Browsing by Subject "Transport infrastructure"

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    Assessing the transportation of liquid fuels in South Africa using multi-criteria decision analysis: a conceptual framework and case study
    (2016) Coelho, Marco; Vanderschuren, Marianne
    With the recent unprecedented growth of many African economies, infrastructure investment has been flooding into the continent. Two key areas experiencing large growth in infrastructure development are the transport and energy sectors. This trend also continues to hold true in the South African development framework. The theme of this thesis encompasses both subjects of energy and transportation infrastructure which feature prominently in the countries development plans. When energy is discussed in South Africa, it is usually in the context of power generation and electricity distribution. This study focuses on another key component of the energy sector in the form of liquid fuel. Most of this energy is consumed for transportation purposes. The energy consumption of the transport sector in South Africa is large, totalling around 28% of Total Final Consumption (TFC) in the national energy balances. The bulk of this energy demand (97%) is in the form of liquid fuels, accounting for 84% of the national liquid fuel demand. This thesis focusses on the investigation of a Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) model, which can be used to aid decision makers in the planning and assessment of liquid fuel transportation projects. A key feature of this thesis is the incorporation of a stochastic analysis in the MCDA model. There are two key motivations for assimilating a stochastic analysis in this investigation. The first one is the evaluation of incorporating such an analysis in an MCDA, as opposed to a more traditional sensitivity analysis. The second motivation is to assess the value of employing stochastic analysis as an input method for analysing a decision problem, where comprehensive field data can be substituted for a relevant range of simulated data. This thesis proposes a model which integrates the MCDA and stochastic analysis in the hope that it would provide a faster and more cost effective alternative for assessing certain liquid fuel transportation problems.
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    Enhancing integrated transport planning: A spatial multi-criteria analysis approach to the MyCiTi integrated rapid transit system, South Africa
    (2016) Barendse, Caro-Joy; Vanderschuren, Marianne
    Since the birth of the automobile in 1886, its popularity amongst people has risen dramatically owing to the freedom, comfort, speed, safety and unique designs offered by this mode of transport. 2014 saw approximately 71.15 million units of new vehicle sales globally, showing that private car usage is still on the rise. Rapid degradation of the environment and slumped economic growth can be attributed to the automobilecentric transport system. Raised environmental and social awareness has driven campaigns to promote greener modes of transport instead, such as public and nonmotorised transportation. This has seen the introduction of BRT systems in South African cities however; fully integrated transport systems are yet to be achieved. Thus there is a dire need for a design support tool that is adequately capable of processing built environment characteristics in the development of a BRT feeder network that is fully appreciative of the influence of NMT and the urban fabric, and is thus appropriate to the needs of the community it is trying to serve. This study comprised the application of two Spatial Multi-Criteria based methodologies in which a list of built environment characteristics and public transport demand formed the inputs for the analyses. The analysis produced a composite suitability map for each approach, in which each pixel represented the appropriateness of having a BRT feeder route located in that respective pixel. Routes between O-D pairs identified were solved by carrying out a least cost path assessment based on the mean impedance values along the existing road network. The routes developed were compared to the MyCiTi feeder bus routes using Key Performance Indicators established in this research to determine whether this study was successful in producing an enhanced BRT feeder route planning tool. Apart from one route, the set of feeder routes developed for each approach were exactly the same with the second method producing lower average impedance values per kilometre thus it was deemed stronger. When compared to the MyCiTi feeder routes, similar operational efficiencies were achieved with respect to average travel time, coverage and directness. However; the study methodologies provided a greater level of NMT planning inclusion and consideration of environmental factors. Furthermore; it achieved this in a systematic and transparent manner, providing immensely powerful benefits for transportation planners in the public sector. This study was successful in demonstrating that SMCA combined with the Network Analyst tool in ArcGIS has the ability to enhance the quality and appropriateness of BRT feeder routes, whilst achieving acceptable operational efficiencies. The results could further be improved by incorporating more data on local NMT trends and behaviour. Furthermore; this tool can be applied to solving pedestrian, bicycle and other public transport routing problems.