Members’ Publication

Rapid urbanization exerts a substantial influence on crucial traffic variables, including the escalating number of automobiles, the capacity of urban highways, and the level of service rendered, impacting several transportation sectors. An effective traffic management system is crucial for facilitating the swift and safe transportation of people, goods, and vehicles. The current road infrastructure is insufficient to handle the anticipated traffic demands of any metropolis without effective planning and traffic management. Therefore, obtaining a deep understanding of the extent of the traffic is a vital component of the traffic control system. This study intends to assess the traffic patterns and variety of transport modes, as well as identify the Level of Service (LOS) at the Aam Chottor intersection of Rajshahi City Corporation, whose purpose is to gain an understanding of the traffic patterns in this area. The volume of different types of traffic has been resolved by converting different vehicles into equivalent passenger cars and calculating the volume in terms of passenger car units (PCUs) per hour of both motorized and non-motorized vehicles. The methods that are used to find the Level of Service (LOS) are based on finding the Passenger Car Units (PCUs) each hour which counts the V/C Ratio and Peak Hour Factor (PHF) which shows LOS-C for Monday (Weekday) and LOS-B for Friday (Weekend). The study finds that auto rickshaws and motorcycles are dominant vehicles during peak and off-peak hours, while cycle rickshaws and carts are found in low numbers. Therefore, the research has the potential to enhance the efficiency and efficacy of roads and offer valuable insights for the development of future infrastructure.

Public-private partnership (PPP)-led infrastructure development has been crucial in China as it has in many other countries. However, several obstacles in the field tend to challenge its development. Based on survey responses from PPP practitioners and professionals in Hong Kong and mainlandChina,thisstudyanalyzesandranksthekeybarrierstoPPPprojects. Ourfindingssuggest that both groups classify the critical obstacles to PPP consistently, albeit with some divergences in ranking them. Reflecting mainly from the perspective of professionals, the study also proposes some suggestions for mitigating these obstacles, so it could contribute to the effective formulation of PPP and successful implementation of PPP-led infrastructure projects in China as well as elsewhere.

Savar, one of the suburbs of Dhaka is undergoing tremendous development due to rapid urbanisation. Better access due to Dhaka Aricha Highway integrating with the development process has led augmentation of ribbon development. This type of development is very much attractive to developers in the sense that they do not have to waste money or plot space for constructing roads and can attract trade from the traffic on arterial roads. But the emergence of fringe zones and their complex, as well as unplanned ribbon development along Dhaka Aricha Highway, has led to serious land use problems such as haphazard urban growth, loss of agricultural lands, encroachment of water bodies, unauthorised urban sprawl, the rapid increase in land values, speculation in land and other related problems. Besides, the option for future planned development and provision of service along the Dhaka Aricha Highway is being jeopardized. In this consequence, this study attempts to focus on the trend of ribbon development along Dhaka-Aricha Highway to show the impact on the land use. To assess the trend in land use change, satellite image of four base years (2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016) of the study area were analysed by Geographical Information System (GIS) tool. Finally, a number of recommendations have been formulated to reduce the adverse impact of ribbon development.

Industrialization is a key driver of economic development. Despite its potential in northern Bangladesh, especially in Kamarkhanda upazila, the region faces challenges like underutilized resources, unorganized industries, and a lack of strategic planning. Tools such as forward and backward linkages and economic zones remain underexploited. Moreover, natural hazards like floods are often ignored in zoning decisions. This study aims to identify suitable industries and safe locations for sustainable industrial growth, incorporating industry linkages and disaster risk factors such as floods and earthquakes. An Input-Output model was applied to analyze industry linkages, and a GIS-based Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) was used to select optimal industrial sites. Data were collected through 400 household surveys based on the Yamane formula and questionnaires from 51 industries by purposive sampling as there was no data available on the government website. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to assign weights to criteria such as proximity to growth centers, markets, roads, slope, elevation, and precipitation. Findings show dairy farms have a 99.8 ​% backward linkage with agriculture, while rice mills and Shitalpati industries have 49.7 ​%, largely dependent on imports. Suitable economic zones were identified near the Dhaka-Sirajgonj highway and railway lines, as well as outside flood-prone and earthquake-risk zones. These findings support future master plans and informed policymaking for sustainable industrial development.

Now that dockless electric bike-share systems have become a fixture in major cities in the U.S., it is important to understand why someone chooses to use the service. Beyond socio-demographics, factors such as mode-related attitudes, the social environment, and the availability of the service may influence both its adoption and frequency of use. In this study, we modeled dockless electric bike-share adoption and use frequency using data collected from a household survey and a bike-share user survey from the Sacramento region. We used integrated choice and latent variable models to understand the influence of attitudes on electric bike-share adoption and use frequency. We developed three latent variables − bike affinity, car necessity, and bike social environment − using responses to eleven statements. Our models show that apart from socio-demographics, attitudes related to bike affinity and bike social environments significantly and positively influence bike-share adoption with a large effect size, whereas the car necessity attitude significantly and negatively influences the use frequency with a large effect size. Individuals with low incomes are less likely to adopt the bike-share service. The availability of electric bike-share in key locations (home and/or work and/or school) where an individual frequently goes significantly and positively influences adoption with a large effect size but does not influence use frequency. Findings from this study can inform the dockless electric bike-share policies of cities as well as the rebalancing strategies of service providers.

Shared e-scooters have become a popular alternative for short trips and can serve as a first- and last-mile connector to transit. This study investigates the factors motivating e-scooter users to connect to public transit through the analysis of 48,301 e-scooter trips in 20 US cities. While most e-scooter studies, to date, rely on geo-spatial assumptions to assess whether a transit connection was made, this study uses rider survey data where users reported transit connections upon ending their e-scooter trip. Presented during the parking process, the rider survey asked when the decision to use the e-scooter was made. Responses were analyzed using a binary logit model on the decision to use e-scooters in connection to transit. The model includes urban and built environment characteristics to control for heterogeneity across urban spaces. People who decide to use an e-scooter spontaneously are found to be more likely to connect to transit than those who plan their trip in advance. This research provides novel insights into modal substitution, demonstrating how an e-scooter trip may substitute for just a portion of a transit trip rather than the full trip. Respondents were segmented into four groups based on their propensity for connecting with public transit: complements (20.5%), substitutes (3.2%), no interaction (72.9%), and mixed effects (3.3%). Trips that substituted for transit averaged 1.82 miles, a statistically significant longer distance than those complementing transit trips or that had no transit interaction. We conclude that these trips may otherwise have been made by rideshare, and previous assessments have overestimated the modal substitution of e-scooters for transit. Among the 6.5% of trips for which respondents say they would have used transit if e-scooters were not available, approximately half connected to transit before/after using the e-scooter, suggesting a more nuanced adjustment in how e-scooters complement the use of transit.

The Pacific Island Countries (PICs) face significant developmental challenges, including the disproportionate impacts of climate change. This article examines the critical role of women's empowerment and gender equality as a strategic imperative for building resilient and sustainable societies in the region. It explores the historical context of women's roles, the enduring challenges they face in political participation, economic access, and healthcare, and their unique vulnerabilities to issues like gender-based violence and climate change. The article further highlights women's transformative leadership through case studies in politics and grassroots initiatives, while also analyzing their contributions to the Blue Economy and the potential of digital empowerment. By strengthening gender-responsive policies and fostering regional collaboration, the empowerment of women is shown to be a foundational element for a more equitable and prosperous future for the Pacific.