UNIVERSITY OF CALGARY

Schulich School of Engineering

Department of Civil Engineering

ENCI 619.28 – Basics of Mass Transportation

Winter 2006

________________________________________________________________

Instructor: Dr. R. Ibowski Phone (403) 668-5013 E-mail: info@ibowski.ca

Time Schedule: Thursday, 17:00 to 20:00; Room ENF 312

Reading: No textbook available

There are some interesting papers that can be downloaded from the Internet. A good introduction is “Mobility in Cities” published by UITP (see below). It is recommended browsing some of the websites given below for specific information.

Useful Websites:

Organizations:

www.cutaactu.on.ca Canadian Urban Transit Association

Information about all Canadian Transit Authorities

[go to >Members Marketplace>Links>Transit Systems]

www.apta.com American Public Transit Association

covering the US and major Canadian cities;

many “political” papers;

>links provides a choice of possibilities e.g. Transit by Mode, which contains descriptions and further links to cities with respective modes of transportation

APTA and CUTA have a multitude of links to other transit related websites like government, manufacturers etc.

www.uitp.com International Union of Public Transit

Global association for mass transit with main focus on mass transit operators; less technical information but much programmatic and socio-economic information;

Students can subscribe as gusts and use the UITP on-line library free of charge;

“Mobility in Cities” is a good backgrounder for this course (downloadable)

Manufacturers:

Websites of manufacturers offer descriptions of their technical systems and usually references (links to mass transit solutions worldwide). Here are two global players and two additional more specialized companies. This is not a comprehensive list!

www.bombardier.com Bombardier, Montréal, Canada

#1 worldwide in terms of business volume;

go to their transportation section

www.transportation.siemens.com/ts/en/

Siemens AG, Munich, Germany

Since more than 150 years in railway business

www.caf.net/ingles/ CAF, Madrid, Spain

Interesting smaller global player

www.alcatel.com/rail/ ALCATEL, Paris, France

worldwide known in particular for control and management systems for mass transit

Course Outline:

Modes of Transportation

How do we move? How do we ship?

passengers and freight

individual and public

guided and non-guided

etc.

Generic parameters of transportation

urban structures; topography; ridership; average trip distance; frequency of stops; etc.

quantification of parameters for different modes of transportation

Transportation Mix

analysis and evaluation of previous lecture;

development of a “conclusion matrix”

Focus Mass Transit

Clarification and definition of commonly used terms

intercity, suburban, urban

commuter services

heavy and light rail services

propulsion technologies

peripherals (like communication, control and safety systems)

etc.

A closer look at different technologies

	Heavy Rail (Loco hauled, multiple units /train sets)
	Heavy Rail (Subway)
	Light Rail (AC/DC Vehicles)
	Light Rail (Diesel)
	Light Rail (Trams and Trolleys)
	AGT (Automated Guided Transit, “People Mover”)
	Buses (Diesel, Gas, Hydrogen, Hybrid etc.)

for each item: description of technology, typical operating examples, future trends

A closer look at peripheral systems

	fare collection
	communication and information
	transit management systems
	control and safety

for each item: description of current technologies, typical operating examples, future trends

Remarks on the design of transit corridors

radial lines; hub and spoke; main corridor(s) and feeder lines; grid;

transit corridors and urban planning;

structure of transit authorities

Beyond Design and Technologies	Socio-economic remarks reduction/avoidance of transportation demands; ridership by enforcement, promotion and/or marketing; essential (marketing) success factors like tariff system, convenience, co-branding, image
	Financing and implementation Specific investment and operating costs of typical systems; coverage out of the fare box; public subsidies and private sector involvement; 3P projects; turn-key, DBOM projects etc; out-sourcing of non-core business; privatization

Case Studies

(prepared as assignments)

Potential candidates:

Singapore

Guadalajara

Munich

Calgary

Vancouver

Portland,

Mexico City

Los Angeles, CA

Or others by choice

(Please note that this course will provide tools fundamental for the assessment and the evaluation of different urban transit systems; technical details e.g. of propulsion systems are only discussed to a degree necessary for the understanding of the performance of the systems.)

Grade Distribution: Assignment 50%

Continuous Course Contribution 50%

(no tests or exams as long as the number of students does not exceed 10)

Assignment: Presentation of a Mass Transit Systems (of choice)

20 to 30 minutes at the end of the course;

case studies applying the contents of this course;

depending on number of students assignments will be given to a team of two students

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