Pusher Tug

Sealift

Traffic Control and Transport Planning:

When solving real-life engineering problems, linguistic information is often encountered that is frequently hard to quantify using "classical" mathematical techniques. This linguistic information represents subjective knowledge. Through the assumptions made by the analyst when forming the mathematical model, the linguistic information is often ignored. On the other hand, a wide range of traffic and transportation engineering parameters are characterized by uncertainty, subjectivity, imprecision, and ambiguity. Human operators, dispatchers, drivers, and passengers use this subjective knowledge or linguistic information on a daily basis when making decisions. Decisions about route choice, mode of transportation, most suitable departure time, or dispatching trucks are made by drivers, passengers, or dispatchers. In each case the decision maker is a human. The environment in which a human expert (human controller) makes decisions is most often complex, making it difficult to formulate a suitable mathematical model. Thus, the development of fuzzy logic systems seems justified in such situations. In certain situations we accept linguistic information much more easily than numerical information. In the same vein, we are perfectly capable of accepting approximate numerical values and making decisions based on them. In a great number of cases we use approximate numerical values exclusively. It should be emphasized that the subjective estimates of different traffic parameters differs from dispatcher to dispatcher, driver to driver, and passenger to passenger.

Non-technological Innovations for Sustainable Transport

Examining non-technological innovations for environmentally and socially-friendly transport, this book provides the reader with a better understanding of this often overlooked topic. It features four illustrative case studies, and presents a concise review of the core transport modes (road, rail and marine transport). Transport companies are compelled to innovate due to economic and environmental pressures, and the aim of these innovations is to improve fuel efficiency and ultimately to transform energy use in the transport sector. Whilst many of these innovations are technological, they can conversely be non-technological in nature. This book is intended for students and researchers interested in economics, environmental economics and economics of innovation. It also offers a useful resource to industry professionals interested in ecology and transport.