Behavioral adjustments and equity effects of congestion pricing: Analysis of morning commutes during the Stockholm Trial

This paper assesses the horizontal and vertical equity effects of the Stockholm Trial with Congestion Pricing for morning commuters, in terms of both travel behavioral adjustments and welfare effects, as a result of the toll’s direct effects and the behavioral adjustments. We consider specifically two behavioral adjustments: mode choice and departure time choice. Initial car drivers crossing the toll cordon had a 15 percentage-points higher rate of switching to public transit as compared with those not crossing the cordon. We also find some evidence of peak spreading, in particular toward a later departure time, as a result of the charging scheme, but most people choose a departure time within 15 min both before and during the trial. In the welfare analysis, we found no clear pattern of increasing burden by either increasing income or decreasing income, and the increase in the Gini Coefficient was insignificant. We also found no significant difference in either the mode-switching behavior or the average welfare effect for women versus for men.     

Book review

Abstract

In April 1983, the “Fourth World Conference on Transport Research” was held in Hamburg. For a period of four days, experts from all parts of the world discussed transport research and planning problems. The discussions were divided into eight so‐called ‘sub‐topics’. Fortunately, one of the sub‐topics, ‘Man and his Transport Behaviour’ (chaired by Moshe Ben‐Akiva, U.S.A. and Werner Brog, Federal Republic of Germany) dealt with the individual and his behaviour. This complemented the traditionally supply‐oriented thinking of the transport planners by introducing the demand component which had frequently been neglected in the past. Since the view has become increasingly widespread that transport is meant to serve people and thus that research should emphasize the (potential) users of the transport system, the number of papers submitted and presented on this sub‐topic was especially large.

However, the number of papers which could be included in the ‘Conference Proceedings’ was limited and this would have meant that a number of interesting documents could not be published. Therefore, papers on four special areas within this sub‐topic are to be published in four consecutive issues of Transport Reviews. The areas which will be dealt with are ‘Telecommunications’, ‘Non‐Motorised Transport’, ‘Special Problems in Third World Countries’ and ‘Fare Structures in Public Transport’. The papers were selected strictly according to their contents. A brief commentary in each issue explains in turn the reasons for choosing each of the four subject areas.     

Does habitual car use not lead to more resistance to change of travel mode?

An experiment examined the effects of an intervention (combination of information and a free public transport ticket) in a changed decision context (moving to a new residence) on travel mode choice by car users. If past frequency of car use has resulted in an automatic response to goal-related cues, one should expect resistant to change of travel mode. However, the results failed to show this. Neither past behavior or a direct habit measure predicted future travel behavior. Instead, the intervention influenced attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, and consistent with Ajzen's theory of planned behavior, these were the main causes of the change of travel mode.     

Vehicle response-based track geometry assessment using multi-body simulation

The assessment of the geometry of railway tracks is an indispensable requirement for safe rail traffic. Defects which represent a risk for the safety of the train have to be identified and the necessary measures taken. According to current standards, amplitude thresholds are applied to the track geometry parameters measured by recording cars. This geometry-based assessment has proved its value but suffers from the low correlation between the geometry parameters and the vehicle reactions. Experience shows that some defects leading to critical vehicle reactions are underestimated by this approach. The use of vehicle responses in the track geometry assessment process allows identifying critical defects and improving the maintenance operations. This work presents a vehicle response-based assessment method using multi-body simulation. The choice of the relevant operation conditions and the estimation of the simulation uncertainty are outlined. The defects are identified from exceedances of track geometry and vehicle response parameters. They are then classified using clustering methods and the correlation with vehicle response is analysed. The use of vehicle responses allows the detection of critical defects which are not identified from geometry parameters.     

Modelling sequential ticket booking choices during Chinese New Year

Transportation - Transport systems in China face extreme capacity shortages during the Spring Festival travel season. This study therefore explores traveler’s decision making behavior when...     

The Gini index of demand imbalances in public transport

Transportation - The paper studies a general bidirectional public transport line along which demand varies by line section. The length of line sections also varies, and therefore their contribution...     

A critical appraisal of the use of simple time-money trade-offs for appraisal value of travel time measures

Transportation - Stated choice surveys have established themselves as the preferred approach for value of travel time elicitation with the help of choice models. However, major differences exist in...     

Improving the coexistence of offshore wind farms and shipping: an international comparison of navigational risk assessment processes

The continued growth and evolution of the offshore wind industry, and the emergence of other novel marine uses such as wave and tidal generators, have upped the ante for spatial planners, as well as consenting and approval authorities in various coastal states. These stakeholders rely on processes such as navigational risk assessments (NRAs) to balance safety and efficiency requirements and to make optimal decisions over use of space. Given the increasingly complex and crowded seascape, however, there are some apprehensions about potential shortcomings in these NRA processes. There is also some concern that these inadequacies may lead to unsafe or inefficient marine spatial use. To understand how NRA processes can be improved further, a literature review is conducted, followed by a survey of respondents who are involved in the planning, consenting and/or approval of offshore wind farms across seven different countries. A summary of the NRA processes in these seven countries is presented, and several shortcomings are identified. Based on the findings of the survey, a list of recommendations is presented to enhance existing NRA processes—and to improve the coexistence of shipping and offshore wind farms (OWFs).     

A simulation-based probabilistic design method for arctic sea transport systems

When designing an arctic cargo ship, it is necessary to consider multiple stochastic factors. This paper evaluates the merits of a simulation-based probabilistic design method specifically developed to deal with this challenge. The outcome of the paper indicates that the incorporation of simulations and probabilistic design parameters into the design process enables more informed design decisions. For instance, it enables the assessment of the stochastic transport capacity of an arctic ship, as well as of its long-term ice exposure that can be used to determine an appropriate level of ice-strengthening. The outcome of the paper also indicates that significant gains in transport system cost-efficiency can be obtained by extending the boundaries of the design task beyond the individual vessel. In the case of industrial shipping, this allows for instance the consideration of port-based cargo storage facilities allowing for temporary shortages in transport capacity and thus a reduction in the required fleet size / ship capacity.