METHODS FOR EVALUATING PROPOSED URBAN LOCATION AND COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS
A METHODOLOGY FOR EVALUATING PROPOSED LOCATION AND COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES OPERATING IN AN URBAN SITUATION IS DEVELOPED. LOCATION AND COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS GENERALLY EMPLOY RADIO TRANSMISSION EQUIPMENT WHICH PERMIT A CENTRAL DISPATCHER TO RECEIVE INSTANTANEOUS STATUS INFORMATION FROM FLEET OPERATIONS IN THE FIELD. FOUR BASIC CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION ARE (1) LOCATION, PERFORMANCE, NUMBER OF VEHICLES HANDLED, RATE OF UPDATE, ACCURACY, AND ABILITY TO LOCATE BOTH ROUTED AND RANDOM VEHICLES; (2) COMMUNICATIONS PERFORMANCE (AMOUNT OF INFORMATION TRANSMITTED, RATE OF HANDLING INFORMATION, AND RATE OF ERROR); (3) RADIO FREQUENCY PERFORMANCE SPECTRUM LOCATION, BANDWIDTH, MODULATION TECYNIQUE, AND POWER REQUIREMENTS; AND (4) PROGRAMMATIC PERFORMANCE WITH REFERENCE TO SCHEDULES, COSTS, AND ACCEPTABILITY. THE REPORT ALSO ADVANCES A PROCEDURAL FRAMEWORK FOR EVALUATING LOCATION AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS. ONE ALTERNATIVE WOULD EMPLOY A RANKING SCHEME FOR EACH CATEGORY OF CRITERIA AND THUS NUMERICALLY QUANTIFY SYSTEM PERFORMANCE. ANOTHER IS THE DECISION MODEL IN WHICH PAIRS OF ALTERNATIVE SYSTEM DESIGNS ARE COMPARED. EACH PREFERRED DESIGN WOULD THEN BE PAIRED WITH ANOTHER UNTIL THE OPTIMUM SYSTEM WAS IDENTIFIED. PROBLEMS WHICH MAKE COMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVE SYSTEMS DIFFICULT INCLUDE: LOCATION AND COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS HAVE TO BE EVALUATED WITHIN SPECIFIC URBAN CONTEXTS; INACCURATE DEMOGRAPHIC DATA USED IN EARLIER STUDIES WOULD AFFECT THE RATIO BETWEEN NUMBER OF VEHICLES AND THE AREA OVER WHICH THEY OPERATE: THE CATEGORIES USED TO CLASSIFY SPECIFIC DESIGNS WERE FOUND TO OBSCURE IMPORTANT VARIATIONS WITHIN EACH SYSTEM; AND SYSTEM PERFORMANCE WAS FOUND TO VARY SUBSTANTIALLY ACCORDING TO THE RELIABILITY OF THE EQUIPMENT TESTED. /UMTA/
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Supplemental Notes:
- PROJ NO MD-MTD-4
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Corporate Authors:
IIT Research Institute
10 West 35th Street
Chicago, IL United States 60616 - Publication Date: 1969-12
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Automatic vehicle monitoring; Bandwidth; Bus transportation; Communication systems; Costs; Evaluation; Frequency (Electromagnetism); Location; Monitoring; Radio; Scheduling; Urban areas
- Uncontrolled Terms: Monitors
- Subject Areas: Finance; Highways; Motor Carriers; Operations and Traffic Management;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00226480
- Record Type: Publication
- Source Agency: Urban Mass Transportation Administration
- Files: TRIS, USDOT
- Created Date: Oct 23 1972 12:00AM