CLUE: Research-in-Progress Meeting

CLUE: Research-in-Progress Meetings are closed events for the CLUE community.

Moderator

Si Liu (McMaster University—Prof. Hassini)

Agenda

Dr. Usman Ahmed (University of Toronto): 12:05-12:25

Abstract: University of Toronto is conducting a commercial travel survey of small and medium size companies in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). The survey collects information about transportation of goods and services and supply chain relationships. This presentation will highlight the survey progress and initial findings.

Hamza Sami (York University—Prof. Gingerich): 12:25-12:40

Abstract: Congestion in the road network is a significant issue for a densely populated region such as the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Contributions to this congestion arise from high volumes and a mix of vehicles including passenger cars and trucks. Factors affecting route choice can lead to a redistribution of traffic as they change over time. This can include metrics such as travel time, travel distance, travel delay, and toll cost. This study researches how much truck drivers value an hour of travel time savings on the road. This information is necessary to properly forecast the impact of tolling facilities on future travel volumes. Also, it provides an opportunity to study potential traffic redistributions on the road network as the toll price is adjusted. Ultimately, it can allow projections for future traffic to properly account for the heterogeneous preferences of individuals with respect to toll pricing. This research builds on the surveying techniques and VOT results obtained at York by Yashar Zarrin Zadeh. The previous efforts included stated preference scenarios presenting tolled and non-tolled route alternatives to truck drivers with factors including travel time, delay, distance, and toll cost. The values of these factors for each scenario were determined using an efficient design. These scenarios were presented to truck drivers in an online pilot survey. The results from this survey were used as input for a mixed logit model and subsequent calculation of the value of time for users with respect to toll cost.

12:40-12:50: Discussion

Short biographies

Usman Ahmed is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering at the University of Toronto. He completed his PhD in June 2022 in the same department. He holds an MSc degree in Transportation Systems from the Technical University of Munich. His research interests include transportation modelling, sustainable urban freight systems, and machine learning applications in transportation.

Hamza Sami is currently studying as a part-time student in the Master of Applied Science program under the supervision of Dr. Gingerich. The Lassonde School of Engineering is where he achieved his undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering, with a focus on Transportation Engineering. He also works full-time as a Transportation Designer and holds an EIT status with the PEO community.

Si Liu is a 4th year PhD candidate in Management Science at the DeGroote of Business and is supervised by Prof. Elkafi Hassini. His thesis is on models and heuristics of smart mobile lockers in tandem with city buses. His research interests include smart last mile delivery in smart cities, shared mobility, sustainable operations, etc. He has presented his work at CORS, POMS, AOM, and INFORMS annual meetings. He is now the president of the CORS Hamilton Student Chapter and served as the DeGroote Doctoral Students Association president from 2021 to 2022.