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NTC@Maryland Co-Sponsored Seminar Series: Nigel Wilson

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Prof. Nigel Wilson

On October 10th 2014, 10:00-11:30am, as part of the Kirlin Distinguished Seminar Series organized by the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, and also as one of the ITS/ITE MD Student Chapter speaker seminars sponsored by the National Transportation Center @ Maryland, Prof. Nigel Wilson of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, gave a presentation in the CEE Conference Room, 1179 Glenn Martin Hall. The topic is “Using Smart Data and Complemenatary Data to Improve Public Transport Systems”. The Distinguished Lecture Kirlin Distinguished Seminar Series is sponsored by John J. Kirlin Lecture funds.

Automatic data collection systems including automatic vehicle location systems, automatic passenger counting systems and electronic fare payment and ticketing systems are becoming ubiquitous in large public transport systems and are starting to have an impact on the quality and availability of information for both off-line and real-time functions needed for service provision. The off-line functions include service and operations planning, and performance monitoring and measurement while the critical real-time functions include operations management and control, and customer information. While the impacts of these advances are already apparent in many systems, there is the potential for much deeper impact in the future. The power and cost-effectiveness of information technology continues to advance and will offer opportunities to develop and apply more ambitious models which should positively affect many facets of the performance of public transport systems. This talk presents a framework for assessing the various roles that smart card data and complementary data can play in public transport systems and will summarize recent applications of the resulting methods based on richer automated data collection systems developed at MIT for Transport for London and MTR (Hong Kong). The potential for further enhancement of critical public transport agency functions in the future making even greater use of these data sources will be discussed.

Professor Nigel Wilson, director of the MIT Transit Research Program, has more than 30 years experience dealing with operations, management and planning issues associated with transit systems worldwide. His research and teaching focus on urban public transportation, including topics related to the operation, analysis, planning and management of transit systems. Specific research activities he has directed include using automated data systems to improve planning and operations, workforce planning in the transit industry, short-range transit planning methods, the role of private operators in public transportation and the potential for computers and communication systems to improve the performance of transit systems. During two leaves from MIT, he worked directly in three large transit agencies, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (1985-86), London Transport (1992-93) and Metro Transit (2008-2009) and has also consulted to a number of other North American transit authorities.

Published October 10, 2014