LetterofTransmission

To:Prof.Krasner
From:MohammedBokharma
Date:August7,2016
Re:TechnicalReportforWR227

DearProf.Krasner,
Iamsubmittingtoyoutodaythefinaltechnicalreportrequiredforyourcourse
inWR227.Pleaseacceptthisworkasmyfinalsubmission.
Inwhatfollows,youwillfindadetailedaccountofaprototypeIhavedeveloped
usingmobiletechniologywhichcandeterminethesustainabilityof
transportationmethodsforurbantraveleers.

EcoTrip:ASustainableTransportationSolution

MohammedBokharma
PortlandStateUniversity
Summer2016

Table of Contents
1. Introduction...3
2. App Design....5
3. Functionality......7
4. ImpactSustainabilityandTransportationEngineering.8
5.Conclusion.9
6.Bibliography.10

ListofFigures
Figure1..7
Figure2...9

1.ExecutiveSummary
EcoTripisanappthattakesuserpreferencesanddemonstratesthatthe
sustainablemodesoftransportationsuitsthosedesires.Itdoesthisto
improvethesustainabilityoftripstakenandcanalsoprovideusefuldata
toauthoritiesfortransportationplanningpurposes.Ittacklestheissueof
transportationsustainabilityinauniqueandpowerfulwaybyinfluencing
userbehaviorpositivelywhilehavingtheconvenienceofbeingonamobile
platform.Whileimprovementstotheuserinterface,precisionof
calculationsandcommercializationexist,theapphassignificantpotential
toimprovesustainabilityofhowpeopletravel

1.Introduction
Sustainability is an increasingly important issue that is heavily
dependent on peoples choices. Despite its importance, the cause isnt
being championed quickly enough. Transportation in particular has
significantimpactandpotentialtoreducetheseimpactsthroughaltering
user behavior. The transportation sector in the United States is the
largestconsumerofenergyat26.8%oftotalsupplyandisalsotheleast
efficient.Thisisasignificantopportunityforimprovementwhichcannot
be met by more efficient engines since personal transportation wastes
energybymovingthecarinsteadoftheperson(whichisonlyafractionof
theweight).
Theanswerliesintransformingpeoplesmodechoicetoavehiclewith
higher passenger capacity (such as mass transit) and/or a less energy
intensivemodesuchasactivetransportationmodes(walkingandcycling).
However, themotivation to switch modes is not as simple since people
have various priorities and preferences. Too often do the sustainable
options get pushed onto people without them becoming informed and
making the choice themselves. A preferred method is to inform users
aboutthevariousimpacts,providethemwiththesustainableoptionsand

rewardpositivebehavior.ToaddresstheseissuesEcoTripisanappthat
willdemonstratetousersthattheypreferthemoresustainablemodesof
transportation and encourage sustainable behavior with positive
reinforcement.
ThewayEcoTripdoesthisisby:
1.Obtainingtheusersdesiredtravelroute
2. Calculating time, environmental impact and cost of the inputted
routes
3.Displayingtheattributesofeachmodeallowingtheusertochoosea
mode
4.Displayingdirectionsforthechosenmode
5. Tracking the users travel patterns so there is observable
improvement
Additionally,EcoTripcancollectdataondifficulttoobtainuserbehavior
and preferences to be provided to transportation planners. This is
critically important so that the transportation infrastructure can
determineandevolvetomeetthedemandsoftheusers.

2.AppDesign
2.1SelectionScreen:
Theuserisdisplayedwithallthefunctionalities(listedbelow)toselect
from.CarbonFootprintData:Dataisfetchedfromthedatabasecarbon
footprintoftheuseranddisplayedinaclearmanner.TravelPathScreen:
Theuserisrequiredtoenteroriginanddestinationaddressesandother
optionssuchasavoidinghighways.ModeEvaluationTable:Theuseris
givenatableofthecost,traveltimeandcarbonfootprintforeachmode
possible.Map&RouteDisplay:Aftertheuserhaspickedtheirmost
desiredmodeandroutetherelevantGoogleMapisdisplayedtoguidethe
userthroughoutthetrip.
2.2MonitorBlock
Themonitorblockisusedtotrackuser'scarbonfootprintusingGPSover
alongperiodoftime.Thestepsthemonitorblockwilltakeinclude:1.
ObtainingthelocationoftheuserusingtheGPSradio.2.Calculatingthe
travelpathoftheuserbetweentrackedconsecutiveGPSlocations.3.
Calculatethecarbonemissionbetweeneachpairofpoints4.Savingthe
dataintoadatabaseonthephonesothatitcanbeviewedinthehistory
module.

2.3DirectionBlock
Ten2locations.Selectionsarecomparedintermsoftraveltime,distance,
cost&carbonemissions.GoogleMapdirectionQueryandInterpretation
LogicThisblockisthebackboneoftheentireprogram.Ittakestwo
geometriclocationsandafewotherinputtedtravelparameters,requests
GoogleMapDirectionWebserviceandtranslatesitintoadatastructure
thattheprogramcanaccess.
2.4GoogleMapdirectionQueryandInterpretationLogic
TheAndroidplatformdoesnotofferanyclassesthatcanbeusedfor
directions.Theonlyoptionforcalculatingthetravelpathbetweentwo
locationsistorequestthedirectionfromGooglethroughURLrequests.
Thedatareturnedisthesourcecodeofthewebpageandshowsthe
directionsinHTML.TheHTMLhastobeinterpretedbytheprogramto
extractdetaileddirectiondata.Carbonfootprint&CostCalculation
2.5Carbonfootprint&CostCalculation
Thiscodeblocktakesthedistanceandtravelmodeasinputsand
generatesthecarbonemissionthatthetraveloptionwillproduce.The
calculationsimplyappliestheproperemissionsfactortoeachmode.
FIGURE1:SystemModelDiagramofApplication

FIGURE1:SystemStateDiagram
Source:Own

3Functionality
TheuserinterfaceisintuitiveandissimilartoGoogleMapswithsimilar
inputsandcorrectlyqueriesGoogleMapsforHTMLcode.Themode
comparisonfunctionobtainsdatafromGooglemaps,appliesthe

appropriatefactorsandprovidestime,costandGHGemissiondatafor
eachmode.Themostoptimalmodebasedontheusers
preferencesissuggested.However,becausethecostandenvironmental
impactofcyclingandwalkingisusuallyfactorslessthantheirincreasein
timewhencomparedtodrivingtheyareunrealisticallyfavored.This
functionwasnotimplementedintheend.Instead,thechoicewasleftto
theuserbasedontheinformationtheyreceived.
Theapptrackstheuserstravelpathaccuratelybyaccessingthe
GPSradioandrecordingthelocationeveryfewminutes.Thetravel
historyisrecordedandmaintainedonthephonesmemory.Thedisplayof
datamakesiteasytocomprehendandobserveusertravelbehavior.The
multimodealgorithmwasdeterminedbutbecauseoftimeconstraintswas
notimplemented.Whenselected,theappproperlyqueriesGoogleMapsto
providethesamedirectionstheuserwouldreceivefromthatservice
directly.

FIGURE2:UserInferfaceWireframe
Source:Own

4ImpactonSustainabilityandTransportation
Engineering
Transportationforecastingisanareawithsignificantimpactonthe
environment.Transportationforecastingaidsthedevelopmentof
transportationsystemsbypredictingtravelpatternssuchaswherepeople
travel,whatmodetheytake,whentheytravelandwhatrouteistaken.
Transportationengineerstakethesepredictionsandevolvethe
transportationsystemorinfluencetravelbehaviortooptimizeuserutility.
Modechoiceinfluenceistargetedbytheappbecauseoftheconducive

naturemobiledevicesprovideforinfluencinguserbehaviorandthe
opportunityforhighenvironmentalimpactreductionwithlowusereffort.
TheTransportationTomorrowSurveyisaninitiativetogatherdata
onusercharacteristicsandtravelpatterns.Itsurveys5%oftheGreater
PortlandAreaeveryfiveyears,requiringsignificantresources.Thesurvey
collectsdataonorigins,destinations,purposes,time,modeand
demographics.Engineersthencorrelateroutes,modesandorigin
destinationpairswiththedemographicinformationtopredictwhowill
travelwhere,whenandhow.Theappontheotherhand,gathersexplicit
dataaboutwhatuserscareabout(andhowmuch),theactualamountof
timetakentotravelandtheirexacttravelroute(notjustthebeginning
andend).
Thispushestheboundariesofdeterminingtravelbehaviorbasedon
wantsinsteadofcansandonexplicitdatainsteadofinferences.
Transportationengineerscanalsouseappdataandseewhichroutesare
mostusedandcomparetheactualtraveltimewiththetheoreticaltravel
timeitwouldhaveoptimallytaken.EcoTripalsogathersdataonhow
usersreacttoinformationsuchasacomparisonofGHGemissions.Ifthe
appexpandedtoincludenoticesaboutconstructionorcongestionthenthe
impactofthatinformationcouldalsobemeasured.Thisisofsignificance

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becausethediversionoftraffichelpsrelievecongestionandtheswitchto
differentmodescanreducetheenvironmentalimpact.Theimpactson
userbehaviorarealsomoreexplicitlyobservedwiththeappwhereas
currentgeneralbehaviorchangescanbecausedbyvariousinfluencesand
arentattributabletospecificchanges.
EcoTripusesasimpler(thanthestateoftheart)methodologyfor
determininghowuserschoosetheirmodeswithouttheneedforiterations
ormodels.Themethodologyalsoonlyreliesonthreeparameterswhich
makesitmuchsimplerifthesethreecanbeanaccuratepredictor.Asthe
modechoicesarebeingmadethealgorithmforthemcanberefinedto
becomemoreaccurate.Finally,thesustainabilityaspectisuniqueinthe
sensethatittargetsuserbehaviorinsteadofincreasingtheefficiencyof
thecarsengineorcompromisingwithhybrid/electricvehicles.
Demonstratingtousersthattheirpreferencesleantowardsthemore
sustainablealternativesputstheuserincontrolandusespositive
reinforcementinsteadofnegativeimageryandforcedchanges.
Overall,EcoTripdefinesanewmethodformodechoiceanalysis,
gatherscriticalbutdifficult/costlytoobtaindataandisusesproactiveand
preventativemethodstoachievetransportationsustainability.

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4.1NextSteps
ImprovementsforEcoTripincludebeingmorecomprehensivenessin
considerationsandcalculations,implementingagraphicalhistoryofuser
impactsandmultimodeoptions,integrationwithGoogleaccountsand
commercialization.Thebestscenariofortheapptobeusedisona
frequentbasisbyalargegroupofusers.Therobustnesscouldbeimproved
intermsofrefiningthealgorithmforthesuggestedmodechoicesince
cyclingandwalkinghavedisproportionatelylowGHGemissionsand
costs.Thesetwofactorsconstantlyoutweightimeformostscenariosbutin
realityitdoesntrepresenthowpeoplechoose.TheGHGemissionsand
costscouldbemorethoroughiftheytookintoconsiderationlocation,
modelofcaranddrivingbehavior.Theinclusionoftrafficincidentsand
constructionwouldalsobeofhelptouserswhowanttoavoidcongestion.
Lastly,onlytwomultimodechoiceswereconsidered(biketotransit
anddrivetotransit).Whilemanymoredoexisttheyarenotas
prominentlyused.Theappcouldbeexpandedincludenewmultmodetrip
formsastheybecomemoreprominent.Thetwoportionsoftheproject
whichcouldnotbecompletedintimewouldbepreferredtobe
implementedintotheapp.AgraphicaldisplayofuserGHGemission
history(andpossiblycosthistory)couldhelpmakethedataeasiertoview.
Multimodemethodswouldalsohaveimprovedthenumberofattractive

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optionstouserssinceithelpsreducetraveltimeandGHGemissionsin
mostcases.
TheintegrationintoGooglemapswouldallowuserstoplantheir
routesinadvanceonacomputer.Thissimplyextendstheapps
capabilitiestouserswithoutsmartphones.Trackingandmaintaininga
historyoftheusersGHGemissions,timeandcostisstillpossiblebyjust
takingthedatausedtosuggestamodebutwouldnotbeasaccurateas
thereallifetracking.IntegrationwithausersGoogleaccount(orother
onlineaccounts)wouldprovidetheusagetracking,GHGemissionsand
costsavingshistoriesovertimeinaconvenientmanner.The
commercializationofthisapphasmanyopportunitiesbecauseofitsability
togatherrealtimedataonusertransportationprioritiesandchoices.This
dataisofgreatvaluetoengineers,researchers,cityplanners,public
transitauthoritiesandsoon.Thedatacouldbesoldbutthecollectionmay
facepublicsafetyandsecurityconcerns.Iftheadvertisementroutewas
chosenthenlocationandinterestbasedadvertisementssuchasnearby
bicycleshops,gasstations,GPSdevicesandsooncouldbeprovided.A
morepassivemethodtogenerateincomewouldbeforthisapptoqualify
forcarboncreditsonamarketinthefutureandthensellthecreditsfrom

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reducinguserproduction.However,thismightbeineffectiveiftheusers
endupgeneratingmorecarbon.

5Conclusion
EcoTripisanappthattakesuserpreferencesanddemonstratesthatthe
sustainablemodesoftransportationsuitsthosedesires.Itdoesthisto
improvethesustainabilityoftripstakenandcanalsoprovideusefuldata
toauthoritiesfortransportationplanningpurposes.Ittacklestheissueof
transportationsustainabilityinauniqueandpowerfulwaybyinfluencing
userbehaviorpositivelywhilehavingtheconvenienceofbeingonamobile
platform.Whileimprovementstotheuserinterface,precisionof
calculationsandcommercializationexist,theapphassignificantpotential
toimprovesustainabilityofhowpeopletravel

14

6 Bibliography
Ferreira,J.C.,Monteiro,V.,&Afonso,J.L.(2014).Vehicletoanything
application (V2AnythingApp)forelectricvehicles.IEEE
TransactionsonIndustrialInformatics,10(3),19271937.
Larminie,J.,&Lowry,ElectricVehicleTechnologyExplained,Wiley,2015.
Masuch,N.,Ltzenberger,M.,Ahrndt,S.,Heler,A.,&Albayrak,S.
(2011,September).Acontextawaremobileaccessibleelectric
vehiclemanagementsystem.InComputerScienceandInformation
Systems(FedCSIS),2011FederatedConferenceon(pp.305312).
IEEE.

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