Introduction to Transportation Systems

The purpose of this book is to introduce the reader to the field of transportation systems. It will focus on the basic ideas; characterizing transportation systems, defining transportation systems, defining transportation system components, and introducing the idea of transportation networks. Through a simple example, thirty transportation key points will be established. Arguably, understanding these thirty key points is essential to a broad grasp of transportation system performance. The idea of models and frameworks as useful abstractions of transportation systems that can be used to perform transportation system analysis and design is introduced and a brief discussion on freight transportation and traveler transportation is included.