An Introduction to Multimodal Transportation

This free online course introduces you to the overall planning process of multimodal transportation systems in urban areas. Firstly, it provides the limitations of conventional systems and the significance of multimodal transportation in enriching sustainable modes of transport. This includes the process of assessing the performance of such a system on public transportation, through different travel times. Next, the course highlights the modal interactions of multimodal levels of service. You will discover how assessments consider all the modes of urban streets, and various units and levels of analyses of the ‘Highway Capacity Manual 2010’ method. Alongside this, the process of developing a level of service for automobile modes, based on their travel speed, is discussed. The role of non-automobile modes of transport and the factors affecting their levels of service are also explained. You will explore the interaction between the various modes of non-automobile transport and the process of combining multiple factors into a level of service score.

Next, the material goes on to analyze the design process of various multimodal transfer facilities and the process of sizing the station facilities based on their usage. You will discover the principles of designing a facility that integrates different modes of transportation. In addition, the planning process of a park-and-ride facility is analyzed, including the types, benefits and the system and site level planning process of such facilities. You will also be taught the mathematical formulation for determining the location of park-and-ride facilities. Then, the course provides an overview of the elements that are associated with pedestrian safety and security. You will discover the contribution of roadway design to pedestrian injuries and the land-use planning factors that affect the safety of pedestrians. The course emphasizes the significance of city structure and modal share for different pedestrian injuries.

Finally, you will learn about the types of crash estimation methods and the parameters of crash predictive methods. You will explore the significance of calibrating crash models to local conditions to account for different types of crash frequencies. In addition, you will discover how traffic calming, alongside reducing exposure motorized vehicles, enhances pedestrian safety, and also how accident modification factors are used to adjust the safety performance function estimate of predicted average crash frequency. Further, the impact of transportation on energy needs and the process of estimating vehicular emissions are explained. You will discover the need for experimenting with innovative ideas that can lead to sustainable transport development. Lastly, the significance of impact assessments of all the transportation systems in ensuring eco-friendly transportation, and the process of implementing sustainable strategies in the transportation sector in order to make it environmentally viable, are highlighted. An Introduction to Multimodal Transportation is an informative course that will interest students studying civil engineering, transportation engineering and urban planning or those who have an interest in these topics.