Transport Reviews

Videoconferencing provides an alternative means to actual face‐to‐face contact of ‘transporting’ business information. This paper develops a simple economic model to examine the comparative costs of using videoconferencing as opposed to making journeys for face‐to‐face meetings. It explores, looking at developments in both the United Kingdom and Switzerland, the actual use of videoconferencing to‐date and the factors influencing its adoption. In particular, it looks at the nature of substitutability and complementarity of videoconferencing and travel focusing on the importance of influences such as the nature of the firms involved and their internal managerial structure. There is, finally, a consideration of longer term influences on the up‐take of such telecommunications technology.

Car sharing, which can be defined as sharing vehicle services amongst members, thereby giving them access to a fleet of vehicles, is important in promoting the use of sustainable modes of transport. Even though the car sharing market in Germany has grown considerably in recent years, customer take-up is still relatively low. Only 0.16 % of driving licence holders in Germany have joined a car-sharing organization. As a result, the central objective of this report is to assess ways of promoting car-sharing services further. Therefore, the report begins with an investigation into the current situation in Germany, for which a survey addressing all German Car Sharing Organizations (CSOs) was conducted. Additionally, a household survey was conducted to evaluate the demand for car sharing. Finally, research into the development of car sharing in other countries was undertaken via the Internet and a brief survey to CSOs in some of those countries. Recommendations for the further development of car sharing are given on the basis of the findings from each of these studies.

This article investigates the role of bus rapid transit as a tool for mitigation of transport-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. We analyse a Quality Bus Corridor (QBC) implemented in Dublin, Ireland, in 1999 and estimate CO2 emissions associated with differing levels of bus priority for the period 1998-2003 and for the Kyoto commitment period (2008-12). Associated monetary values are established using CO2 prices from the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme. We find that, in the absence of a QBC, peak-time emissions for our sample population would have been 50% higher than in the factual scenario. For the Kyoto commitment period, we find the median value of the policy implementation to be in the region of €650000.

The aim of the present study is to evaluate the possible extent of modal shifts from car use to 'alternative modes' (public transport, cycling, walking) without any change in individual patterns of activity. Its approach is based on a transfer procedure that allows the simulation of the maximal potential market for transport modes other than the private car. The method is based on repeated iterations of a simulation model that assigns journeys to transport modes other than the automobile based on a number of improved public transport scenarios. Demand is channelled towards individual modes (walking, cycling), public transport, and a combination of individual and public modes, based on their relative time and distance performance. The modal transfer procedure is applied to several transport supply scenarios, which provide a picture of what is possible in the sphere of modal split. Each simulation entails a potential transfer of private vehicle-km to each of the other modes. Even where different public transport scenarios are simulated, the transfer is evaluated for round trips in both the Paris and Lyon surveys. There is therefore no modification in the activity pattern of the people surveyed nor trips induced by improvements in transport supply. The aim is not to predict what would be the modal split in other circumstances, but the upper limit of the shifts. This paper presents our methodology and the principal results obtained through numerical simulations based on figures for the Paris and Lyon conurbations. This approach demonstrates that a policy focused on modal shifts has the potential to reduce car use, but that this potential is limited. Any aspiration to reduce car use further would mean changes in the patterns and location of activity.

Railways restructuring takes place under very different circumstances and with very different goals in Western Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, and Russia. Observed improvements in productivity associated with vertical access and vertical separation in Western Europe are not certain to be replicated following similar restructuring in transition economies, especially if one takes account of the much higher shadow price on government subsidies in the latter. This paper describes in detail the current and proposed reforms in the railways of Central and Eastern Europe and Russia, analyzes the likely outcomes of reforms in the special economic, regulatory, and legal environments of these countries, and presents an alternative proposal for restructuring in Russia.

This paper reviews issues raised by the use of private firms to finance, build, and/or operate highways — issues including cost of capital, level and structure of tolls, and adaptability to unforeseen changes. The public sector’s apparent advantage in cost of capital is at least partly illusory due to differences in tax liability and to constraints on the supply of public capital. The evidence for lower costs of construction or operation by private firms is slim. Private firms are likely to promote more efficient pricing. Effective private road provision depends on well-structured franchise agreements that allow pricing flexibility, restrain market power, enforce a sound debt structure, promote transparency, and foster other social goals.

Numerous studies have found that suburban residents drive more and walk less than residents in traditional neighborhoods. What is less well understood is the extent to which the observed patterns of travel behavior can be attributed to the residential built environment itself, as opposed to the prior self-selection of residents into a built environment that is consistent with their predispositions toward certain travel modes and land use configurations. To date, most studies addressing this attitudinal self-selection issue fall into nine categories: direct questioning, statistical control, instrumental variables models, sample selection models, propensity score, joint discrete choice models, structural equations models, mutually-dependent discrete choice models, and longitudinal designs. This report reviews and evaluates these alternative approaches. Virtually all of the 38 empirical studies reviewed found a statistically significant influence of the built environment remaining after self-selection was accounted for. However, the practical importance of that influence was seldom assessed. Although time and resource limitations are recognized, we recommend usage of longitudinal structural equations modeling with control groups, a design which is strong with respect to all causality requisites.

Are road pricing strategies regressive or progressive? This is a question that has been confronting researchers, practitioners, and policy-makers who seek to implement new mechanisms to raise funds for transportation while simultaneously managing demand. The theoretical literature is mixed, as is the empirical literature. In part this has to do with the various types of road pricing strategies that are being debated, different definitions of equity, and alternative assumptions about revenue recycling. Despite this seeming complexity, the literature is clear that equity issues are addressable. This paper provides a synthesis of the literature to date on both the theory of equity, as applied to road pricing, and the findings of empirical and simulation studies of the effects of particular implementations of road pricing, and suggested remedies for real or perceived inequities. To summarize, while there are certainly potential issues with equity associated with road pricing, those issues can be addressed with intelligent mechanism design that provides the right incentives to travelers and uses the raised revenues in a way to achieve desired equitable ends. These include cutting other taxes and investing in infrastructure and services.

In industrialized countries, the number of studies and surveys in the field of urban goods movement (UGM) has increased considerably over recent years. This paper compares the objectives, methods and results in this sector and focuses on nine industrialized countries of Europe, America and Asia. This non-extensive review shows that in spite of different framework methods and models, similar trends emerge at the economic and environmental levels. It is necessary to take into account urban logistics in the broadest meaning of the term. Cooperative action seems to bear fruit providing that information and dialogue take place in the long-term with all the operators involved. The development of intelligent transport systems (ITS) and better management of urban facilities may improve these attempts. We present our viewpoint in order to shed light on research oriented towards the sustainable management of urban logistics.

This paper reviews recent transport developments taking place in Europe. Particular attention is given to the impact of technological dynamics as reflected in the new information technology (NIT). Against this background the paper gives an overview of results and findings from four major international conferences on the impact of NIT on spatial developments and transport. There appears to be a consensus that the impact of NIT will not be dramatic and that the degree of substitutability of NIT vis‐à‐vis physical travel is limited. Peripheral areas of conurbations seem likely to be late comers in the area of NIT. However, in terms of the increase of a region's competitive position, NIT may be an important vehicle, as it may also be for logistic systems and traffic safety.

With several successful cases world-wide, bus rapid transit (BRT) has reemerged as a cost-effective transportation alternative for urban mobility. Despite the resurgence of BRT, there is a world-wide paucity of research examining its ability to spur and development. By estimating spatial hedonic price functions, the paper determines the extent to which access to BRT stations in Bogotá, Colombia, currently are capitalized into land values. Results suggest that for every 5 min of additional walking time to a BRT station, the rental price of a property decreases by between 6.8 and 9.3%, after controlling for structural characteristics, neighbourhood attributes and proximity to the BRT corridor. Evaluated at the average walking time to a BRT station, this effect translates into an elasticity of between - 0.16 and - 0.22. Although these estimates cannot be attributable directly to the presence of the BRT system because a cross-sectional design is used, they suggest that the land market in Bogotá values access to BRT station locations.

Addressing the issues of traffic safety in rural areas presents a constant challenge. The mix of light and heavy vehicles and the considerable differences in speed among these traffic participants result in high risks and delays for the faster vehicles. Agricultural vehicles (AVs) in particular have such an impact on traffic, especially when using arterial highways. This paper reviews the problems of safety and delays that AVs cause on arterial highways, and the appropriate mitigation. The concept of 'sustainable safety' in The Netherlands focuses on these problems, because of the proposed construction of parallel roads alongside all arterial highways. However, Dutch accident statistics cannot justify the high costs for the construction of parallel roads alongside 7000 km of arterial highways. Delays experienced by fast traffic are another reason for separating AVs from other road users with parallel roads. Alternative measures alongside the arterial highway, such as passing bays, restricting AVs to travelling at off-peak only and improving the conspicuity of the AVs, may be more cost-effective ways of reducing delays and/or improving traffic safety on arterial highways. Another solution may be to eliminate the need for AVs to use the arterial highway by altering their routes. For this purpose, land reallocation projects (as practised in Holland) can provide a useful tool.

Air traffic in the UK has increased rapidly in the past two decades and is forecast to grow at a rate of 4.3% per annum between 1998 and 2020. The failure to develop the air traffic system in order to cope with this growth has had undesirable consequences, e.g. a rise in flight delays and near misses. Given the investment required in air traffic control systems to cater for this growth, the UK government in 2000 part privatized the National Air Traffic Services (NATS), the body in charge of the UK's airspace in a public-private partnership (PPP). The UK Airline Group acquired 46% of NATS and effective operational control, though the government retains a share in NATS and safety regulation is in the public sector. However, serious doubts about safety were raised during the debate on the PPP. Similar moves towards a commercial operation (i.e. corporatization) of air navigation services have been made in New Zealand and Canada over the past decade and these provide useful insights into the results of the corporatization process. This paper analyses the main issues surrounding the part privatization of NATS. First, it highlights the experience from New Zealand and Canada of the major issues involved in corporatized air navigation services in six different categories: funding, new technology and project management, safety, pricing regime, international opportunities, and customer responsiveness. The likely impacts for NATS given the lessons from New Zealand and Canada are considered. The UK government's provisions for the PPP and their implementation in the post-PPP NATS are then outlined for these six categories. Finally, the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks have had major impacts on air travel and their consequences for NATS in the six categories are highlighted. This paper concludes with some of the issues that need to be addressed to ensure the success of the PPP for NATS.

This paper reviews the main characteristics of the provision of urban transit systems in Cairo, namely buses, minibuses, river buses, trams and surface metros, all being currently operated by Cairo Transport Authority (CTA). It presents some generic types of indicators to compare and assess the performance of the five main urban transit systems provided by CTA. The CTA budget plan for the Financial Year 96/97 is reviewed. The absence of any form of cost modelling as an integral part of CTA budget plans is identified. Here, an attempt is made to develop cost models for the main urban transit systems operated by CTA. Four generic approaches for estimating cost models for transit services are comparatively reviewed, namely the causal factor, cost allocation, regression and temporal variation methods. Cost allocation methods are particularly applied in this research to estimate different cost models for the main transit systems operated by CTA. These models are meant to assist in predicting and showing the relative magnitude of expected changes in various cost categories, resulting from systems/services expansion or down-sizing for the transit modes operated by CTA. The development of such models is thought to contribute in raising the cost consciousness in CTA with the ultimate benefit of maximizing system efficiency.

An exploratory study of the prospects for congestion pricing in four Latin American metropolitan areas where traffic bans currently exist—Santiago de Chile, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, and Bogota—is presented. Through a historical analysis of the implementation process and experience of the traffic bans, along with a snowball-sampled survey of transportation experts in each city, three factors are found to be the most important to ensure favourable prospects for implementing congestion pricing in these cities: (1) widespread public information regarding the environmental and health risks of traffic congestion and resulting air pollution; (2) implementation of complementary policies such as public transport enhancements and increased parking fees in congested areas; and (3) development of a knowledge culture among politicians and experts through discourse on alternative road pricing policies based on systematic analysis. Among other pertinent issues discussed, the work shows that the equity concerns for low-income car drivers often cited in discussions on congestion pricing in developed countries are less applicable in the cases studied. A key concern is the lack of political will because it is people with relatively higher incomes and political influence who predominantly own and use cars in these four cities. The findings, though exploratory, are important because the potential of congestion pricing to manage the rapid pace of motorization in the developing world is not well studied. This paper presents an initial step towards studying the implementation of the policy in developing countries.

This paper empirically evaluates key resources and capabilities in the liner shipping context. Based on a factor analysis, three resource dimensions are identified: marine equipment, information equipment, and corporate image; whereas seven capability dimensions are identified: purchasing, operation, human resource management, customer service, information integration, pricing, and financial management. The findings suggest that operation capability is perceived as the most important dimension, followed by customer service, human resource management, information integration, pricing purchasing, and financial management. Results indicate that four dimensions are found that significantly differ between shipping companies and agencies: marine equipment, information equipment, operation, and information integration. The theoretical and managerial implications of the research findings are discussed.

The road sector reforms undertaken by a growing number of developing and transition countries during the past 10-20 years are described. The problems these countries share with industrialized countries and the additional factors that also affect them--large backlogs of deferred maintenance, an acute shortage of funds and dysfunctional road agencies--are also described. The paper then describes how these countries have restructured road management by separating planning and management of roads from implementation of works, provided road agencies with more autonomy, created more effective oversight, introduced annual performance agreements and turned the road agency into a more commercial organization paying market-based wages. In relation to road financing, road tolls and toll roads are touched on briefly before the new style road funds that have recently been set up in these countries are detailed. The paper then describes how they were established and their basic operating modalities--revenues only from charges related to road use (with one notable exception), no abstraction of revenues from other sectors, proactive management and oversight provided by a board of directors that includes members nominated by road users and the business community.

Environmental impacts related to policy measures such as transport investments are relevant for ex ante evaluations like cost-benefit analyses (CBAs), environmental impact assessments (EIAs) and strategic environmental assessments (SEAs). However, the methodologies used in determining impacts are much less developed than those employed in estimating transport and economic impacts. The aim of the present paper is to show how rough methodologies used in current practice might lead to serious faults in estimating environmental impacts. This is followed by suggestions for improvements to these methodologies. The first suggestion is related to indicators. Since only a limited number of these are used presently, such as emissions of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, including more indicators might prove to be helpful. Second, changes in emissions (e.g. due to regulations) are often considered for only a limited time horizon, so extending the time horizon for emission factors is therefore an important improvement. Third, sometimes emission factors from the literature or from another country/area are used, while the circumstances are not comparable; this might lead to serious faults. Using country- or region-specific data, however, will improve the quality of assessments. Fourth, one often ignores that the effects of a given emission volume depend on the distance between source and receptor. The effects due to traffic, such as particulate matter or nitrous dioxide emissions, might then have more health impacts than emissions from industrial or power plants, and be reason enough to include these aspects as well. Fifth, it is suggested that categories of goods are broken down to determine freight modes, since lorries currently transport goods with a lower specific gravity (kilograms/volume unit) than those transported by rail and barge. The sixth suggestion calls for inclusion of indirect energy use and emissions resulting from the construction of vehicle and infrastructure. While some recommendations can be implemented relatively easily in ex ante evaluations, others will need further research.

This paper presents an overview of some recent developments in and policy issues relating to integrated transport systems in the European Union (EU). Both goods and passenger transport systems are considered in the context of actions recently undertaken and supported by the EU. The paper considers the very general background of these systems at the EU scale and offers insights into some recent successful and promising policy, real-life, and research attainments. In addition, it attempts to identify some directions for future actions in fields such as transport policy, transport technology, transport economics and transport scenarios.

This paper provides an analysis of the role and development of international freight transport in Lithuania since independence from the Former Soviet Union in 1991. It reviews the current situation with regards to the movement of container traffic in particular, and uses the predominant international trade flow between Germany and Lithuania as an example. Discussion also centres around an assessment of the current situation of the three surface modes of sea, rail and road transport, the likely prospects of future developments in the context of European Union (EU) initiatives including those under the PAN European road scheme, and the impact of Lithuania's impending entry into the EU.

This paper analyses the redistributive effects generated by the subsidization of urban public transport services. We estimate a two-stage model that takes into account both car ownership decisions and expenditure in urban public transport. In this way, we are able to measure the long run effects of income changes. Under the assumption that the user is the final beneficiary of the subsidies, and computing the share of the fare that is subsidized, we measure the progressiveness of the subsidies for different income groups and city sizes. Urban public transport subsidies are shown to be progressive. In larger urban areas this effect is considerably more important than in small ones.

The paper provides a comprehensive review of a large amount of previously unpublished British evidence about the valuation of new railway rolling stock and its effects on demand. An important conclusion is that incentives to bias Stated Preference responses and unfamiliarity with the rolling stock being considered have led to inflated values. This has broader implications for the use of Stated Preference techniques. Also provided is fresh empirical evidence for a range of different types of rolling stock and specific rolling stock attributes. A novel aspect of the research was the use of disaggregate Revealed Preference choice data. The estimated rolling stock values are much lower than those obtained from previous studies.

Analysing changes in the professional environment of experts in urban transport throws light on the evolution and aims of planning in France. Here the 1970s were characterized by active town planning combined with revival of public transport. New ways of appraising the restructuring of networks and of towns evolved under the influence in particular of experts who acted as intermediaries on social and economic factors involved in local decision‐making. These experts had dual professional loyalties, central and local. They drew their cultural basis as much from the technocratic rationalism of immediate post‐war economic planning as from the libertarian and ecological social movements of the 1970s. The theory of democratic, decentralized and contractual planning which took shape during the 1970s was institutionalized in the 1980s in the form of the Urban Travel Plans. However, this took place in the context of deregulation and illustrates the ambiguous environment of the experts.

Ageing of the population, urban sprawl and car dependency will change travel patterns. The main objective of this paper is to give elements for a better understanding of the impact of changing demographics on the long term evolution of daily mobility using demographic-based models to forecast, for the elderly population, car-ownership, trip frequency, distance traveled, average trip distance. A second objective is to measure the impact of the long term tendencies observed on the appearance of new needs of travel demand such as a rapid increase of demand-responsive transport. The paper compares two agglomerations, both in a strong ageing process, but in quite different sociocultural contexts: a large European metropolis: Paris, and a medium sized north-american city: Montreal. Many common conclusions derived from the two different cases studies reinforce the possibility of generalizing the conclusions to other situations.