Fundamentals of Transportation Systems Analysis ― Basic Concepts

Transportation systems analysis is a multidisciplinary field which draws onengineering, economics, operations research, political science, psychology, management, and otherdisciplines. The major text synthesizes from these fields an approach that is intellectuallycoherent and comprehensive.Numerous details are provided to indicate how major concepts can beapplied in practice to particular modes and problems. But the major objective of this book is toprovide the reader with a basic framework onto which many different areas of specialization can beadded by later coursework and practical experience.Fundamentals of Transportation Systems Analysisidentifies concepts that are truly fundamental to serious work in the planning, design, ormanagement of transportation systems. It also emphasizes, through more detailed treatment, certaintopics, such as transportation demand and performance and the processes of evaluation and choice,that are inadequately treated in the available literature.A unique feature of the book is itsemphasis on multimodal solutions to transportation problems. The student is taught to view thetransportation system as a unified whole and to evaluate it within the context of the overallsocial, economic, and political system of a given region. According to Professor Manheim, "Thechallenge of transportation systems analysis is to intervene, delicately and deliberately, in thecomplex fabric of a society to use transport effectively, in coordination with other public andprivate actions, to achieve the goals of that society."