Transactions on Transport Sciences

Transactions on Transport Sciences 2022, 13(1)

Editorial

Karel Pospíšil

Let us begin this issue by considering the concept of transport science as it relates to the title of this journal. Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) recognizes Transportation Science and Technology as a distinct field for which a number of journals included in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) are now indexed.
The Scopus database classifies the Transportation subject area as a part of social sciences, and the Fields of Research and Development (FORD) classification views Transportation Science and Technology as a part of Civil Engineering. This inconsistency or even impossibility to classify a journal or research conducted in the transport sciences often leads to the classification of research results in the basic sciences, e. g. psychology, chemistry, biology, medicine or engineering disciplines, according to the predominant type of research. This approach is as misleading as, for example, classifying the decathlon as a sprint or long jump.
It is clear that a decathlete does not usually set a world record in the 100m sprint, just as a traffic scientist rarely makes a major discovery in chemistry or physics. But this does not mean that decathletes or transportation researchers are less proficient athletes or scientists. It’s just that the nature of their fields is more multidisciplinary and therefore they have significantly different goals, especially in applied research. For this reason, it would be highly desirable to view traffic science as a separate discipline, which should eventually be broken down into sub-disciplines. The results of such research should then be compared with each other, not with the results of the disciplines that transport sciences use as supporting or auxiliary disciplines. It is the same as if a top chemist’s article were judged by a mathematician simply because the article uses correlation analysis. Such an article would probably fail with a mathematician.
The present issue of Transactions on Transport Sciences publishes eight articles with original research in selected transport and traffic areas. It can be noted that a common feature of the papers is their local or national focuses, but with significant impact on topics of global interest. It is very exciting to see how issues that are being addressed around the world are conceived in different parts of the world. The published articles thus provide valuable suggestions or inspiration for research and practical solutions globally.
The first paper fully corroborated the above-mentioned global impact of local research is written by Sahed Hossen Sajib from University of Barishal in Bangladesh and identifies the barriers that disabled people face in their daily lives when using public transport in Dhaka. A qualitative investigation of empirical data provides a framework for understanding passengers’ experiences of public transport in dealing with barriers. The author suggests how the identified problems can be solved and drafts further research to address the accessibility issues faced by people with disabilities in Dhaka when using public transport.
The second paper, written by Jinda Kongcharoen, Nutthajit Onmek, Seppo Karrila and Jariya Seksan from Prince of Songkla or Bansomdejchaopraya Rajabhat Universities, both in Thailand, deals with a study focusing on the following three themes, i.e. (1) to investigate traffic accident characteristics, physical and surface conditions, and driver behavior in Phuket Province (2) to explore for a deeper understanding of factors related to traffic accidents, including human and vehicle factors and environmental conditions, and (3) to construct and validate a model consistent with empirical data. The data are statistically analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and second order confirmatory factor analysis (SCFA).
The third paper of Wen Chieh Yang and Anja Katharina Huemer, both from Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany, publish their research targeted to description and quantification of patterns of motorcyclist risk-taking behavior and their context at selected three signalized intersections in Tainan, Taiwan. The paper drafts suggestions for the further research.
The fourth paper by Sergei Efremov, Tatiana Kochetova, both from Moscow State University of Psychology and Education, Russia, introduces a neural network model based on Kohonen’s Self-Organizing Map (SOM) for detecting drivers’ behaviors from vehicle movement patterns – driving strategies – instead of monitoring driver’s specific activities. A novel neural network model for recognition of drivers’ behavior patterns and for classification of driving strategies into five general classes: (1) competition strategy, (2) contest strategy, (3) evasion strategy, (4) compromise strategy, and (5) active confrontation strategy. The neural network demonstrates a high rate of recognition and concise clusterization of similar driving strategies.
The fifth paper by Mahdi Shehab from College of Technological Studies, Kuwait, defines speeding as a major contributing factor to the occurrence of traffic accidents and examines a driver acceptability of a hypothetical mobile phone speed monitoring application.
The sixth paper by authors Yuniaristanto, Martha Widhi dela Utami, Wahyudi Sutopo and Muhammad Hisjam from Indonesian institutions Universitas Sebelas Maret and Anugerah Pharmindo Lestari Inc. highlights that Indonesia is in third place in the global motorcycle market and contributes to high CO2 emissions, and argues that electric motorcycles (EM) are an effective way of reducing them. This paper presents a study examining EM purchase intentions, focusing on micro/macro level factors, cost and technological factors.
The seventh paper, authored by Satya Ranjan Samal, Malaya Mohanty and Dipty Ranjan Biswal of KIIT University, India, presents an effectiveness evaluation of construction measures, such as speed humps and bumps, for reducing road speeds.
The eights paper deals with satisfaction levels of users when using the new railway station in Thessaloniki, Greece and the international bus terminal in Riga, Latvia in terms of service provision and station operations. A total of 36 indicators were tested and grouped into eight quality factors, namely travel information, travel information, time and movement, access, comfort and convenience, station attractiveness, safety and security and emergency management.

Published: May 12, 2022  Show citation