Fundamentals of Transportation/Destination Choice/Homework

Homework
1. Identify five independent variables that you believe affect trip generation. Pose hypotheses about how each variable affects number of trips generated.

2. Identify three different types of trip distribution models. Which one includes the most information? Which one is most common?

3. You are given the following situation: The towns of Saint Cloud and Minneapolis, separated by 110 km as the crow flies, are to be connected by a railroad, a freeway, and a rural highway. Answer the following questions related to this problem

Trip Generation and Distribution

Your planners have estimated the following models for the AM Peak Hour

$$ T_{O,i} = 500 + 0.5 * HH_i $$

$$ T_{D,j} = 250 + 0.5 * OFFEMP_j + 0.355 * OTHEMP_j + 0.094 * RETEMP_j $$

Where: $$ T_{O,i} = $$Person Trips Originating in Zone i

$$ T_{D,j} = $$Person Trips Destined for Zone j

$$ HH_i = $$ Number of Households in Zone i

$$ OFFEMP_j = $$Office Employees in Zone j

$$ OTHEMP_j = $$Other Employees in Zone j

$$ RETEMP_j = $$Retail Employees in Zone j

Your are also given the following data

The travel time between zones (in minutes) is given by the following matrix:

(a) (10) What are the number of AM peak hour person trips originating in and destined for Saint Cloud and Minneapolis.

(b) (10) Assuming the origins are more accurate, normalize the number of destination trips for Saint Cloud and Minneapolis.

(c) (10) Assume a gravity model where the impedance $$f(C_{ij}) = C_{ij}^{-2}$$. Estimate the proportion of trips that go from Saint Cloud to Minneapolis. Solve your matrix within 5 percent of a balanced solution.

/Homework