This paper develops a behavioral analysis of freight mode choice decisions that could provide a basis for an acceptable analytical tool for policy assessment. The paper specifically examines the way that truck and rail compete for commodity movement in the US. Two binary mode choice models are introduced in which some shipment-specific variables (e.g. distance, weight and value) and mode-specific variables (e.g. haul time and cost) are found to be determinants. The specifications of the non-selected choice are imputed in a machine learning module. Shipping cost is found to be a central factor for rail shipments, while road shipments are found to be more sensitive to haul time. Sensitivity of mode choice decisions is further analyzed under different fuel price fluctuation scenarios. A low level of mode choice sensitivity is found with respect to fuel price, such that even a 50% increase in fuel cost does not cause a significant modal shift between truck and rail.
Urban transportation planning and land-use policies play a pivotal role in every society and are the subjects of interest in many academic fields. Creating a tool that measures the benefits and costs associated with the built environment, which includes the surrounding land-use and transportation system, would allow decision makers to choose the best option available to them when deciding on those important issues. In addition to travel time, congestion, safety, energy, and environment, public health is an important subject that can be affected by a transportation system. The primary objective of this study is to develop models for different health-related variables including general health, obesity, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, asthma, and heart attack. This is to investigate the role of transportation, land-use, and the built environment variables along with demographic and socioeconomic factors on people's health. The results of the analysis showed that increasing the transit use and decreasing the autouse have a significant positive impact on all the health variables except for asthma. It was found that every percent decrease in autouse would reduce the chance of obesity by 0.4%, high blood pressure by 0.3%, high blood cholesterol by 1.3%, and heart attack by 1%. In addition to the transit-oriented development, making the environment more pedestrian friendly could motivate people to be more physically active in their daily routines and have a healthier lifestyle.
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