· Ioannou and Chassiakos: Dynamic Optimization of Cargo Movement by Trucks in Metropolitan Areas (01/02)

· Grobar and Barber: An Integrated Approach to Managing Local Container Traffic Growth in the Long Beach/Los Angeles Port Complex Phase II (00/01)

· Hall: Alternative Access and Locations for Air Cargo (00/01)

· Ioannou and Chassiakos: Dynamic Optimization of Cargo Movements by Trucks in Metropolitan Areas with Adjacent Ports (00/01)

· Kosmatopoulos: Design and Optimization of a Conceptual Automated Yard Using Overhead Rail Systems (00/01)

· Parentela: Developing Risk Model for Commercial Goods Transport (00/01)

· Bukkapatnam: Dynamic Coordination Framework for Resource Allocation in Trucking Operations (99/00)

· Gordon: Assembling and Processing Freight Shipment Data: Developing a GIS-Based Origin-Destination Matrix for Southern California Freight Flows (99/00)

· James: Non-Invasive Means of Investigating Container Contents for Customs Agents at Ports (99/00)

· Jordanides: Use of Robotics and Expert Systems in Improving the Handling of Containers at the Port Terminals (99/00)

· Grobar and Barber: Implementing a Statewide Goods Movement Strategy and Performance Measurement of Goods Movement in California (98/99)

· Ioannou and Chassiakos: Modeling and Route Guidance of Trucks in Metropolitan Areas (98/99)

· Khoshnevis: 3D Virtual and Physical Simulation of Automated Container Terminal Facilities and Analysis of Impact on In-land Transportation (98/99)

Accessibility for Aging and Transportation-Disadvantaged Populations

· Giuliano: Travel Patterns of the Elderly (00/01)

· Dessouky and Rahimi: A Task Decomposition Model for Dispatchers in Dynamic Scheduling of Demand Responsive Transit Systems (98/99)

· Giuliano: The Role of Public Transit in Mobility of Low Income Households (98/99)

Environmental Sustainability of Transportation Systems

· Rahai: Reducing Pollutants from Mobile Sources (01/02)

· Rahimi and Dessouky: A Methodology for Joint Optimization of Service and Life Cycle Environmental Assessment of Transportation Systems (01/02)

· Toossi: Assessment of Hybrid Vehicle Control Strategies in Planning Future Metropolitan/Urban Transit Systems (00/01)

· Williams: Solid State Sorption Air Conditioner System for Containerships and Vehicles (99/00) (Phase 2, 00/01)

· Ronney: Improving Fuel Economy and Emissions Performance of Commercial Goods Transportation and Mass Transit Vehicles Using Throttleless Engines (98/99)

Physical Infrastructure

· Wong: Analysis of Vibrations as Infrastructure Caused by High-speed Rail Transit (01/02)

· Johnson: Smart Damping Devices for Monitoring the Health of Bridge Structures (01/02)

· Banerjee: Freeway Bus Station Area Development: Critical Evaluation and Design Guidelines (00/01)

· Banerjee: Highway Oriented Transit System (HOTS): A Comprehensive Land Use-Transportation Strategy to Improve Transit Service Delivery (99/00)

· Kuprenas: Identification and Analysis of Local Agency Transit Project Performance Criteria (99/00)

Smart Vehicles and Operators

· Ioannou and Chassiakos: Dynamic Optimization of Cargo Movement by Trucks in Metropolitan Areas (01/02)

· Bukkapatnam and Dessouky: Distributed Architecture for Real-time Coordination in Transit Networks (00/01)

· Meshkati, Rahimi and Driver: Investigating the Role of Driver Decision Styles in Highway-Rail Crossing Accidents (00/01)

METRANS has the goal of supporting cooperative research that involves transportation agencies and meets the transportation needs of metropolitan agencies. Nearly all projects have received financial support from Caltrans, and many others have cooperated with local and regional agencies. Cooperating agencies are shown below by project:

Bukkapatnam and Dessouky

Distributed Architecture for Real-time Coordination in Transit Networks

Access Services

Dessouky and Rahimi

A Task Decomposition Model for Dispatchers in Dynamic Scheduling

Access Services

Gordon

Assembling and Processing Freight Shipment Data: Developing a GIS-Based OD Matrix

Southern California Association of Governments

Gordon and Williamson

Development and Test Methodology for the Evaluation of Highway Widening Plans to Facilitate Freight Flows Throughout a Major Metropolitan Area

Southern California Association of Governments

Grobar and Barber

Implementing a Statewide Goods Movement Strategy and Performance Measurement Southern California Association of Governments

Hall

Alternative Access and Locations for Air Cargo

Los Angeles World Airports

Hanh

Re-engineering the Logistics of Empty Cargo Containers in the SCAG Region

Port of Long Beach

Ioannou and Chassiakos

Dynamic Optimization of Cargo Movements by Trucks in Metropolitan Areas with Adjacent Ports

Los Angeles Department of Transportation

Ioannou and Chassiakos

Modeling and Route Guidance of Trucks in Metropolitan Areas

Los Angeles Department of Transportation

Kuprenas

Identification and Analysis of Local Agency Transit Project Performance Criteria

Caltrans Division of Mass Transportation

Meshkati, Rahimi, and Driver

Investigating the Role of Driver Decision Styles in Highway-Rail Crossing Accidents

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Ronney

Improving Fuel Economy and Emissions Performance of Vehicles

South Coast Air Quality Management District

Selection Process

METRANS follows a peer-reviewed proposal selection process in which each proposal is submitted to a minimum of five people for review, drawn from the following groups:

· University expert (usually two people in category)

· Local transportation agency expert

· Caltrans expert

· US DOT expert

In the most recent RFP (00/01), the following DOT employees (or their designated representatives) reviewed proposals:

· Michael Onder, ITS Commercial Vehicle Operations Program

· Bert Arillaga, FTA

· Richard Walker, MARAD

· MJ Fiocco, Office of Intermodalism

· Paul Teng, FHWA

These DOT representatives were selected because of their expertise and leadership in goods movement, transit, or infrastructure.

A minimum of three reviews have been returned for each proposal. (For our last funding round, we are happy to report that we received Caltrans and DOT reviews for every proposal that was submitted.) Summarized results of the evaluations are presented to the METRANS Executive Committee, which makes final selections.

The RFP for the 2002/2003 fiscal year will be issued in late summer 2002, as discussed above. Every effort will be made to make the process as efficient as possible so that awards can be made before the start of the January 2003 semester. The preliminary budget for 02/03 calls for about $1 million in research project funding. Given the increased funding, METRANS is making the following changes in the RFP:

· Expand research theme topics to goods movement, mobility of urban populations, infrastructure, and safety and security

· Increase project funding limit to $100,000

· Allow joint projects with other universities, subject to project PI being full-time tenure track faculty at USC or CSULB.

Research Results

As of this writing, 16 research projects have been completed, and 6 more are in the peer review/revision process. We have found that the final report peer review process is often a bottleneck to project completion. Reviewers may take months to return comments, and some comments are never received. In order to expedite the completion of final reports, the Director reviews all final reports and manages the revision process. Abstracts are provided below for all projects completed this year.

99-14 2D Virtual and Physical Simulation of Automated Container Terminal Facilities and Analysis of Impact on In-Land Transportation

This research presents the impact of instituting Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems, Automatically Guided Vehicle Systems (AGVS), simplification of transportation network (Loop Based Networks) on a modern maritime container terminal. Three performance analysis variables are defined for comparing the existing practice with the proposed system. These key-variables are (1) throughput, (2) space utilization, and (3) utilization of the horizontal material handling equipment. A 3D simulation-animation is developed to show the impact of the proposed re-engineering on the above key productivity variables is also presented. We also discuss the design of a scaled physical simulator that implements realistic structural and control considerations. The proposed model is generic in nature; however, its details are based on a hypothetical terminal which we expect to be realistic, given our knowledge of ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Therefore, the results of our research should be of benefit to container terminal designers and operators, and the model can be utilized as the test bed to examine various scenarios.

00-3 Alternative Access and Locations for Air Cargo

In recent years, air cargo has been the fastest growing segment of the goods movement industry in the United States, placing increasing demands both on airports and ground transportation to/from airports. This project documents and analyzes issues confronting air cargo movements in Southern California (the Los Angeles and San Diego areas), develops strategies for accommodating growth in air cargo, and assesses the impacts of these strategies on carrier operations. The emphasis is on the operation of the cargo carriers themselves, rather than on the governmental entities that serve these carriers. Particular emphasis is given to operation of integrated carriers. Within Southern California, LAX is the dominant cargo airport, trailed by Ontario and San Diego. LAX acts as an international gateway between North America and Asia. It is also the location for the FedEx “Metroplex” (min-hub). The majority of the freight traffic through LAX travels on passenger/freight airlines. Ontario is dominated by UPS regional hub, which serves 78 percent of the airport s freight volume. San Diego provides a mixture of domestic and international service. Other airports serve domestic hub traffic of integrated airlines, within local areas. This project describes the roles of these airports with respect to the operational concerns of air cargo carriers.

00-5 Developing Risk Model for Commercial Goods Transport

Truck traffic in Southern California is projected to increase by 40 percent in the year 2020. Coupled with an increase in traffic is an increase in truck accidents. On the average, fatal truck accidents represent 11 percent of total fatal accident in the state and injury accidents represent 4.5 percent of total injury accidents. Los Angeles is the leading county in truck collisions, representing 28 percent of all truck accidents in the state. Economic growth can be sustained if an efficient transportation is in place meaning goods are delivered safely, on time or with minimal delay, and at a minimal cost. Accidents along the transport corridors affect the efficient delivery of goods and the overall operation of a transportation system, especially if it happens in interstate and major highways.

A risk model for commercial goods transport will be developed to provide a reliable estimate of risk along transport corridors. Reliable risk estimates could serve as a basis for implementing measures that will minimize or mitigate the consequence of an accident, and for revising or drafting policies that promote safe and efficient movements of commercial goods, without sacrificing mobility.

00-6 Assessment of Hybrid Vehicle Control Strategies in Planning Future Metropolitan/Urban Transit Systems

Simulation studies are performed to evaluate the potential fuel savings and reduction in emissions from using hybrid powered buses on Long Beach City bus routes. Conventional diesels, diesel-hybrid, and gas turbine-hybrids are considered. The results of these studies are compared with experimental data and are in generally good agreement.

Fuel economy is shown to be dependent on the bus configuration, component sizing as well as the bus route, with a potential fuel economy improvement of as much as 80 percent. Emissions are also substantially lowered if hybrid buses equipped with diesels or gas turbines are deployed. Depending on the mission, driving patterns, and road conditions, different control strategies demonstrate the best results.

The long-term objective of the project is to investigate the feasibility of utilizing a fleet of small and medium size hybrid passenger vans in metropolitan/urban areas to improve the overall fuel efficiency, reduce emission, and increase throughput without increasing cost life of the system, thus allowing additional routes to areas where such services are most needed. This is done by allowing fleets consisting of a mix of vehicles such as hybrids and internal combustion engines to operate. The fuel savings and lower emission over the vehicle life will compensate the higher initial capital costs. The results of this study can be extended to address the transportation problems over large metropolitan areas and facilitate implementation of Air Resource Board (ARB), Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), and Caltrans mandates in promoting higher use of high-occupancy vehicles (HOV) and sustainable market demand for ultra low and zero emission vehicles.

00-15 Dynamic Optimization of Cargo Movement by Trucks in Metropolitan Areas with Adjacent Ports

Today, in the trucking industry, dispatchers perform the tasks of cargo assignment, and driver scheduling. The growing number of containers processed at marine centers and the increasing traffic congestion in metropolitan areas adjacent to marine ports, necessitates the investigation of more efficient and reliable ways to handle the increasing cargo traffic. In this report, it is shown that the problem of container movement by trucks can be modeled as a “multi-Traveling Salesmen Problems with Time Windows” (m-TSPTW). A two-phase exact algorithm based on dynamic programming is proposed that will find the best routes for a fleet of trucks. Since the m-TSPTW problem is Nondeterministic Polynomial (NP) hard, the computational time for large size problems becomes very high. For the case of medium to large size problems, we develop two computationally feasible methods: 1) a hybrid methodology consisting of dynamic programming in conjunction with genetic algorithms, and 2) a heuristic insertion method. Furthermore, since the cargo movement in a traffic network is a dynamic problem, we use the heuristic insertion method to add newly arriving customers to the set of customers with advanced requests. Computational results demonstrate the efficiency of the hybrid method for static problems and the insertion method for the dynamic ones.

00-16 Design and Optimization of a Conceptual Automated Yard using Overhead Grid Rail System

Booming in the world trade, scarcity of land for yard expansion in many ports, and deployment of new massive megaships have magnified the need for finding better ways of performing container terminal operations. High-density, automated container terminals are currently considered as a candidate to improve the performance of container terminals. The overhead Grid Rail (GR) system is such a candidate, offering the advantages of high storage density, fast loading/unloading, flexibility and reliability and no interference between manual and automated operations. Moreover, contrary to other automated container concepts, the simplicity of GR operations makes it possible for the development of optimal or nearly optimal dispatching algorithms.

The purpose of this study is the design and optimization of an automated container yard which is equipped with a GR system (consisting by a number of GR units) for storage and retrieval of containers in the yard. Algorithms are developed for the optimal choice of the GR system parameters (number of GR units and number of shuttles) as well as for the optimal dispatching schedules. The GR units and optimized operations are simulated and evaluated in a fully automated terminal. The results show a strong potential for the GR system to dramatically improve capacity of current terminals with a much lower cost.

00-17 An Integrated Approach to Managing Local Container Traffic Growth in Long Beach-Los Angeles Port Complex, Phase II

The report utilizes break-even analysis to describe the economic private and social costs and benefits, validated with stakeholder workshop input, likely to result from the implementation of an extended gate hours of operation for marine terminals regime upon terminal throughput velocity and regional mobility over time. The concept of throughput velocity is utilized as an original benchmark measurement of comparative terminal operating efficiency in a capacity constrained operating environment combining traditional temporal dimension of dwell time (average time spent on terminal by individual container) with spatial dimension of throughput per acre thereby allowing accurate performance comparison of terminals independent of size or geographic and operating conditions.

The authors suggest the implementation of a time-phased throughput redistribution strategy involving:

(1) initial maximization of current first shift operations on a terminal specific basis through the use of flexible shift hours and start times, prioritization of gate transactions, and introduction of a community based appointment and scheduling system to coordinate truck dispatch with gate transactions;

(2) followed by the gradual adoption of extended gate hours in the form of limited service gates using weekend and second and hoot shift gates designed to flush import and export containers structured to synchronize marine vessel arrival and departures with gate hours of operation.

The strategy is intended to achieve the broad goals of redistribution of overall current and future port containers volumes set forth in 2001 Port of Los Angeles-Port of Long Beach Transportation Study and regional analysis incorporated in I-710 Major Corridor Study requiring the implementation of transportation systems measures such as extended gate hours to maximize use of exiting highway capacity as a necessary prerequisite to major infrastructure funding.

Other Research Activities

· The third annual METRANS research conference was held March 22, 2002, and was attended by 97 people, including most METRANS investigators and students, and representatives from local, state, and national transportation organizations. Congresswoman Diane Watson was the keynote speaker. The conference theme was “Public Transit and Future Mobility,” and featured a full day of presentations by faculty and industry professionals. Six METRANS faculty affiliates, one METRANS Ph.D. student, and two METRANS Advisory Committee members participated in the conference. The conference also included exhibits of research by METRANS investigators.

· METRANS faculty presented their research results at 23 conferences. As more research projects are completed, academic publications follow. The METRANS faculty now have 25 articles published or forthcoming in refereed journals.

· In May 2002 METRANS hosted visiting transportation engineering researchers and professionals from the People’s Republic of China and presented an overview of METRANS research activities.

· The METRANS Administrator continues to identify transportation funding sources, and has advertised these to faculty at CSULB and USC. In addition, the METRANS web page has been designed to link to 24 agencies that fund transportation research.

D. DESCRIPTION OF EDUCATION ACCOMPLISHMENTS

The METRANS education program emphasizes student involvement in research projects. METRANS continues to make graduate student involvement an explicit criterion in making research awards in our RFP. Involvement of undergraduate students in METRANS funded research is encouraged. As a result, all projects have had significant student participation (some undergraduate, some graduate, and some both). Investigators are strongly encouraged to budget for student presentations at conferences, such as the Transportation Research Board annual meeting. We have also organized events to reach out to pre-college students, including a popular competition among Los Angeles County high school students.

National Student Competitions

In 2002, METRANS again participated in the USDOT UTC “Outstanding Student Award” program. The METRANS student of the 2001-02 academic year was Craig Christy, a Ph.D. student in the California State University at Long Beach/Claremont Graduate School joint Ph.D. program in Engineering and Industrial Applied Mathematics. Mr. Christy is enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering (ME) program at CSULB, and in the Mathematics program at Claremont.

University of Southern California transportation students participated actively in other national competitions, including the Eno Foundation Leadership Conference and the Council of University Transportation Centers (CUTC) dissertation awards.

State and Local Student Competitions

Women’s Transportation Seminar – Los Angeles Chapter

CSULB College of Engineering undergraduate student Casey Lewis received the Los Angeles Chapter of the Women’s Transportation Seminar’s Undergraduate Scholarship Award. USC MPP student Adrienne Spahr received the WTS-LA Chapter’s Ava Doner Graduate Scholarship Award. USC MPL student Helen Shi also competed for this award.

Internal and External Graduation Awards

USC MPL student Stacie Colten received the California Planning Foundation’s Meritorious Achievement Award for a Graduating Student. Adrienne Spahr received the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Master’s Candidates; and USC MPL student Ryan Hall received the Master of Planning Comprehensive Examination Prize. All three students have emphasized transportation planning or policy in their graduate programs.

The USC School of Engineering 2001-02 Valedictorian, Laurel Chun, a CE student, was funded as undergraduate research assistant on a METRANS award to Prof. Najmedin Meshkati.

California Transportation Foundation’s Transportation Education Symposium

USC civil engineering and urban planning undergraduates consistently participate in the California Transportation Foundation’s (CTF) annual Transportation Education Symposium. The symposium gives upper-division undergraduates a unique opportunity to collaborate with senior industry and agency professionals as they prepare competing team responses to a mock request for project proposals. The CFT makes this experience available to outstanding student participants at no cost to these students. In 1999, USC requested that the CTF include CSULB in its annual solicitation of participants. The USC members of the METRANS executive committee screens the USC nominees for these experiences, with the objective of providing opportunities for participation to undergraduates from both universities. METRANS funds transportation to Northern California for the USC and CSULB participants. USC Civil Engineering seniors Joseph Ricardi and Michael Jaboury attended the November, 2001 Symposium at Asilomar Conference Center in Monterey, CA. Mr. Ricardi’s team won the 2001 competition. No CSULB students attended the CTF Symposium in 2001-02.

Student Competition Support

The METRANS Administrator compiles opportunities for student competitions and will continue advertising them both by email to identified students and by advertisement on the METRANS web site.

Pre-College Events

One of the exciting activities in the 2001-02 year was continuation of METRANS “Transportation in the Future” art competition. METRANS received funding from Toyota and Southern California Association of Governments to fund more than $6,000 in prizes to 13 winners, and to hold a special reception in honor of the winners. UTC funding provided administrative support for the competition, including mailing announcements to all LA County high schools, processing 52 entries, judging the entries, notifying contestants of the outcome and organizing the ceremony and exposition. The Art Center College of Design (the leading college for transportation design in the United States) also contributed scholarships for the winners.

Continuing Education Programs

These are described in the technology transfer section under technical training.

Student and Faculty Transportation Field Experiences

Field experiences are a routine part of transportation engineering courses offered at USC and CSULB. There are many opportunities for unique site visits in Southern California, including technology facilities such as Caltrans District 7’s Transportation Management Center (TMC) and the Caltrans District 12 TMC; the Los Angeles County Department of Transportation (LADoT) Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control (ATSAC) Center; the California Private Transportation Company’s (CPTC) fully electronic State Route 91 Express lanes and the Transportation Corridor Agencies’ (TCA) system of Orange County toll roads; and the Partnership for Advanced Transit and Highways’ (PATH) technology test bed facilities at UC Irvine, the City of Irvine, the City of Anaheim, and Santa Ana. Southern California also includes specialized transportation facilities such as commuter, heavy, and light rail systems; the El Monte busway and the Harbor transitway; the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach; and the Alameda corridor.

Opportunities to visit these facilities and to discuss problems and objectives with associated professionals and officials contribute considerable depth to transportation education and research. METRANS serves as clearinghouse for field experiences associated with USC and CSULB classes and research and local transportation organizations such as WTS, providing van transportation when demand justifies it. This past year, student-centered field trips were organized to Caltrans District 7’s Transportation Management Center (TMC) and the Los Angeles County Department of Transportation’s (LADoT) Automated Traffic Surveillance and Control (ATSAC) Center, a pre-operation bus tour of the Alameda corridor, and a waterside tour of the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.

Institute for Transportation Engineers Student Chapters

A student chapter of the Institute for Transportation Engineers (ITE) was formed at CSULB in 1997 during the final stages of the original METRANS proposal process. The chapter currently has approximately 20 student members, and is advised by Civil Engineering Associate Professor Emelinda Parentela. ITE approved the formation of an ITE student chapter at the University of Southern California, and CE Professor James E. Moore II agreed to be the faculty advisor. Formation of USC’s ITE student chapter would help meet the objectives of students from multiple schools within USC, as well as the objectives of professional organizations interested in encouraging students to enter the transportation professions. Further, the existence of student chapters at both CSULB and USC would provide an additional avenue of collaboration across the two campuses.

MERIT Research Program/McNair Scholars Program

Every year, a select group of promising incoming freshmen are invited by the USC School of Engineering faculty to work on projects in their research laboratories or in the field. These student researchers actively participate in the development of new technology throughout their undergraduate years. In addition to giving students excellent first-hand research experience, this program can help offset the cost of education. Each participant earns an annual stipend for their work. The School of Engineering currently provides a stipend of $2000; $1500 as wages and $500 for research expenditures. This renewable award is separate from other financial assistance offered by the University.

These undergraduate Merit Research Scholars are brought to the attention of USC faculty based on the student’s interests and the faculty member’s willingness to participate in the Merit research program. USC engineering faculty funded by METRANS are encouraged to participate in the Merit Research Program. Funded METRANS projects and lists of investigators are forwarded to the Office of Student Affairs in the School of Engineering to ensure that prospective students know these research projects are available to them. Prof. James Moore II acts as a liaison to encourage placement of MERIT Scholars in transportation projects, and for students participating in the McNair Scholars program. Undergraduate McNair Scholars are part of a parallel University-wide program that focuses on research opportunities for students from groups that are under represented in graduate schools.

Degree Programs, Courses, and Seminars

Student involvement in transportation education and research continues to be strong at both USC and CSULB. Ongoing changes in transportation-related course offerings, particularly at CSULB, make year-to-year comparisons difficult. More generally, civil engineering enrollments (a large source of transportation-related course enrollments) at CSULB and USC have declined over the past two years. Enrollment in other programs has remained stable, and increased in some cases.

Student involvement in transportation research projects is also difficult to compare across years. In FY 99-00 we issued two RFPs and awarded $811,908 in research projects. This was done to coordinate project awards with our funding cycle. In FY 00-01 we issued one RFP and awarded $446,602 in research projects. METRANS student involvement also includes research projects funded from other sources and reflects the variability of university-wide extramural funding levels. Although the number of students reported as being involved in transportation research in 2000-2001 declined relative to the previous year, a slightly larger share of METRANS funding has been allocated to student support. Most of the decline is due to the completion of the FY 99 research projects.

USC

USC’s curricular offerings in transportation continue to expand. A graduate special topics course, “Port Engineering: Planning and Operations,” was offered by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the Spring of 2002; and a regular CE graduate course, “Traffic Engineering and Control,” was offered in the Spring of 2002 for the first time in three years. A cross-listed, graduate special topics course in “California Transportation Law” will be offered in the Fall of 2002. “Transportation and the Environment,” a new, permanent graduate course in the School of Policy, Planning, and Development was offered for the first time in the Fall of 2001.

In the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, four students completed the comprehensive examination in the recently restructured Master of Planning “Transportation and Land Use” field specialization. The new field specialization in Transportation for the Master of Public Policy degree graduated its first student in May 2002. Approximately 11 students are pursuing transportation-related dissertations in the doctoral program in Urban Planning.

In the USC School of Engineering, three students completed the MSCE – Transportation Engineering program, and five students are continuing the doctoral program in Civil Engineering.

Six new USC doctoral dissertations in transportation were either defended or filed by the Spring of 2002.

· “Politics of Structural Choice: New Transportation Agencies, Regional Projects, and Cooperation in a Political Environment,” Richard F. Callahan, Doctor of Public Administration.

· “Hybrid Scheduling Methods for the General Routing Problem,” Prof. Majid M. Aldahani, Doctor of Philosophy, Industrial and Systems Engineering.

· “Territory Planning and Vehicle Dispatching with Stochastic Customers and Demand,” Hongsheng Zhong, Doctor of Philosophy, Industrial and Systems Engineering.

· “Modeling and Dynamic Optimization of Container Movement in Metropolitan Networks,” Dr. Hossien Jula, Doctor of Philosophy, Electrical Engineering – Systems.

· “Evaluation of Policy Alternatives to Alleviate Transportation Related Air Pollution,” Prof. Shin Lee, Doctor of Philosophy, Urban Planning.

· “By Sea: The Port Nexus in the Global Commodity Network (The Case of the West Coast Ports),” Eileen Rhea Rabach, Doctor of Philosophy, Political Economy and Public Policy.

Dr. Callahan is Director of the USC Sacramento Center. Drs. Aldahani and Lee joined the faculties of Kuwait University and the University of Wales, Cardiff, respectively. Dr. Sriram Khé, a previous SPPD doctoral graduate in transportation and development, joined the faculty of Western Oregon University at the accelerated rank of untenured Associate Professor.

Transportation and Location Research Seminar, Fridays 2:00-3:00 PM, Fall 2001, Spring 2002

At the request of USC faculty, this seminar was reactivated in the Fall of 2001 to provide speaking experience for advanced graduate students, to remind faculty of interdisciplinary transportation research opportunities, to serve as focus for transportation teaching and research, and to provide a speaking forum for external visitors. The seminar resulted in excellent cooperation between faculty and students in several USC departments. The Seminar continued into the Spring of 2002. Prof. James Moore II plans to submit a curriculum proposal regularizing the seminar as a 1-unit seminar, probably labeled PPD 498: Seminars in Transportation and Location Research, cross-listed in the School of Policy, Planning, and Development, the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and possibly in additional curricula.

An effort will be made to expand future editions of this seminar series to include routine participation from CSULB faculty and students. This will mean working with CSULB faculty to recruit speakers, and providing transportation for USC faculty and students interested in attending seminars at CSULB. It may be necessary to schedule some USC speakers at CSULB to generate interest and routine attendance.

USC Transportation and Location Research Seminar Fridays, 2:00-3:00 PM Fall, 2001
Date	Speaker	Location		Topic
September 28	Yue Yue Fan CE Advisor: Kalaba	RGL 215		Arrive On Time: Dynamic Routing Policies in Stochastic Networks
October 5	Sungbin Cho SPPD Advisor: Moore	RGL 215		User Equilibrium Flows in Networks Subject to Seismic Damage: Validation Tests
October 12	DongHwan An SPPD Advisors: Gordon, Richardson	RGL 215		Production Efficiency and Productivity Differentials Across U.S. States
October 19	Quan Lu ISE Advisor: Dessouky	KAP 203		An Exact Algorithm for the Pickup and Delivery Problems
October 26	Majid Alhaihani ISE Advisor: Dessouky	KAP 203		Hybrid Scheduling Method for the General Routing
November 9	Qisheng Pan SPPD Advisor: Gordon	KAP 203		Non-Survey Approaches for Modeling Freight Flows
November 12	Dr. Art Winer, Environmental Health Sciences, Environmental Science and Engineering Programs, UCLA School of Public Health	RGL 219		Health Impacts of Small Particulates (<2.5 microns)
Special Monday Meeting: Joint with PPD 584
November 30	Tom O’Brien SPPD Advisor: Giuliano		RGL 215		Transit Technology Deployment in Multi-Agency Settings
December 7	Jeff Brown/Daniel Hess UCLA Dept. of Geography/ITS Advisor: Shoup		RGL 215		Unlimited Access: Evaluating UCLA’s University Transit Pass Pilot Program (BruinGo)
USC Transportation and Location Research Seminar Fridays, 2:00-3:00 PM Spring, 2002
Date	Speaker		Location		Topic
January 25	Majid Aldaihani ISE Ph.D. Aspirant Advisor: Dessouky		RGL 219		Hybrid Scheduling Methods for the General Routing Problem
February 1	Prof. Amelia Regan ITS/Civil Engineering USC Irvine		RGL 219		Dynamic and Stochastic Network Optimization: Recent Developments and On-going Research
February 8	Richard Callahan Director, SPPD Sacramento Ctr SPPD DPA Candidate Advisor: Tang		RGL 215		Regional Transportation Agencies: The Politics of Structural Choice and the Possibility of Cooperation
February 15	Prof. Michael Mcnally ITS/Civil Engineering UC Irvine		RGL 215		REACT!/TRACER
February 22	Junghoon Ki SPPD Ph.D. Candidate Advisor: Gordon		RGL 215		Statistical Analysis of High Technology Employment Location Factors Using Quasi-Experimental Designs
March 8	Shahram Ghoddousi Tehrani CE MSCE Candidate Advisors: Moore, Masri		RGL 308		GIS Estimates of Ground Motion for Los Angeles’ Major Highway Bridges
March 22	METRANS Conference: USC Transportation students in SPPD and SOE should expect to attend
April 5	Shubhraroop Ghosh SPPD MPl Candidate		RGL 209		Comparative Freeway Capping Projects: Costs and Benefits
April 12	Hamid Pourmohammadi ISE Ph.D. Aspirant Advisor: Dessouky		RGL 308		Post Earthquake Bridge Reconstruction Strategies
April 16	Marco Diana Visiting Scholar Turin Polytechnic, Italy		KAP 309		Operating a Paratransit System: Some Proposals to Efficiently Solve Underlying Scheduling and Routing Problems
April 26	Dr. Seongkil Cho PB Farradyne Los Angeles		RGL 219		Do Red Light Cameras Increase Accident Rates?

CSULB

In 2001-2002, one student completed the MSCE – Transportation Engineering program. The CSULB Graduate Center for Public Policy and Administration graduated 19 students with professional backgrounds in or an academic focus on transportation.

In 2001-2002, approximately 60 students completed the CITT certificate program leading to the Professional Designation as a Global Logistics Specialist.

CSULB’s planned launch of the new Master of Arts in Global Logistics in the Fall of 2001 was delayed until Spring of 2002 due to the events of September 11. Response has been exceptionally strong. The first class of 22 students was initiated in March. This cohort will complete the program in September of 2003.

This new degree is interdisciplinary, combining the analytical skills of a traditional MBA with a strong emphasis on logistics in a global setting. It is a 30-unit accelerated graduate program that can be completed in less than two years (21 months), and is offered through CSULB’s Center for International Trade and Transportation (CITT) and the University College. This degree program was developed in response to increasing demand for broad training in global logistics and supply chain management. The program prepares professionals to deal with the complexities of supplier relations/selection, purchasing negotiations, operations, e-commerce and many other dimensions of supply chain management.

USC Doctoral Student Lecture Positions at CSULB

One of the most important missions for the University of Southern California is training and education of doctoral students intending to join the academy as faculty members. The USC/CSULB METRANS partnership provides a good opportunity place doctoral students in lectureship positions. METRANS is working to provide opportunities for collegiate and graduate teaching experiences at CSULB to advanced doctoral candidates at USC working in areas related to transportation policy and transportation engineering. Students selected for this experience must have passed their Ph.D. qualifying examination, be making satisfactory progress on their doctoral dissertations, and have a professed interest in a faculty career. Prof. James Moore II is coordinating this activity.

USC Interdisciplinary Program in Transportation Systems

The study of transportation science and transportation systems transcends disciplines, and a multidisciplinary approach is needed to produce meaningful remedies for urban transportation problems. The expanded set of transportation research opportunities at USC and CSULB creates further opportunities for expanding graduate education, and for collaboration between the two institutions.

There are several academic units at USC that offer coursework relevant to the study of transportation systems, and public and private transportation problems. These units include the Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Industrial and Systems Engineering; and Electrical Engineering – Systems; the School of Policy, Planning, and Development; the Marshall School of Business; and the several departments in the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences. Many of these courses are taught by USC faculty on the METRANS Executive Committee, or funded by the METRANS research program. However, no unit at USC offers the range of coursework and research opportunities representative of an advanced degree program in transportation systems or transportation systems engineering, broadly defined.

The METRANS Executive Committee had planned to propose mounting a new Ph.D. degree in transportation, in cooperation with other units, that draws on the teaching resources represented by the University’s full complement of transportation faculty. A prospectus for this new program was approved by the University of Southern California in 2000-2001. However, the lead sponsoring unit, the USC Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, placed all curriculum initiatives on hold during the 2001-2002 academic year as the result of a standard internal review by the USC University Committee on Academic Review (UCAR). The objective of this temporary hold is to use the UCAR committee’s findings to better inform future curriculum development efforts.

The USC members of the METRANS Executive Committee continue to try and identify the best avenue for establishing an interdisciplinary USC graduate program in Transportation Systems, with the objective of making a successful curriculum proposal in the upcoming year.

CSULB/USC Joint Ph.D. Program

USC and CSULB faculty have discussed the creation of a new joint Ph.D. Program in Civil Engineering with a focus on transportation engineering. Both institutions already have joint curricula in place with other institutions. CSULB has joint Ph.D. program with the Claremont Graduate School, and USC has a joint Ph.D. program with Hebrew Union College. Because of the complexities of launching such a program, the Executive Committee has elected to emphasize recruitment between the two universities, focusing on recruiting CSULB masters students for Ph.D. programs at USC.

In previous years, a small but consistent stream of CSULB engineering undergraduates has transitioned to USC for graduate work. Hopefully, this flow can be increased. Further, a procedure has been defined making it possible to clear CSULB Civil Engineering faculty members for participation on USC doctoral dissertation committees, regardless of whether a new curriculum option is defined. This would expand the number of faculty members eligible to adjudicate the work of USC graduate students in transportation engineering, and would increase the exposure of CSULB faculty to candidates for service as CSULB lecturers.

E. DESCRIPTION OF TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Technical Training:

CSULB offers a series of industry driven training programs through the University College and Extension Services and the Center for International Trade and Transportation (CITT). The Global Logistics Specialist (GLSâ) professional designation is the foundation of a spectrum of programs to cover the industry’s training/education needs. It is designed to set a professional standard for the international trade logistics industry and, as such, is aimed at foreign traders and all stakeholders involved in the movement of cargo around the world. This includes both asset-based companies (ocean carriers, rail, trucking, and warehousing) and non-asset-based companies (freight forwarders, customs house broker, consolidators, etc.). In an industry/university partnership, the curriculum is designed to provide broad based, hands-on training for individuals involved in, or entering any part of the logistics chain. Carefully selected topics have been grouped into six core modules that are offered within a one-year time frame one night class per week from 6:30 – 9:30 PM at CSULB’s World Trade Center offices in Long Beach. Each module contains up-to-date, practical information delivered through innovative hands-on instruction and site visits, making the program a unique training concept in this industry. After successfully completing all six modules and submission of a capstone project on integrated logistics planning, the participant will earn a professional designation and be a Global Logistics Specialist.

Additionally, the CITT offers an on-line U.S. Customs Examination preparation class, HazMat training programs and customized training at the CSULB’s World Trade Center offices in Long Beach and at company workplaces. CITT also offered an International Trade and Transportation Job Fair that was attended by over 500 jobseekers and over 20 exhibitors.

Industry Stakeholder Workshops:

With sponsorship from METRANS, the CITT is conducting a series of three workshops. These workshops are an outcome of the ILWU Town Hall Meetings and the growing realization that solutions must be found to address rising congestion problems and increasing public resistance to growth in containerized goods movement. The first workshop was held in May 2001 and its purpose was to lay out the possible implications of extending the hours of operation of ocean terminals in order to improve port and supply chain operations efficiency. The result of the workshop has been summarized and distributed to stakeholders in the form of a white paper.

CITT Workshop II

On November 29, 2001 CITT held the second industry stakeholder workshop, titled “Use of Information Technology to Improve Goods Movement in Southern California”.

The goal of Workshop II was to explore the potential of information technology for easing congestion in the seaports and on the region’s freeways. The purpose was to obtain feedback and evaluation from the participating stakeholders on implications (impacts, cost, benefits, tradeoffs) resulting from introducing and deploying several generic information technologies (IT) on marine terminal. Specifically, as part of a creative exercise in collaborative supply chain management, the participants explored, analyzed and evaluated the impact of IT on throughput velocity, regional mobility, and security. The workshop included three presentations; one was based upon a commissioned white paper on port related information technologies, followed by two presentations on several generic categories of information technologies addressing in-transit visibility, inspection technology, and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS).

Participants included representatives of the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, shipper, trucking and warehousing, customs brokers and freight forwarders, marine terminal operators, organized labor, metropolitan planning organizations (MPO’s) and California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and Federal agencies, U.S. Customs, and U.S. Coast Guard. The participants used a ranking scale ranging from zero (0) for no positive benefit to ten (10) for maximum benefit expected. The results of the participant evaluations are summarized in a final report.

CITT Workshop III

The third industry stakeholder workshop, titled “Equipment management in a changing environment and its impact on efficiency, safety, and security in the supply chain” was scheduled for June 28, 2002. However, contract negotiations between the west coast ILWU and port management were at a critical point at the end of June, and several industry stakeholders were consequently not available. The workshop was therefore cancelled and will be rescheduled after contract negotiations are concluded. The objective of this workshop is to evaluate models to optimize off-terminal equipment management as it relates to safety and security implications.

Workshop III will build on a recent report, titled “Empty Ocean Container Logistics Study,” commissioned by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) and the Gateway Cities Council of Governments. This report maps empty container flows and logistics as a basis for a preliminary evaluation of the virtual container yard concept, off-dock empty return depots, and internet-based communications portals for truck dispatch as potential building blocks for a regional empty container management strategy.

At the workshop, the invited industry stakeholders will discuss existing equipment management strategies as alternative institutional and operating models for regional equipment management. The models presented for discussion are: Virtual container yard/interchange, chassis pooling model, Rail car pool model, DOD Hazmat container pool model.

The end product will be a relative ranking of alternative models to manage regional movement of equipment in terms of safety and security summarized in a final report.

Town Hall Meeting

With sponsorship from METRANS, the CITT staged the Fourth Annual State of the Trade and Transportation Industry Town Hall Meeting, titled “Time of Transitions: New Priorities and Challenges for Trade and Transportation in the Southern California Region” in March 2002 at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center, California State University, Long Beach, California. The event attracted a capacity crowd of about 1,300 industry stakeholders, including organized labor, port authorities, industry representatives, and a particularly noteworthy assortment of public officials.

The focus of the fourth annual town hall event was to assess the implications of changes in the global economy and increased emphasis on maritime, port, and cargo security upon the regional economy and goods movement in Southern California. The security and inspection agency panelists from the Maritime Administration, U.S. Coast Guard, Customs Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Governor’s Special advisor on State Security offered a broad cross-section of agency perspectives on port security matters and goods movement implications.

The Town Hall event received support and financial sponsorships from the ILWU Locals #13, #63, and #94 leadership, the executive directors of the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and the Gateway Cities Partnership, Inc. Furthermore, the event received formal endorsement by the board of directors of 12 trade associations. The event was open and free of charge to anyone affected by and interested in trade-related transportation issues.

Prior to both events, a VIP reception was held. The purpose for the reception was to provide industry leaders an opportunity to communicate with the presenters. The event was webcasted; the webcasts will remain available for one year, until February 2003, at www.amp.csulb.edu/projects .

The Town Hall meeting was a full success by any measure. It brought together a cross-section of the ILWU rank and file and industry professionals to educate them on the need for collaboration between stakeholders and for devising a plan to deal with the projected exponential growth in containerized goods volume. A participant survey yielded 164 responses. Participants viewed the events as having high value, and supported a continuation of the Annual Town Hall series.

The Annual State of the Trade and Transportation Industry Town Hall Meetings have been praised by union members, management and Long Beach and Los Angeles Port officials. The extent of local stakeholder support is demonstrated by the formal endorsements received, as well as by the $30,000 in matching funds contributed to CITT in support of this event.

“Building Bridges”

A bi-monthly newsletter, Building Bridges, began publication in January 2001. The newsletter is a briefing document to inform and promote dialogue within the maritime/logistics industry community. Four thousand hard copies and about 100 electronic versions of each issue were distributed to ILWU local members, industry leaders, government agencies, and METRANS Advisory Board Members. In addition, the newsletters were made available at the Town Hall meetings, at trade association meetings, and via the METRANS and CITT websites.

The objectives of Building Bridges are:

· To provide a neutral communications channel on industry issues

· To lead to fruitful and open dialogue

· To encourage closer cooperation among all industry stakeholders

The newsletter is formulated, edited, and distributed by an Editor-in-chief selected by the CITT Engagement Subcommittee. An Editorial Board that includes members of the subcommittee and the METRANS Director provides oversight.

Outreach - Events

METRANS held its third annual research conference in the Spring of 2002, as described in Section C.

METRANS provided the organization and logistics for the FHWA Operations Workshop “Building Freight Capacity through Better Operations: Defining the National Agenda,” held on July 26-27, 2001 at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach. This workshop was designed to set priorities for goods movement and freight in future legislation to renew TEA 21. FHWA selected METRANS as the event organizer because of the Center’s accomplishments in the goods movement area.

The event brought together representatives from all parts of the goods-movement chain, including shippers, carriers, and infrastructure managers. Workshop participants were asked to respond to a series of preliminary policy statements outlined in a briefing paper distributed to attendees prior to the workshop. The workshop began with a dramatization of the fragmented, but real, world of freight operations as seen by some of these key stakeholders. Participants were then randomly divided into five breakout groups for the remainder of the workshop. The five groups were organized into three freight-operations focus areas addressing national, regional/multi-state, and metropolitan issues. Each group was asked to review and discuss the preliminary policy options identified in the briefing paper and then modify them as necessary. At the end of the second day, each group presented its findings. The Conference Proceedings may be viewed at the following website: http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/freight/freight_operations_strategies.htm.

Outreach - Video Documentation

Technology Transfer activities also included completion of the digitizing and video documentation of a select group of METRANS’ research projects. The majority of the documentation task was accomplished during 2000-2001. The remaining, approximately 20 percent, was completed during 2001-2002. In addition to completing the editing and production of the seven videos in progress during the previous year, one additional research project was added to the library of digitized videos, and a METRANS Executive Summary video, titled “Executive Summary of the National Center for Transportation Research” was produced. The videos offer a concise description of the project, narrated by the researcher/principal investigator. Each video is approximately eight minutes in length and can be accessed directly via the website’s ‘Research’ directory. The video “Executive Summary of The National Center for Transportation Research” provides an additional source of general information on METRANS and its goals and objectives.

The following projects are now archived on individual videos, and are available for viewing, via streaming video, on the METRANS website:

____ Executive Summary of the National Center for Transportation Research

99-3 A Task Decomposition Model for Dispatchers in Dynamic Scheduling of Demand Responsive Transit Systems

99-5 Improving Fuel Economy and Emissions Performance of Commercial Goods Transportation and Mass Transit Vehicle Using Throttleless Engines

99-7 Modeling and Route Guidance of Trucks in Metropolitan Area

99-14 2D Virtual and Physical Simulation of Automated Container Terminal Facilities and Analysis of Impact on In-Land Transportation

99-19 Solid State Sorption Air Conditioner System for Containerships and Vehicles

99-22 Highway Oriented Transit System (HOTS): A Comprehensive Land Use-Transportation Strategy to Improve Transit Service Delivery

00-6 Assessment of Hybrid vehicle Control Strategies in Planning Future Metropolitan/Urban Transit Systems

01-2 Reducing Pollutants from Mobile Sources

Outreach - Website

The METRANS website is the primary source for dissemination of information on METRANS activities. The METRANS Strategic Plan, Annual Reports, and Semi-Annual Reports are available in downloadable form. All research project final reports, conference summaries, and technology transfer reports are also available. The Building Bridges newsletter is available, as well as new information on CSULB’s Master of Arts in Global Logistics. An in depth program description including a list of core courses and options of specialization courses is provided. The website also identifies educational programs in transportation and links to 120 sources of transportation information. In particular, we have sought out organizations that find funding for transportation research, student internships, student awards and professional organizations, and provided links to their webpages. The UTC search engine locates documents on all other UTC websites by keyword.

The website is continually updated to include the latest research project reports. The website maintenance also included updates to information on key personnel, past events, and changes to the METRANS Advisory Committee. Updated information was added for METRANS’s conferences and presentations including the 2001 Fall Seminar schedule. Several pages were restructured including the ‘What’s New’ page and the ‘Final Reports Research’ page to offer both HTML and PDF format readability. The outreach newsletter, Building Bridges, is updated to include the latest publication that is produced bimonthly.

Commercialization Project

METRANS has funded one technology commercialization project. The project falls in our goods movement focus area. The objective of the project is to design and develop a system of staggered guide vanes, placed on the top and sides of trucks and trailers near their rear ends for reducing their overall drag. Reduction in the drag will result in reduction in fuel consumption, which is beneficial both economically and environmentally. The project has progressed to prototype development.

Several METRANS project have commercialization potential, but none have been commercialized to date. Project 01-2, “Reducing Pollutants from Mobile Sources” (Rahai) is in the process of seeking a patent. Other projects with significant commercialization potential include 99-5, “Improving Fuel Economy and Emissions Performance of Commercial Goods Transportation and Mass Transit Vehicles Using Throttleless Engines” (Ronney); 00-7, “Solid State Sorption Air Conditioner System for Containerships and Vehicles” (Toosi); 01-10, “Smart Damping for Monitoring the Health of Bridge Structures” (Johnson).

Project Reports

Project reports are distributed through the METRANS website. The Research page of the site provides a convenient mechanism for downloading and viewing reports. All completed reports are available online.

F. LIST OF PROJECTS

The following lists ongoing and completed research projects in METRANS. Complete project descriptions can be found on the METRANS web site at www.metrans.org.

ONGOING PROJECTS:

Draft Report Submitted

Project Number: 99-5

Research Project: Improving Fuel Economy and Emissions Performance of Commercial Goods Transportation and Mass Transit Vehicles Using Throttleless Engines

Project Number: 99-20

Research Project: Use of Robotics and Expert Systems in Improving the Handling Containers at the Port Terminals

Project Number: 99-23

Research Project: Non-Invasive Means of Investigating Container Contents for Customs Agents at Port

Project Number: 00-8

Research Project: Travel Patterns of the Elderly

Project Number: 00-12

Research Project: Freeway Bus Station Area Development: Critical Evaluation and Design Guidelines

Project Number: 00-13

Research Project: Distributed Architecture for Real-Time Coordination in Transit Networks

Research in Progress

Project Number 01-2

Research Project Reducing Pollutants from Mobile Sources

Project Number 01-3

Research Project Analysis of Vibrations as Infrastructure Deterioration Caused by High-speed Rail Transit

Project Number 01-5

Research Project Re-engineering the Logistics of Empty Cargo Containers in the SCAG Region

Project Number 01-6

Research Project A Methodology for Joint Optimization of Service and Life Cycle Environmental Assessment of Transportation Systems

Project Number 01-10

Research Project Smart Damping Devices for Monitoring the Health of Bridge Structures

Project Number 01-14

Research Project Development and Test Methodology for the Evaluation of Highway/Widening Plans to Facilitate Freight Flows Throughout a Major Metropolitan Area

Project Number 01-16

Research Project Dynamic Optimization of Cargo Movement by Trucks in Metropolitan Areas With Adjacent Ports

Project Number: 00-7

Research Project: Solid State Sorption Air Conditioner System for Containerships and Vehicles Phase II

Project Number: 00-11

Research Project: Investigating the Role of Driver Decision Styles in Highway-Rail Crossing Accidents

COMPLETED PROJECTS:

Project Number: 99-3

Research Project: A Task Decomposition Model for Dispatchers in Dynamic Scheduling of Demand Responsive Transit Systems

Project Number: 99-7

Research Project: Modeling and Route Guidance of Trucks in Metropolitan Area

Project Number: 99-10

Research Project: Implementing a Statewide Goods Movement Strategy and Performance Measurement of Goods Movement in California

Project Number: 99-11

Research Project: The Role of Public Transit in Mobility of Low Income Households

Project Number: 99-14

Research Project: 2D Virtual and Physical Simulation of Automated Container Terminal Facilities and Analysis of Impact on In-Land Transportation

Project Number: 99-18

Research Project: Identification and Analysis of Local Agency Transit Project Performance Criteria

Project Number: 99-19

Research Project: Solid State Sorption Air Condition System for Containerships and Vehicles – Phase I

Project Number: 99-22

Research Project: Highway Oriented Transit System (HOTS): A Comprehensive Land Use-Transportation Strategy to Improve Transit Service Delivery

Project Number: 99-25

Research Project: Assembling and Processing Freight Shipment Data: Developing a GIS-Based Origin-Destination Matrix for Southern California Freight Flows

Project Number: 99-27

Research Project: Dynamic Coordination Framework for Resource Allocation in Trucking Operations

Project Number: 00-3

Research Project: Alternative Access and Locations for Air Cargo

Project Number: 00-5

Research Project: Developing Risk Model for Commercial Goods Transport

Project Number: 00-6

Research Project: Assessment of Hybrid Vehicle Control Strategies in Planning Future Metropolitan/Urban Transit Systems

Project Number: 00-15

Research Project: Dynamic Optimization of Cargo Movement by Trucks in Metropolitan Area with Adjacent Ports

Project Number: 00-16

Research Project: Design and Optimization of a Conceptual Automated Yard Using Overhead Grid Rail System

Project Number: 00-17

Research Project: An Integrated Approach to Managing Local Container Traffic Growth in the Long Beach/Los Angeles Port Complex Phase II

G. FUNDING SOURCES AND USES

Funding Sources

This section reports on cumulative budgeted expenses and income for the first four years of METRANS’ existence (1998 – 2002). METRANS received $3,254,504 in total funding during this period. Forty-three percent of funds have come from U.S. Department of Transportation, and an equal match amount has come from California Department of Transportation. METRANS has obtained additional funding from a variety of state/local government, industry and other (organized labor) sources in support of research projects and technology transfer events. Six percent of funding has come via cost-share from the University of Southern California. Matching funds of $1.38 have been obtained for each dollar of federal funding.

Funding Uses

The primary use of METRANS funds has been for research, accounting for 53 percent of total expenditures. METRANS administrative expenses have amounted to 26 percent of the total. This percentage includes administrative expenses associated with mounting events and contests, administrative support for educational and technology transfer activities, preparation of the strategic plan, and maintenance of the METRANS web site. The third largest expenditure category has been technology transfer. Although educational expenses have been a modest one percent, student salaries account for the largest expense category in research projects. METRANS is meeting educational needs through student involvement in projects.

Please refer to Section I of the financial section of the report for additional detail on expenditures and income.

H. APPENDIX