Jan Husdal

Transport Network Vulnerability - which metrics should we use?

Paper presented at the NECTAR Cluster 1 Seminar, Molde, Norway, 12-13 May 2006.

Transport network vulnerability is a relatively new field of research and to this date no commonly agreed definition or quantifiable expression of what vulnerability is exists within the academic community.

The follwing paper presents a review of road network vulnerability, seeking to synthesize different terminologies and metrics, among which: reliability, vulnerability, resilience, flexibility, robustness, and adaptive capacity.

The vulnerability of road networks in a cost-benefit perspective

Paper presented at TRB2005, the Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2005, Washington DC, USA, 9-13 January 2005.

A reliable transportation network represents a net benefit to society, and conversely, a vulnerable network represents a net cost to society. Hence, vulnerability ought to be an important parameter for decision-support in cost-benefit analyses, by seeking to establish a link between the terms reliability and vulnerability vis-à-vis costs and benefits. A multi-criteria analysis approach is suggested as an appropriate methodology for analyzing the monetary and non-monetary effects of vulnerability.

Looking beyond the science of vulnerability assessments, this paper discusses some of the network attributes that influence the vulnerability of transportation networks, influences that can be described as structure-related, nature-related or traffic-related attributes. The influences of the individual attributes are then examined as possible candidates for measuring of the vulnerability of the transportation network.

Reliability and vulnerability versus costs and benefits

Paper presented at ETC2004, the European Transport Conference 2004, Strasbourg, France, 4-6 October 2004.

Taking up the invitation of Berdica to bring out and recognise the vulnerability in the road transport system as a meeting point for all the different strands of transport reliability research and other issues, the focal point of this paper is to look at a road network from a reliability and vulnerability perspective and to link this analysis to cost-benefit decisions.

Looking beyond the science of vulnerability assessments, this paper discusses some of the network attributes that influence the vulnerability of transport networks, influences that can be described as structure-related, nature-related or traffic-related attributes. The paper introduces vulnerability as a parameter for decision-support in cost-benefit analyses, by seeking to establish a link between the terms reliability and vulnerability vis-a-vis costs and benefits.

Keywords: reliability, vulnerability, cost-benefit

Reliability and vulnerability versus costs and benefits

Paper presented at INSTR2004, the Second International Symposium on Transportation Network Reliability, Christchurch and Queenstown, NZ, 20-24 August 2004

Issues of reliability and vulnerability are mormally not considered a matter of evaluation in traditional cost-benefit analyses. Consequently, traditional cost-benefit analyses are lacking decision variables that may be important.

This paper looks beyond the abstract science of vulnerability assessments, and discusses some of the factual influences and network attributes that contribute to the vulnerability of transport networks. The influences of the individual attributes are then examined as a measure of the vulnerability of a transport network. Although reliability can be defined by absolute numbers, vulnerability, by its very nature can not. The paper further outlines a framework for developing a methodology that to incorporate reliability and vulnerability as parameters for decision-support in a cost-benefit analysis. In doing so, this paper seeks to establish a link between the terms reliability/vulnerability and cost/benefit and seeks to describe reliability and vulnerability in terms of cost and benefit. Cost-benefit evaluations are part of many decision making processes, and it is argued that vulnerability assessments likewise should play an important role as input to these processes.

Keywords: reliability, vulnerability, cost-benefit, transport network

A spatial framework for modeling hazards to transportation lifelines

The primary hazards included in this study are avalanches, landslides, flooding, earthquakes, wildfires, and rockfall. Although the primary focus of this research is roads, it is equally applicable to other transportation lifelines, such as railways, canals/waterways, or transmission lines for power, gas or oil. This presentation provides an overview of the spatial framework, current results and limitations, and directions for further research.