Transport network criticality metrics: a comparative analysis and a guideline for selection

Abstract

Transport network criticality analysis aims at ranking transport infrastructure elements based on their contribution to the performance of the overall infrastructure network. Despite the wide variety of transport network criticality metrics, little guidance is available on selecting metrics that are fit for the specific purpose of a study. To address this gap, this study reviews, evaluates and compares seventeen criticality metrics. First, we conceptually evaluate these metrics in terms of the functionality of the transport system that the metrics try to represent (either maintaining connectivity, reducing travel cost, or improving accessibility), the underlying ethical principles (either utilitarianism or egalitarianism), and the spatial aggregation considered by the metrics (either network-wide or localised). Next, we empirically compare the metrics by calculating them for eight transport networks. We define the empirical similarity between two metrics as the degree to which they yield similar rankings of infrastructure elements. Pairs of metrics that have high empirical similarity highlight the same set of transport infrastructure elements as critical. We find that empirical similarity is partly dependent on the network's topology. We also observe that metrics that are conceptually similar do not necessarily have high empirical similarity. Based on the insights from the conceptual and empirical comparison, we propose a five-step guideline for transport authorities and analysts to identify the set of criticality metrics to use which best aligns with the nature of their policy questions.

Roads Development Optimization for All-Season Service Accessibility Improvement in Rural Nepal using a Novel Cost-Time Model and Evolutionary Algorithm

“…The accuracy with which models reflect seasonal access changes depends on the model and metrics employed. Transport geographers (Jafino et al, 2020;Rodrigue et al, 2016;Jenelius, 2009) and civil engineers (Shrestha, 2018) have developed concepts of criticality and redundancy to explain the impact of seasonal disruptions on road network performance within a network analysis. Because these network-scale analyses approach seasonal impacts in terms of binary open-closed changes in roads' status they obscure quantitative changes in network and road-scale performance from reduced speeds over damaged but still-functioning roads.…”

Equity Principles Highlight Variations in Road Network Criticality

“…Our findings emphasize two important policy implications. First, in doing criticality analysis, we inevitably make choices on the underlying equity principles, either by adopting the standard utilitarian approach (Jafino, Kwakkel, and Verbraeck 2020) or by deliberating the underlying equity principles. Second, we highlight the importance of considering multiple principles together when conducting criticality analysis.…”

“…The criticality of a transport segment indicates the importance of that segment to the overall functionality of the transport system. By identifying critical segments in a transport network, decision makers can prioritize their limited intervention budgets (Jafino, Kwakkel, and Verbraeck 2020;Jenelius, Petersen, and Mattsson 2006). However, such criticality analysis is mainly based on a utilitarian principle, where focus is on measuring the total utility of the transport system for all peoples (Dehghani, Flintsch, and McNeil 2014;Gauthier, Furno, and El Faouzi 2018;Ortega, Martín, and Aparicio 2020).…”

Exploring the Highway Icing Risk: Considering the Dynamic Dependence of Icing-Inducing Factors

“…There is no optimal evaluation method, and different methods have different advantages and struggles. Here, the highway vulnerability was reflected from three aspects: sensitivity to disaster, resistance ability, and value exposure (Birkmann, 2015;Jafino et al, 2019).…”