6533b851fe1ef96bd12a94a9

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Agent-based modeling of the social and economic factors affecting the choice of transportation mode : application to the Beirut city

subject

description

In urban and peri-urban environments, transport and mobility are strongly linked to socio-economic activities. They are influenced by individual's personal psychology, social norms, resistance to change, personal attitude, habits, fears and beliefs. Beirut is a mono-centric city with transport supply poverty. Vehicle ownership has increased rapidly in response to the shortage of public transportation. Currently, there is an opportunity to develop mobility management services and establish sustainable mobility and accessibility in Beirut. This requires that transport modes be affordable, efficient and environmentally friendly, as well as technologies that minimize the energy consumption by focusing on three main points: reducing travel needs, adopting more environmentally friendly modes of transportation, and improving the efficiency of vehicle technology. This thesis focuses on the modeling of displacement behavior, based on agent-oriented modeling. We analyzed the data obtained from a survey we conducted for Beirut. We established a relation between employment, social status and mode of transportation selection. The subject of the thesis is an agent-oriented simulation model of road traffic using an institutional economic approach. We propose an architecture, algorithms and methods to implement the agents model in order to model and reproduce their modes of transport behavior. Associated scientific questions are the effects of economic, social, career and household factors on choosing a mode of transport. This work is part of a project of the company S&A (Belgium and Lebanon) to provide tools to enable the transition of means of transport to a more respectful practice.