Transportation lies at the heart of civilization. Roads, buses, trains, and airplanes are more than just vehicles—they are lifelines of economic activity and social interaction. As engineers, planners, and decision-makers, understanding the principles of transportation systems is critical for creating sustainable, efficient, and inclusive mobility solutions.

This course equips you with the analytical tools and practical knowledge to understand, model, and improve transportation systems. Whether you’re interested in urban planning, traffic flow optimization, or multimodal transport, this course provides a foundation for tackling real-world challenges. 

1. Trip Assignment : Understand how trips are assigned to transportation networks. Explore models like All-or-Nothing and User Equilibrium (UE) to analyze how traffic flows are distributed based on shortest paths and congestion dynamics.

2. Queuing Systems : Delve into the principles of queuing theory as applied to transportation. Learn how to evaluate congestion and delays in one-lane roads, signalized intersections, parking lots, and multi-lane highways.

3. Traffic Shock Waves: Examine the behavior of traffic disruptions and their propagation through roadways. Using concepts like Greenshields' model, density, and flow, you’ll understand how bottlenecks form and resolve.

4. Modal Choice: Discover how people choose between transportation modes based on trip characteristics, personal factors, and system attributes. Explore the Multinomial Logit Model and advanced techniques to predict and influence travel behavior.

5. Trip Generation: Learn to estimate the number of trips produced and attracted by different zones using models like Trip Rate Analysis, Cross-Classification, and Regression. These tools are essential for planning transport infrastructure and services.

6. Trip Distribution: Understand how trips are distributed between origins and destinations. Study the Gravity Model and Fratar Model to analyze travel patterns and predict future demand across transportation networks.

By the end of this course, you will:

1. Analyze traffic flows and identify network inefficiencies.

2. Predict travel demand and optimize mode choices for diverse populations.

3. Design efficient and reliable transportation systems to meet future needs.

4. Evaluate the impact of new infrastructure projects and policy changes.

Whether you’re an aspiring transportation engineer, an urban planner, or a policymaker tackling mobility challenges, this course will prepare you to make a difference. Imagine being the expert who designs solutions to reduce congestion, improves public transit accessibility, or plans cities that thrive on smart mobility. This course empowers you to turn those visions into reality.