Database Reference
In-Depth Information
10
Car Traffic Monitoring
Davy Janssens, Mirco Nanni, and Salvatore Rinzivillo
10.1 Traffic Modeling and Transportation Science
Transportation science, together with its related research fields, is a key disci-
pline of today's society, due to its potential impact on several levels of societal
organization and resource usage. In this chapter we will discuss some of the main
issues of next generation transportation solutions, and traffic models in partic-
ular, and describe case studies where mobility data analysis can help provide
some answers.
Relevance of Traffic Modeling
In a research report by the United Nations in 2001, it was postulated that the
transport sector accounts for about 25% of the total commercial energy con-
sumed worldwide and that it consumes approximately 50% of the total oil
produced. The International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts that the transport
sector will overtake industry as the largest energy user by 2020. Unfortunately,
that has major negative economic, social, and environmental side effects. At the
environmental level, transport has proven to be the source of nitrogen oxides,
sulfur oxides, and other volatile organic compounds, all which have negative
environmental and health implications. Pollution, environmental degradation,
space consumption, and greenhouse gases are receiving increasing attention as
the immediately detectable externalities of transport and land-use development
patterns. At the economic level, accidents and congestions, traffic gridlocks,
stress from pedestrian and vehicular conflict, inefficient public transport, and
urban sprawl are all associated with unsustainable transport systems that indi-
rectly represent costs to society. At the social level, research reports seem to
suggest that in areas where public transport is often second-rate or absent and
where the levels of car ownership are significantly lower, a higher degree of risk
for social exclusion is perceived. Whereas a good transport system increases the
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