Methodology to assess wind turbine blade throw risk to vehicles on nearby roads

The public road setback distance is often an important factor that drives wind farm design. This paper outlines a methodology for assessing the risk imposed by blade throw at various road setbacks using a physics-based simulation approach. Given a road setback distance, Monte Carlo simulation is performed wherein blade throw parameters and vehicle locations are randomized. Potential collisions are determined using an “impact circle” approach which assumes that impact occurs if the vehicle is inside the impact radius of the blade fragment when it lands. This approach is exercised on several example turbines and risk levels are calculated for various road setbacks. The method is also applied to a notional wind farm with turbines located at a typical road setback distance. Results show that the blade throw risk imposed to vehicles on public roads for the example wind farm is extremely small and commensurate with risks imposed by everyday activities.

Perception Based Evaluation of Pedestrianization at Liberty Market Lahore

Numerous individuals believe that non-motorized modes normally, walking, cycling, and biking, are less privileged to utilize public roads than motor vehicles. More often, pedestrians and cyclists are not facilitated to use the public road to avoid traffic delays. This highlights the biasness of transportation planning practices towards motorized travel and constant negligence in the planning of pedestrian infrastructure. Pedestrianization is adopted as a distinctive practice around the globe; it implies the expulsion of vehicular traffic from the avenues of urban regions as it holds significant social, affordable, and ecological advantages. But in Pakistan, there are no such instances of pedestrianization, especially in Lahore there are three models Liberty Market, Anarkali and Fortress Stadium. In Anarkali Market pedestrianization venture was a disappointment, while in Liberty Market pedestrianization task is a triumph. This study explores the factors contributing to the success of pedestrianization through literature review and detailed survey from shopkeepers and pedestrians of Liberty Market. It was gleaned out that landscaping, street furniture and overall ambience are not the only factors for the success of a pedestrianization, but security, parking facilities, adherence to law and maintenance of order plays a vital role as well.

Economic Evaluation of the Urban Road Public Transport System Efficiency Based on Data Envelopment Analysis

Air pollution resulting from massive urban development and increased use of private vehicles is a major environmental concern, with particular relevance in urban areas. Urban public road transport has a significant impact on shaping land use patterns, air pollution and welfare. It must therefore be efficient in terms of air pollution in order to contribute to sustainable metropolitan mobility and economic growth. This study proposes a novel and consistent data envelopment analysis, aiming to identify which urban public transport vehicle is the most efficient in terms of air pollution and therefore environmentally suitable for use in public road transport systems. The case of Madrid has been analyzed, as it is representative of other large cities, which have similar bus alternatives and the common objective of reducing air pollution. Madrid City Council data has been compiled by authors and assessed by a panel of twenty experts to determine the model criteria weights. The results show that the plug-in electric vehicle has the lowest pollutant emission values while delivering the highest performance. Useful recommendations are provided to support public policy decisions related to the complex relationships between urban land use, urban transport and air pollution in urban areas.

Public road transport system and the spread of communicable diseases: Perspectives of operators and passengers in Accra, Ghana

In spite of its role in the development of nations, transport has also been identified as a means of spreading some communicable diseases. However, few studies have been conducted to assess the spread of diseases on road transport. This study sought to explore the views of operators and passengers about the spread of communicable diseases on the public road transport system in Accra, Ghana. Adapting the Disease Transmission Cycle as the conceptual framework, and following a qualitative research method, data for the study were collected through in-depth interviews and observations and were analysed manually based on the emerging themes. Though various diseases were identified to spread on the public road transport system, there were divergent views on the risk of being infected. Meanwhile, respondents indicated they would feel uncomfortable putting up with people suspected to be infected with communicable diseases. The study emphasises strict adherence to internationally acceptable standards on road transport in order to minimize the spread of communicable diseases on public transport in Ghana.

Service Quality and Passengers’ Loyalty of Public Transportation Companies

This study examined service quality and passengers’ loyalty of public transportation companies. It was carried out to determine the effects of passengers’ safety, passengers’ comfort, drivers’ competence, travel time and vehicle cleanliness on passengers’ loyalty of public transportation companies. The study adopted cross-sectional survey research design. Primary data were obtained from 228 passengers of public road transportation companies using an adapted structured questionnaire. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics while multiple linear regression was adopted to test the hypotheses of the study with the aid of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 23) software. The findings of the study revealed that passengers’ safety, passengers’ comfort, drivers’ competence and vehicle cleanliness had significant positive effects on passengers’ loyalty of public transportation companies, while travel time had a non-significant effect on passengers’ loyalty in this regard. Therefore, the study concluded that, to a large extent, service quality has a significant positive influence on passengers’ loyalty of public transportation companies. Practical implications and suggestions for further studies were made consequently.

Evaluation of the Level of Biosecurity Measures Adopted in Broiler Farms Based on Manure Bacterial Load Examination in Khartoum State, Sudan

This study was conducted to evaluate the level of adopted biosecurity measures in broiler farms based on manure bacterial load examination in Khartoum State, Sudan. To achieve the goal, a cross sectional study was conducted. Data and manure samples were collected from January to September 2018 from 12 close system broiler farms according to Non-probability Multistage Cluster Sampling Method in Khartoum, Khartoum North (Bahri), and Omdurman localities (4 for each). A standardized questionnaire was also conducted and used for data collection. A total of 12 manure samples were collected from one chosen broiler house in each farm to check the TVCs. All collected Data were subjected to descriptive and analytical statistic such as Chi square and ANOVA using SPSS. The Results of external biosecurity measures revealed that half of the total farms examined (50%) were at a distance between 500 m to 1km from the nearest poultry farm. The same percentage was obtained for no manure spreading from neighboring farms. However, frequent passage of other farms vehicles via near public road was reported in 50% of participating farms. The internal biosecurity results showed that all the examined farms (100%) prohibiting manure storage beside 75.0% of them remove the manure through the dirty area. Furthermore, workers protective wearing when contact waste and hygiene practicing after removing waste sometimes practiced by 75.0% of the participant farms. The mean of bacterial TVCs in manure samples was found below the cut-off level (6.01±0.78 cfu/g) with 95% confidence intervals of 4.48-7.37, 5.20-6.79, and 4.39-7.84 and mean TVC of 5.93±0.90, 6.00±0.50, and 6.11±1.08 cfu/g for Khartoum, Khartoum North, and Omdorman, respectively. No significant difference was obtained for log means of bacterial TVCs and farm location (F value=0.047 and P-value=0.955). In conclusion, despite that the bacterial counts in manure samples were below the cut-off level, poor hygienic practices were detected. Formulation of suitable procedures and regulations by official authorities for implementing biosecurity measures is recommended.

Interactions Between Human-Driven and Autonomous Vehicles on Public Roads

To achieve the level of safety and efficiencies promised by autonomous vehicles (AVs), understanding of interactions between human driven vehicles and AVs is crucial. The limited access to publicly available AV data in the field has been the main source of challenge to explore these questions. Using recently released annotated AV data released by Waymo, we investigate interactions between AVs with Human-driven manual vehicles (MVs) in a public road environment. A scalable methodology is presented to study interactions between AVs and MVs. This research reports two main findings (a) AVs tend to be more conservative than MVs at higher speeds on arterials and at lower speeds on freeways (b) No statistical differences in the mean reaction times between MVs and AVs, however, MVs following MVs were found to have statistically significantly lower variance in reaction times. These findings demonstrate the broader impacts of AVs on traffic flow and capacity.