CETRAN30: Principles of Transportation Engineering

Unit 1| Introduction to
Transportation
Engineering
Learning Objectives
At the end of this module, the students will be able to:
• Understand the disciplines related to transportation
engineering
• Understand the the different modes of transportation
• Discuss the transportation systems issues and
challenges
• Define transportation management
TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING
TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING
It is the application of technology and scientific principles to the planning, functional
design, operations, and management of facilities for any mode of transportation to
provide for the safe, rapid, comfortable, convenient, economical, and environmentally-
capable movement of people and goods.
TRANSPORTATION ENGINEER
• Professional who is responsible primarily for the planning, construction, operation, and
maintenance of the transportation system.
• Makes critical decisions about the system that will affect thousands of people who must
use it.
• Ensures that the system functions efficiently from an economic point of view, and that it
meets external requirements concerning energy, air quality, safety, congestion, noise,
and land use.
TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING
Design Construction
Planning
• Geometric • Surface preparation
• Data analysis
• Pavement • Grading
• Forecasting
• Drainage • Pavement
• Evaluation
• Structural • Bridges

Operations and
Experience Management
Research and • Traffic
• Field
Development • Maintenance
• Analysis
• Technology transfer • Intelligent Transportation
• Projects
• Surveillance
• Control
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TRANSPORTATION
It moves people and goods from one place to another using variety of vehicles across
different infrastructure systems.
MODES OF TRANSPORTATION
o Highway Transportation
o Rail Transportation
o Air Transportation
o Water Transportation
TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING
HIGHWAY
• The highway system is the most dominant transportation mode.
• Roads are used by various types of road vehicles, like passenger cars, buses, trucks,
pedal cycle, and animal drawn vehicle.
• It requires a relatively small investment for the government.
• It offers a complete freedom to road users to transfer the vehicle from one lane to
another and from one road to another according to need and convenience.
• Speed and movement is directly related with the severity of accident.
• Very high accessibility to almost all potential destinations; direct service with very low
door-to-door travel time; moderate line-haul speeds and; moderate capacities.
• Environmental impacts of the system are high, particularly in the case of air pollution.
TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING
AIR
• The air transportation system includes commercial airlines, airfreight carriers, and
general aviation (private aircraft).
• High line-haul speed; accessibility is limited; capacities of individual aircraft are
moderate; capital and operating costs are both high but high productivity results in
moderate costs per passenger carried.
• Environmental impacts are significant, especially the noise impacts of commercial
aviation.
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RAIL
• The rail system provides moderate speeds and levels of accessibility, but traditional
operating practices, which involve relatively short hauls between rail yards, where trains
are broken up and reassembled, lead to high and unreliable door-to-door travel time.
• Capital costs of locomotives and railcars, and maintenance costs for track are also
relatively high.
• Environmental impacts are comparatively low.
TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING
WATER
• The domestic water transportation system consists of coastwise ocean shipping and
barge lines operating on inland waterways.
• Provides low speed and relatively low accessibility, but extremely high capacities.
• Capital cost of vessels is high.
• Environmental impacts are relatively low but water pollution from routine discharges of
oil and other pollutants, as well as from major oil spills involving tankers, is a significant
problem.
TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
• It is a functional system that provides a service.
• It is an essential feature in the economy and the personal lives of people everywhere,
most especially in the developed nations.
• It is major source of resource consumption and environmental impact.
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COMPONENTS OF TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
o PHYSICAL FACILITIES | streets, roads, highways, railroads, airports, sea and river ports,
pipelines and canals
o FLEETS | vehicles, vessels, and aircraft
o OPERATING BASES AND FACILITIES | vehicle maintenance facilities and office space
o ORGANIZATIONS | facility-oriented organizations and operating organizations
o OPERATING STRATEGIES | vehicle routing, scheduling, and traffic control
EFFECTIVENESS OF TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
Effectiveness is described in terms of the accessibility of the mode, the level of mobility it
provides, and its productivity.
§ Accessibility = cost
§ Mobility = speed or travel time
§ Productivity = total amount of transportation provided per unit time
TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
PERFORMANCE OF THE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM
• Managing traffic congestion
• Improving safety
• Providing equal access
• Protecting the environment
PERFORMANCE OF THE TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING ECONOMIC AND
POLITICAL SYSTEM
• Incorporating new technology
• Securing financial resources
• Developing adequate institutional arrangements
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TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
TRAFFIC CONGESTION
• Traffic congestion exists wherever demand exceeds the capacity of the transportation
system.
• Traffic congestion is a condition on transport networks that occurs as use increases, and
is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queuing.
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TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
TRAFFIC CONGESTION
• The usual response to congestion was to build more capacity.
• This approach was always limited by the availability of funding.
• Political support for major expansions of the urban highway system is now lacking due to
the potential environmental impacts.
• Since 1960s, there have been repeated calls to shift from private automobiles to urban
passenger transportation because of the environmental consequences and the cost of
expanding the system.
• In addition, there have been suggestions that traffic congestion can be reduced through
better urban land-use planning, or through congestion pricing.
• Congestion pricing | is a system of surcharging users of public goods that are subject to
congestion through excess demand such as higher peak charges for use of bus services,
metros, railways, and road pricing to reduce traffic congestion.
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TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
TRAFFIC SAFETY
• Traffic accidents are of concern for all modes of transportation but are perhaps most
visible in highways and commercial air.
• Traffic safety is continuing challenge for the transportation engineering profession
because of public expectations that safety will continue to improve.
TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
TRAFFIC SAFETY
• The focus of agencies involved with transportation safety are improvement of safety of
vehicles, traffic safety, safety research and development, and collection of accident
data.
• These agencies investigates selected accidents involving all transportation modes,
identifies safety problems, an serves as an advocate for transportation safety concerns.
• The Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals was created on November 8, 1968
during the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNESCO) Conference on Road
Traffic at Vienna, Austria. A total of 52 contracting countries including the Philippines
agreed to accept the system as described in the convention.
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TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
EQUALITY OF ACCESS
• Another continuing challenge has been to provide adequate access to the transportation
system for all sorts of people.
• Three groups in particular that are seen as generally undeserved.
Physically handicapped
Elderly
Poor
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TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
• One of the most important challenges to the transportation system is that of dealing with
its environmental impacts.
• These include impacts on air quality, energy consumption, and land use.
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TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
NEW TECHNOLOGY
• The major technological development of the past 20 years has been a concerted effort to
take advantage of rapid advances in electronic technology.
• These technologies include information processing, communications, and control
systems and are collectively known as intelligent transportation system (ITS).
• These ITS technologies are the subject of a major technological initiative involving
government, business, academic, and research organizations.
• The goals of the ITS program are to:
ü Improve safety
ü Reduce congestion
ü Improve mobility and accessibility
ü Reduce the environmental impact and increase energy efficiency
ü Improve economic productivity
ü Create a domestic ITS industry
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TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
NEW TECHNOLOGY
TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
FUNDING
• Securing adequate financial resources is another perennial challenge, both for
o public agencies, providing transportation facilities
o private-sector firms, providing transportation services.
• The most common forms of user charges:
o Fuel taxes, which have been applied as fixed charger per gallon/liter of fuel sold.
o Direct fares or tolls
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TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
• New arrangements have come about as a response to perceived deficiencies in the
existing system. Often, they have been imposed by outside agencies and in many cases,
they have been resisted by established institutions.
• In the recent past, the most conspicuous and enduring areas of institutional change have
been (1) adjustments to the relationship between the public and private sectors and (2)
attempts to overcome modal and jurisdictional fragmentation.
TRANSPORTATION ENGINEERING
TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT
It refers to the organized group applying carefully selected approaches to facilitating the
movement of people and goods within an area.

Department of Transportation (1899)

Kagawaran ng Transportasyon

Road Agencies Rail Agencies Air Agencies Sea Agencies Misc Agencies
• LTO • PNR • CAAP • MARINA • OTS
• LTFRB • LRTA • CAB • PCG • OTC
• TRB • MRTC (operation • MIAA-NAIA • PMMA
supervision only) • MCIAA • PPA
• CPA
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ROAD AGENCIES

Land Transportation Office (1964)

Tanggapan ng Transportasyong-Lupa

Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (1987)

Lupon sa Pagpaprangkisa at Regulasyon ng Transportasyong-Lupa

Toll Regulatory Board (1977)

Lupon ng Regulasyon ng Toll
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RAIL AGENCIES

Philippine National Railways (1892)

Pambansang Daambakal ng Pilipinas

Light Rail Transit Authority (1980)

Pangasiwaan ng Magaan na Riles Panlulan

Metro Rail Transit Corporation (1995)

(Supervision of operations only, private company)
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AIR AGENCIES

Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (1952)

Pangasiwaan ng Abyasyon Sibil ng Pilipinas

Civil Aeronautics Board (1932)

Lupon ng Aeronautika Sibil

Manila International Airport Authority (1982)

Pangasiwaan ng Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Maynila

Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (1956)

Pangasiwaan ng Panliparang Pandaigdig ng Mactan at Cebu
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SEA AGENCIES
Maritime Industry Authority (1974)
Pangasiwaan ng Industriyang Pandagat

Philippine Coast Guard (1967)

Tanod Baybayin ng Pilipinas

Philippine Merchant Marine Academy (1820)

Akademya ng Pangangalakal Pandagatan ng Pilipinas

Philippine Ports Authority (1975)

Pangasiwaan ng Daungan ng Pilipinas

Cebu Ports Authority (1992)

Pangasiwaan ng mga Pantalan sa Cebu
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MISCELLANEOUS AGENCIES

Office for Transportation Security (2004)

Opisina para sa Seguridad ng Transportasyon

Office of Transportation Cooperatives (1983)

Tanggapan para sa mga Kooperatiba ng Transportasyon
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OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority

Metro Manila Development Authority

Philippine National Police – Traffic Management Group

PNP Highway Patrol Group

Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan

Bases Conversion and Development Authority

Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission

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OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

National Center for Transportation Studies

UP Diliman, Quezon City

Philippine Railway Institute (under development)

Valenzuela City

Transportation Science Society of the Philippines

Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies

Philippine Railway Engineers’ Association