00 - Course introduction - OMT

The course reveals fundamentals of transportation. The course will seem basic for those with engineering background.

Online pre-course: "El lenguage de la ingeneria" (MOOC). Is in spanish.

The course will present:

• Graphical tools
  • Time-space diagram
  • Queuing diagram
• Flow theory: analysis of traffic streams (any kind of traffic)
  • $q,K,\bar{V}$ --> $q=K\bar{V}$
• Flow control:
  • Intersection control
  • Flow assignment in networks
  • Paradoxes:
    • Braess' paradox
      • If you increase the capacity of some part of the system the situation can become worse instead of better.
    • Smith paradox
      • Applying optimal control of one node to all nodes, without considering the network as a whole, can result in negative outcome
• Observation and Measurement --> will be a group project

We will be focused on the fundamental knowledge.

• Logic
• Physics
• Analytical approach

We'll try to develop:

• Problem solving skills:
  • De-emphasize: handbooks or recipes
    • Highway Capacity Manual
    • Trip generation manual
    • TQSM

Components of a transportation system

1. Moving parts --> Vehicle --> Provides: Locomotion, Protection
   • Sometimes protection and locomotion are provided together (cars), sometimes they are separate (ship + container)
2. Fixed parts --> Infrastructure (streets, railways,...) --> makes up a network (links + nodes)

Nodes create the demand (it's where you can enter a network). They also allow transfer from one network to another (rail --> subway) --> Networks are hierarchal: they build on top of each other.

• High accessibility (there are a lot of nodes) --> It has low performance
  • Sidewalks have lots of access points (every door) but it's very slow
• Low accessibility --> High performance
  • High speed trains have stops very spread apart (> 200km) --> it's very fast.

3. Intangible parts --> How we use, manage, control moving parts and fixed parts.