mctrans.ce.ufl.edu INSIDE THIS ISSUE Bus Bike-Rack App HCS Release 7.5 Capacity Analysis Webinars McTrans Center University of Florida Civil & Coastal Engineering PO Box 116585 Gainesville, FL 32611-6585 Phone: 352-392-0378 Toll-Free: 1-800-226-1013 Fax: 352-392-6629 mctrans@ce.ufl.edu
McTrans Develops Bus Bike-Rack App McTrans is mainly known in the transportation community for the development of the Highway Capacity Software (HCS) and Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) training/webinars. Did you know that McTrans also collaborates with University of Florida Transportation Institute (UFTI) faculty and centers to develop software for research projects? For instance, McTrans is currently collaborating with UFTI s T2 center to develop a smartphone application which will enable bike users to view the bicycle rack occupancy on Gainesville s Regional Transit System buses. The T2 Center is working with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering to develop capacity sensors for transit bicycle racks. These sensors will transmit bike rack occupancy data using cell towers which will enable individuals to know whether a particular bus s bike rack has available capacity. Using the smartphone application, bike users will be able to view the number of occupied slots on the bicycle racks for the routes of interest in near real-time. For the past few years, McTrans has been focused on the development of the HCS7. With the implementation of the latest version of the HCM s sixth edition nearly complete, McTrans is ready to undertake new software development initiatives to help with any research projects. If you have any software development needs or would like more information, please contact McTrans at mctrans@ce.ufl.edu.
Release 7.5 This latest release (scheduled for February) adds improvements to Freeways, TWSC, Service Volumes and the Highway Safety Software (see below). Freeways Several improvements are being implemented for the facility graph: highlighting the selected segment on the Details page (see below); allow switching between segments by clicking on the segments in the graph; displaying the number of ramp lanes and managed lanes as coded; and showing left-side ramps correctly. Full view functionality is being added for single-segment analysis in Freeways so the inputs and the results could be viewed simultaneously. The animation of left-side ramps and two-sided weaving segments is being improved. TWSC The internal architecture of this module is being completely rewritten to improve program speed and accuracy. To expedite coding of MUT/RCUT crossover intersections, new functionality is being added. Highway Safety Software The Empirical Bayes (EB) analysis is being added, including input data for observed crashes. An economic analysis is planned for implementation within this update as well. Service Volumes Geometric data importing from Freeways (XUF) files to the Service Volume tool is being implemented to eliminate the need to code the data twice. Reports are being updated to display the full service volume tables. To complement the existing page view, full view functionality is being added. HCS7 Demo A free demonstration version of Release 7.4 that contains most of the HCM6 examples with full interface (but limited computational) functionality will be available on McTrans website in January 2018 here: http://mctrans.ce.ufl.edu/mct/index.php/hcs/hcsdownloads/
VOLUME HCM 6th Edition Available 65 \\ JANUARY 2018 The Highway Capacity Manual, Sixth Edition: A Guide for Multimodal Mobility Analysis (HCM) provides methods for quantifying highway capacity. In its current form, it serves as a fundamental reference on concepts, performance measures, and analysis techniques for evaluating the multimodal operation of streets, highways, freeways, and off-street pathways. The Sixth Edition incorporates the latest research on highway capacity, quality of service, active traffic and demand management, and travel time reliability and improves the HCM s chapter outlines. The objective is to help practitioners who are applying HCM methods understand the basic concepts, computational steps, and outputs. These changes are designed to keep the manual in step with its users needs and present times. You can order your copy from the Transportation Research Board (TRB) here: http://www.trb.org/publications/hcm6e.aspx A MESSAGE FROM BILL SAMPSON As illustrated by the bus bike rack app article, we are beginning to build a team to be available to respond to a broader set of transportation software development projects. McTrans has a team in place to implement your application and to distribute and/or market the final product to get it into the hands of practitioners. So, please let us know how we can help put your idea or research into action. Bill Sampson, Director
Highway Capacity Analysis Webinar Series Including detailed information on HCM 6th Edition and HCS7 This webinar series presents lectures, software demonstrations and application examples on the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) procedures including updates in the 6th Edition. Step-by-step instructions of the HCM methodologies will be provided for each analytical chapter. The Highway Capacity Software (HCS) implements and automates the HCM procedures. Each lecture will be followed by working example problems and a software demonstration using the HCS7 prototype. A comprehensive workbook is provided to include all slides. Registration is provided in four sections (Streets, Unsignal, Freeways and Highways) with the Overview included with any registration and a discount for the entire series. The series is organized over four days as follows with all presented from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM ET. Detailed course descriptions and registration can be found at mctrans.ce.ufl.edu/training. OVERVIEW January 30 (1:00-2:30) STREETS January 30 (2:30-4:00) January 31 (1:00-4:00) UNSIGNAL February 1 (1:00-2:30) FREEWAYS February 1 (2:30-4:00) February 2 (1:00-2:30) HCM and HCS Overview, Major Changes, Principles, Concepts Signalized Intersections (NEMA, Phase Duration, Multiple-Period Analysis) Urban Streets (Flow Profile, Access Points, Travel Time Reliability, ATDM) Unsignalized Intersections (TWSC, AWSC, Roundabouts, Segments) Freeway Segments (Basic, Weaving, Merge & Diverge) Freeway Facilities (Travel Time Reliability, ATDM) HIGHWAYS February 2 (2:30-4:00) HCM 6th Edition Webinar Video The Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) 6th Edition is now available from the TRB. This ninety-minute video provides an overview of the changes as compared with the HCM 2010, including some methodological details and the implementation in the Highway Capacity Software (HCS7) check our training page for availability at mctrans.ce.ufl.edu/training Highway Segments (Multilane Highways, Two-Lane Highways) Overview of the new HCM 6th Edition and Comparisons with the HCM 2010 Basic Freeway, Freeway Weaving and Freeway Merge & Diverge Segments (Speed-Flow Curves, Managed Lanes, Weather, Incidents, Calibration, Trucks) Freeway Facilities, Multilane Highways and Two-Lane Highways (Travel Time Reliability, ATDM, Managed Lanes, Weather, Incidents, Trucks) Unsignalized Intersections including TWSC, AWSC and Roundabouts Signalized Intersections (Unsignalized Movements, HV & Grade, Planning) Urban Streets Segments and Facilities including Reliability and ATDM (Roundabout Segments, Sustained Spillback, Lane Blockage, RTOR, LOS) Ramp Terminals and Alternative Intersections (DDI, DLT, RCUT, MUT) (Experienced Travel Time, Extra Distance Travel Time, U-Turn Crossovers) HCS7 Demonstration of HCM6 Implementation. HOW TO SET UP A TRAINING SESSION Scheduling a training course is easy and risk free. McTrans can arrange everything, only needing your help with the venue and local promotion, or we can provide the instruction and course materials for your meeting or conference we are very flexible. We can present live courses in your area or for your organization, or set up a webinar series to cover the material remotely saving time and travel for all participants. Workbooks are always provided, as are certificates to document PDH credit. Just let us know what you need and we will work with you to make it happen.