Metro Transport Corporations:

Urban mobility revolution is transforming and traditional transportation agencies may be ill-equipped to oversee the changes. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. transit ridership was down as more people in metropolitan areas chose the convenience of options like Uber and Lyft. The apparent durability of working from home has exacerbated both fiscal and equity challenges for transit. Meanwhile, vehicle travel is already ahead of pre-pandemic levels in 15 states. The combination of reduced transit ridership and more cars threatens to worsen the challenges posed by climate change. Consumers have demonstrated their preference for the convenience new technologies provide. But the skills and capabilities of traditional urban transit agencies do not foster innovation. We propose that urban mobility be overseen by “Metro Transport Corporations,” public-private partnerships that combine the accountability of government with the entrepreneurial and technology-savvy influence of the private sector to address equity and sustainability challenges while driving superior customer service.

Penyelesaian Urban Transit Routing Problem Menggunakan Algoritma Hyper-heuristics berbasis Modified Particle Swarm Optimization based on Gravitational field Interactions

Kemacetan lalu lintas dapat diatasi dengan adanya public transport. Penerapan public transport yang optimal perlu dilakukan penentuan rute yang baik. Untuk mendapatkan rute public transport yang optimal, maka perlu dilakukan beberapa percobaan kombinasi antara jarak titik awal dan tujuan. Sehingga masalah dapat dikatakan sebagai masalah kombinatorik. VRP merupakan permasalahan kombinatorik. Oleh karena itu permasalahan dapat diselesaikan menggunakan metode metaheuristik. Penelitian ini akan menggunakan algoritma Modified Particle Swarm Optimization (MPSO-GI) dengan pendekatan Hyper-heuristics untuk menyelesaikan masalah penentuan rute public transport. Data yang digunakan merupakan dataset Mumford dan Mandl yang digunakan pada beberapa penelitian sebelumnya. Penelitian dilakukan dengan membandingkan hasil solusi yang dihasilkan oleh metode yang ditawarkan dengan hasil pada penelitian sebelumnya. Sehingga dapat diketahui kelebihan dan kekurangan dari metode yang ditawarkan. Berdasarkan hasil uji coba dapat ketahui bahwa algoritma MPSO-GI dengan pendekatan Hyper-Heuristics dapat diimpelmentasikan dan menyelesaikan masalah UTRP. MPSO-GI dengan pendekatan Hyper-Heuristics berhasil memperbaiki solusi hill-climbing di hamper semua dataset dengan nilai yang stabil. Hasil metode MPSO-GI dengan pendekatan Hyper-Heuristics unggul dalam menghasilkan solusi biaya penumpang pada dataset Mandl4, Mandl6, Mandl7, Mandl8 dan biaya operator pada dataset Mandl4 dan Mandl6 jika dibandingkan dengan metode pada penelitian sebelumnya.

Full Battery and Hybrid Bus based Rapid Transit System as a Cost Effective Urban Transit Mode alternative to Metros in Tier II Tier III Indian Cities

Intra-city travel is a significant part of urban life and a fully functional intra-city transit system will help in reducing the number of private vehicles on the road, thus reducing pollution and traffic congestions. A robust urban transit system helps in the physical expansion of city limits, making education, job, and medical facilities accessible to people living in city fringe areas. This will help in depopulating the Central Business District areas and optimization of real estate cost. Heavy Rail Based Metro Transit system has improved living conditions in Metropolitan cities. The High Capital Investment required for setting up a metro system necessitates the requirement of alternate Transit systems for Medium and smaller cities. This paper delves into this important area of suggesting an alternate urban transit model for Tier II and Tier III Indian cities. In this paper, modifications were suggested in the Metro Neo specification issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs [10], to make it more cost-effective (to construct and maintain), agile, and with scope to harness new technologies as they become commercially viable in the future. Elevated or dedicated Busways with Full Diesel Hybrid Buses comprising an Energy Storage system (Li-ion battery pack) and a diesel power pack are suggested as the rolling stock for the transit system. This suggested rolling stock will be not only cost effective but also environmentally friendly. In the future, the Diesel Power Packs in the buses can be replaced with Hydrogen Fuel Cells or additional batteries to enable full electric and non-fossil fuel operation. The need for further research in developing cost-optimized structures in the Construction of viaducts and bus stations is felt and details in these areas have been highlighted. The suggested system will have the flexibility of a Bus Rapid Transit system and shall have some advantages of a metro system. Even in big cities with a full-fledged Metro system, the suggested modified Metro Neo system can act as a feeder system from faraway places. The paper proposes essential features of a transit system that is robust in present and is future-ready.

Full Battery and Hybrid Bus based Rapid Transit System as a Cost Effective Urban Transit Mode alternative to Metros in Tier II Tier II I Indian Cities

Intra-city travel is a significant part of urban life and a fully functional intra-city transit system will help in reducing the number of private vehicles on the road, thus reducing pollution and traffic congestions. A robust urban transit system helps in the physical expansion of city limits, making education, job, and medical facilities accessible to people living in city fringe areas. This will help in depopulating the Central Business District areas and optimization of real estate cost. Heavy Rail Based Metro Transit system has improved living conditions in Metropolitan cities. The High Capital Investment required for setting up a metro system necessitates the requirement of alternate Transit systems for Medium and smaller cities. This paper delves into this important area of suggesting an alternate urban transit model for Tier II and Tier III Indian cities. In this paper, modifications were suggested in the Metro Neo specification issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs [10], to make it more cost-effective (to construct and maintain), agile, and with scope to harness new technologies as they become commercially viable in the future. Elevated or dedicated Busways with Full Diesel Hybrid Buses comprising an Energy Storage system (Li-ion battery pack) and a diesel power pack are suggested as the rolling stock for the transit system. This suggested rolling stock will be not only cost effective but also environmentally friendly. In the future, the Diesel Power Packs in the buses can be replaced with Hydrogen Fuel Cells or additional batteries to enable full electric and non-fossil fuel operation. The need for further research in developing cost-optimized structures in the Construction of viaducts and bus stations is felt and details in these areas have been highlighted. The suggested system will have the flexibility of a Bus Rapid Transit system and shall have some advantages of a metro system. Even in big cities with a full-fledged Metro system, the suggested modified Metro Neo system can act as a feeder system from faraway places. The paper proposes essential features of a transit system that is robust in present and is future-ready.

Cities and Public Health in Latin America

This paper presents an overview of how health outcomes vary across cities in Latin America and discusses some of the known drivers of this variation. There are large disparities in outcomes across cities and across neighborhoods of the same city. Because health is closely related to the socioeconomic conditions of individuals, part of the spatial variation reflects residential segregation by income. Local characteristics also have a direct effect on health outcomes, shaping individuals' access to health services and the prevalence of unhealthy lifestyles. In addition, urban environments affect health through natural atmospheric conditions, through local infrastructure in particular water, sanitation, and urban transit and through the presence of urban externalities such as traffic congestion, pollution, crime, and the spread of transmissible diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic illustrates many of these patterns, since the impact of the disease has differed sharply across cities, and much of this variation can be explained by observable local characteristics particularly population, connectivity with other cities and countries, income levels, and residential overcrowding.