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This paper aims to assess the student’s perceptions concerning to characteristics of a university bus service and private car. A questionnaire was designed consisting of personal and travel characteristics of the respondents, respondent's responses on the importance of various service qualities attributes, and mode choice characteristics. The total collected samples were 314 comprising of university students. The relaxed traveling, travel time saving, safety and privacy, and freedom and flexibility in traveling are significant characteristics of travel alternatives. Most of the students believe that traveling in a car gives them more freedom and flexibility in traveling. Traveling in a car is expensive, and students feel happy and relaxed while traveling on a university bus as compared to a car. Car-oriented and bus-oriented attitudes are also significant in determining the students’ intentions toward the university bus service considering their pro-social elements. These findings will help make improvements in the bus service seeking the students’ preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Distractions caused by fellow drivers (DFDs) have received little attention. • Associations between DFDs and other latent factors were evaluated using SEM. • DFDs are positively associated with stress among recipient drivers. • Stress is positively associated with anxiety-based performance deficits. • DFDs and stress are positively associated with crash propensity. Introduction: Aggressive behavior of drivers is a source of crashes and high injury severity. Aggressive drivers are part of the driving environment, however, excessive aggressive driving by fellow drivers may take the attention of the recipient drivers away from the road resulting in distracted driving. Such external distractions caused by the aggressive and discourteous behavior of other road users have received limited attention. These distractions caused by fellow drivers (DFDs) may agitate recipient drivers and ultimately increase crash propensity. Aggressive driving behaviors are quite common in South Asia and, thus, it is necessary to determine their contribution to distractions and crash propensity. Method: Our study aimed to evaluate the effects of DFDs using primary data collected through a survey conducted in Lahore, Pakistan. A total of 801 complete responses were obtained. Various hypotheses were defined to explore the associations between the latent factors such as DFDs, anxiety/stress (AS), anxiety-based performance deficits (APD), hostile behavior (HB), acceptability of vehicle-related distractions (AVRD), and crash propensity (CP). Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed as a multivariate statistical technique to test these hypotheses. Results: The results supported the hypothesis that DFDs lead to AS among recipient drivers. DFDs and AS were further found to have positive associations with APDs. Whereas, there was a significant negative association between DFD, AS, and AVRD. As hypothesized, DFD and AS had positive associations with CP, indicating that distractions caused by aggressive behaviors leads to stress and consequently enhances crash propensity. Practical applications: The results of this study provide a statistically sound foundation for further exploration of the distractions caused by the aggressive behaviors of fellow drivers. Further, the results of this study can be utilized by the relevant authorities to alter aggressive driving behaviors and reduce DFDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the recent decade, an emerging trend is escalating in developing countries named as 'Ridesharing Services' or 'Transportation Network Companies (TNCs)' and in Pakistan, TNCs are recently introduced. In this study, an online questionnaire survey included a stated preference experiment for three different transport alternatives: own vehicle, TNCs (i.e., Uber and Careem) and public transport. A total of 317 parents (149 females and 168 males) reported their preferences to use given alternatives based on their personal and trip characteristics. A multinomial logit model was used to describe the mode choice mechanism. The impacts of travel cost, privacy and safety concerns and travel time were identified based on household income, gender and type of profession. Results manifested that parents with middle-income and employees prefer TNCs, while high-income, female and business parents prefer personal vehicles considering trip characteristics. The extracted findings would provide a clear understanding of mode choice factors for the selected travel alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traffic accidents and related fatalities have become a major public health problem in the world. This study aims to identify the significant factors that play an important role in the speeding behavior of drivers. A comprehensive questionnaire was designed and conducted with the students and employees of the University of Nizwa. The questionnaire items were designed considering the theoretical background of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and local socio-cultural aspects of the driving environment. A total of 303 usable samples were obtained. The collected data were analyzed using factor analysis and structural equation modelling technique. The extracted factors of speeding passion and culture, speeding attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control are significant determinants of drivers speeding behavior in Oman. The driver's speeding attitudes, speeding culture, and passion have positive association with the drivers' speeding intentions and behavior, and driver's perceived behavioral control forms negative relationship with the speeding behavior. This study confirms the application of the TPB in predicting the drivers' speeding behavior in the context of Oman. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traffic accidents and related fatalities have become a major public health problem in the world. This study aims to identify the significant factors that play an important role in the speeding behavior of drivers. A comprehensive questionnaire was designed and conducted with the students and employees of the University of Nizwa. The questionnaire items were designed considering the theoretical background of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and local socio-cultural aspects of the driving environment. A total of 303 usable samples were obtained. The collected data were analyzed using factor analysis and structural equation modelling technique. The extracted factors of speeding passion and culture, speeding attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control are significant determinants of drivers speeding behavior in Oman. The driver's speeding attitudes, speeding culture, and passion have positive association with the drivers' speeding intentions and behavior, and driver's perceived behavioral control forms negative relationship with the speeding behavior. This study confirms the application of the TPB in predicting the drivers' speeding behavior in the context of Oman. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of public transportation modes plays significant role in the mobility of people. Their competitiveness with private transport in terms of service quality and performance is very important in making modal shift. People often tend to own and use private vehicle when they have negative perceptions regarding public transportation. Therefore, this study aims to make comparative assessment of attitudinal dimensions of wagon as public transport mode and motorcycle as private mode considering the perceptions of the people with the help of a questionnaire survey. This survey was conducted in Lahore city at suitable locations and 320 samples were collected. Analysis of results revealed that people possess negative attitudes towards wagon service whereas their attitudes are strongly positive with most of the dimensions of motorcycle. Factor analyses resulted in three latent variables both for motorcycle and wagon mode. The common factors include instrumental and service dimensions whereas specific factors are user's friendly dimensions and cost and safety dimensions for motorcycle and wagon, respectively. Mode priority selection and wagon specific attitudes are significant factors in determining the people's preference to use wagon service under different scenarios. People's positive attitudes on motorcycle dimensions have significant relationship with people tendency to use wagon service. These findings demand valuable improvements in the service quality of wagon service considering the perceptions of the local citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to evaluate the intercity bus terminals in metropolitan Lahore, Pakistan. In this regard eleven intercity bus terminals of Lahore (three government-owned & eight privately owned) were selected. Evaluation of performance indicators (PIs) for a sustainable design of intercity bus terminals was conducted with the help of different surveys. Six PIs on user perception were evaluated, i.e., safety and security, access, information, connection and reliability, environment and allied facilities. The bus terminals and PIs were also ranked according to user satisfaction. The results showed that the privately owned intercity bus terminals perform better and are more likely to be sustainable as compared with government-owned terminals. Likewise, the users indicated more satisfaction with the privately owned terminals. In addition, the users rated 'safety and security' as the most important among the six PIs. It is recommended to establish standards for sustainable design of intercity bus terminals using the six PIs as measures of performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid increase in private vehicle ownership and usage results in traffic congestions on road networks and increases social costs. Reducing traffic congestions by introducing demand management strategies should be part of transportation policies in the developing world. Therefore, this paper aims to evaluate the influence of people’s attitudes and lifestyles on intentions to reduce use of private vehicles. A questionnaire was designed which included respondents’ socio-economic characteristics, statements on attitudes, lifestyles and intentions to reduce the use of private vehicles. This questionnaire survey was conducted in Lahore city with the help of university students and a total of 338 usable samples were obtained. Structural equation modeling technique was used to analyze the data. The analysis results revealed that people’s transit-oriented attitudes, status and auto consciousness are underlying factors for the reduction of car use in Lahore city. These significant variables need to be considered in policy making regarding improvement of public transport and implementation of car use reduction policies in Lahore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Travel behavior has been affected around the world since the eruption of corona virus disease (COVID-19). Several industries including transportation industry have been hard hit by the pandemic. As the virus is transmitted through close contact with infected people, number of outdoor trips has reduced causing roads and public transport to be less crowded than before. In order to develop transport-related policies for the post COVID-19 world, it is necessary to explore how the pandemic has affected the travel behavior pattern. This study explored the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on travel pattern and mode preferences in Pakistan using a questionnaire survey. The results showed significant shift in primary traveling purpose from work and studying to shopping during the pandemic. Number of trips performed for non-commuting purposes were also significantly different before and during the pandemic. A significant modal shift from motorbike to non-motorized modes of travel was found for distances less than 5 km. For longer distances, people shifted from public transport to private car. These findings suggest that past policies regarding different modes may be revisited in the post COVID-19 world. The statistical tests performed on the factors affecting mode choices indicated that the respondents put more priority on pandemic-related items such as infection concern, social distance, hand sanitizers' availability, and cleanliness, etc., during the pandemic. The findings of this study will certainly help in shaping up the policies for the post COVID-19 world especially in the developing countries. • Primary purpose of traveling changed from work and studying to shopping during the pandemic. • Significant shift from motorbike to non-motorized modes of travel for short distances (<5 km). • Significant shift from public transport to private car for long distances (>5 km). • More priority is put on the factors associated with the pandemic while choosing a transport mode during the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental program was conducted to ascertain the efficiency of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) in enhancing the flexural response of hollow section reinforced concrete (RC) beams. Nine beams were tested under four-point bending in three groups. Beams were categorized to reflect the presence or configuration of the CFRP sheet. Each group consisted of three beams: one with a solid section, one with a square 50 × 50   mm × mm opening and 1 with 100 × 100   mm × mm opening. Beams in 1st group were tested in as-built conditions. Beams in the 2nd group were strengthened with a single CFRP sheet bonded to their bottom sides. Configuration of CFRP sheet was altered to U-shape applied to the tension side of 3rd group beams. The inclusion of openings, regardless of their size, did not result in degradation of ultimate load and corresponding deflections. However, cracking loads were found to decline as the opening size increased. Regardless of the opening size and CFRP configuration, ultimate loads of beams increased with the application of CFRP. However, this improvement was limited to the debonding and rupture of CFRP in group 2 and 3 beams, respectively. A comparison in the behavior of group 2 and 3 beams revealed that the application of the U-shape CFRP sheet yielded better flexural performance in comparison with the flat-CFRP sheet bonded to the bottom of beams. In the end, In order to further evaluate the economic and performance benefits of these beams, the cost-benefit analysis was also performed. The analysis showed that the feasibility of the hollow section RC beams is more than the solid section RC beams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]