Some promising innovations in taxicab operations

Several shared-ride passenger transportation services which could be offered by taxicabs are currently prohibited in U.S. cities by state or local regulations. Although relaxation of these regulations has been advocated on numerous occasions, little regulatory change has occurred to date. Moreover, the taxicab industry has rarely been considered as a potential provider for publicly subsidized transportation services. This paper discusses several promising innovations in taxicab service provisions and subsidy mechanisms which have been implemented or proposed recently in U.S. cities. The paper argues for more well-designed experimentation with such innovations as a means of stimulating greater interest on the part of planners, policy-makers, regulators, and public transportation operators in broadening the role of taxicabs in urban transportation.     

The taxi's role in urban America: Today and tomorrow

Changes in the economic and demographic characteristics of US cities over the past two decades have modified but have not diminished the need for extensive public transportation service in these areas. The vast bulk of trips to work, to shop, and for most other purposes within large American cities are still made by residents of those cities, a significant portion of whom do not own or have access to an automobile. Expensive and far-ranging programs to enhance surburban commutation to the central city by means of rail rapid transit do little to meet the needs of those who still must rely upon local, extensive service within the city.One form of public transport — the taxicab — offers the quality and flexibility of service which even those of limited means find well worth the price. As a consequence, fleet taxicabs serve almost 40 percent more passengers than all US rapid transit systems and about 60 percent as many passengers as all bus transit systems. Removal of archaic and restrictive regulations governing the number and use of taxicabs in major US cities would promote more effective and widespread use of this, the only form of public transit that still operates — at a profit — without public subsidy.     

Taxicab deregulation: Economic consequences and regulatory choices

The regulation of taxicab services is receiving an increasing amount of attention by city governments. At issue are the questions of whether local regulations should limit the supply of taxicabs and whether the regulations should control taxi fares.Recently, deregulation has become a popular suggestion; however, little empirical or theoretical evidence has existed to indicate the effects of taxi deregulations. This paper discusses these effects within a framework of eight regulatory scenarios involving different price, entry, and industry concentration factors. The analysis provides support for a public brokerage function.The preparation of this paper was supported, in part, by a contract from the Urban Mass Transportation Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC.     

The characteristics,uses and potentials of taxicab transportation

Taxicab transportation is a significant segment of urban transportation. Taxicabs, along with other “paratransit” type systems, provide service with characteristics between the automobile and mass transportation. Consequently, they are well suited to a number of special purposes. Taxicabs currently serve a wide range of trip purposes by travellers with varied socio-economic characteristics. Taxicab transportation is most attractive for serving lower density area and off-peak travel particularly where there is only minimal mass transit service. In this regard, taxicabs are a supplement to conventional mass transit. The use of taxicabs for collection and distribution functions for both passengers and freight is gradually being realized. The multiple use of taxicabs offers advantages of increasing taxicab productivity and reducing individual trip costs. Many of the problems related to taxicabs are regulatory and institutional in nature. Unless these constraints are eased or removed, wider application of taxicab transportation, including productivity gains, will be limited.     

Analysis of the efficiency of local government services delivery. An application to urban public transport

In recent years in the European Union (EU), we have witnessed an externalization process of the provision of local government services, in order to separate the political responsibility and the direct delivery of the service. The reasons that justify this process are focused on the belief that the private sector is more efficient in carrying out economic activities, the pressure to reduce the public deficit and the public debt, the search for management systems that bypass public administration procedures, and the increase of control on local governments in auditing and accountability issues.The objective of this paper is to compare the efficiency of public and private sectors in the provision of urban transportation services. This paper shows the results of an empirical study commissioned by the Regional Audit Office of Catalonia (Spain), in order to evaluate the efficiency with which urban transportation services are delivered in the most important cities of this region. This efficiency study has been carried out using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model, multiple linear regression and logit and cluster analysis. The results allow us to conclude that, in the cities studied, exogenous factors are not relevant and the private management of urban transport service is not more efficient than public management.     

Changes in real incomes and the demand for taxicabs

This paper comments on the possible future of the taxicab industry within the context of a familiar economic-growth model. The future capability of the taxicab industry to check increases in real costs is shown to be an important determinant in the industry's long-term viability. More importantly, the effect of rising real incomes on the demand for taxicabs is postulated also to have a strong effect on future demand. The strength of this effect and the exact position of the taxicab in the transit tree have important implications not only for the future demand for taxis but also for the more traditional modes of public transport.     

“Not just a taxi”? For-profit ridesharing,driver strategies,and VMT

The spread of GPS-based location services using smartphone applications has led to the rapid growth of new startups offering smartphone-enabled dispatch service for taxicabs, limousines, and ridesharing vehicles. This change in communicative technology has been accompanied by the creation of new categories of car service, particularly as drivers of limousines and private vehicles use the apps to provide on-demand service of a kind previously reserved for taxicabs. One of the most controversial new models of car service is for-profit ridesharing, which combines the for-profit model of taxi service with the overall traffic reduction goals of ridesharing. A preliminary attempt is here made at understanding how for-profit ridesharing compares to traditional taxicab and ridesharing models. Ethnographic interviews are drawn on to illustrate the range of motivations and strategies used by for-profit ridesharing drivers in San Francisco, California as they make use of the service. A range of driver strategies is identified, ranging from incidental, to part-time, to full-time driving. This makes possible a provisional account of the potential ecological impacts of the spread of this model of car service, based on the concept of taxicab efficiency, conceived as the ratio of shared versus unshared miles driven.     

Estimating the effects of entry regulation in the Istanbul taxicab market

The economic literature shows that entry regulation in taxicab markets brings about a dramatic increase in medallion prices or license values of taxicabs. However, there is no study estimating what the effect of regulation is exactly on real medallion prices. We develop a model to estimate the effect of entry restrictions in the Istanbul taxicab market over real medallion prices and inflation. Our findings contribute that entry regulation in taxicab markets increases medallion prices. Moreover, we find that entry regulation in Istanbul pressures inflation rates as well.     

Taxicab operating characteristics in the United States

In 1982, a national survey of U.S. taxicab operators was conducted. This survey sought to assess the economic, operational and organizational status of the industry and to determine how these characteristics have been changing in response to rising costs and an economic recession. Two results of this survey are reported in this paper; the size structure and the organization of the industry. Both of these characteristics show that it has recently been undergoing two fundamental changes. These are the rapid switch away from employees as drivers to independent contractor drivers and decreasing average company size.     

Energy savings in transport

A decade of increasing Federal attention to urban transportation needs has culminated in the 1970 Urban Mass Transportation Assistance Act. This Act is intended to provide 10 thousand million dollars over the next 12 years in Federal assistance money to urban public transportation systems. This paper examines the needs of selected U.S. cities as a basis for (1) understanding the vast, various and complex transportation needs of urban areas throughout the country, and (2) assessing the sufficiency of these funds. The sample cities have been placed into three broad categories based on the state of development of their transportation systems. In Category I cities, the essential need is to ensure the survival of bus systems for the use of non‐drivers, or to provide some other viable alternative to the automobile; in Category II cities, the primary needs are to relieve auto congestion and to improve public transportation components, while in Category III cities, the primary need is massive investment to improve and to extend public transportation facilities. It is concluded that the presently intended Federal funding level for transportation will not meet the financial requirements of the Category III cities.     

Suburban service in North America today—Which way will we go?

The current situation of suburban rail services is reviewed. Differences between seemingly similar services—urban transit, commuter service, suburban rail service and regional rail -are discussed. The suburban rail commuter is described as the true intermodal traveler. Differences of the political backgrounds of the inner-city compared to the suburbs complicate implementation of programs to improve service and suggest deep problems over the long term. Because the transition of suburban rail service from the private to public sector has been so recent, it is difficult for many to recognize that the profit of the service is in the lower total transportation costs for the community as compared to a cash dividend. Existing railroad lines in many cities have the potential of being a cost-effective solution to traffic problems, although the specific solutions vary widely, ranging from the operation of new commuter trains over the lines of a heavy duty railroad (Toronto) to a completely new light rail system (San Diego).     

Public/private-sector cooperation in urban transportation: Lessons from ridesharing experiences in Connecticut

An important characteristic of urban transportation policy and planning today is the increasing role that the private sector is playing in identifying and implementing transportation projects. For example, a recent examination of the possible forms of such involvement found that there were four major categories of action that could be used to classify recent private-sector efforts in urban transportation: (1) aid to and/or provision of transportation services; (2) formation of advocacy or advisory groups whose purpose is to influence public policy; (3) sponsorship of transportation studies; and (4) provision of management assistance to public agencies (Gordon, 1982). In many of these efforts, the successful implementation of a project or program required close cooperation between public and private-sector officials. The purpose of this paper is to examine the characteristics of this interaction and explore the implications for transportation planning and policy.Examples of public/private-sector interaction in two Connecticut cities, Hartford and Stamford, are used to illustrate the characteristics of successful transportation program implementation. Although the examples are limited to two cities, and are mainly concerned with one major category of action (ridesharing), the characteristics of the process used and of the results can be applied to other situations where public/privatesector interaction is desired.     

Perceived accessibility,mobility, and connectivity of public transportation systems

Although public transportation is considered effective at reducing the external cost of driving private vehicles, many urbanites do not use public transportation. This study develops measures employing accessibility, mobility, and seamless connectivity for an entire public transportation service chain as indicators for evaluating public transport services, prioritizes underperforming scenarios from the perspective of urban travelers, and derives various market segmentation strategies that consider different socio-demographic characteristics. A conceptual model is set up herein to assess these latent constructs that describe unobservable and immeasurable characteristics. As a Likert ordinal scale can generate misleading statistical inferences, the Rasch model is used to eliminate bias generated by an ordinal scale when measuring these three latent constructs separately. The Rasch model compares person parameters with item parameters, which are then subjected to logarithmic transformation along a logit scale so as to recognize specific difficulties of service scenarios that cannot be easily eliminated by certain urban travelers. The multidimensional Rasch model also measures the perceptions of urban travelers in terms of the interactions between accessibility, mobility, and seamless connectivity of this public transportation system. While comparing urban travelers of two large cities in Taiwan, Taipei and Kaohsiung, the empirical results demonstrate that perceived accessibility, mobility, and seamless connectivity differ based on travelers’ age, frequency of weekly sports activities, and environmental awareness. This paper also advances appropriate improvement strategies and provides policy suggestions for urban planners, public transportation service operation agencies, and policy makers when they seek to create user-friendly public transportation services. The proposed approach can be generalized in other cities by considering their local context uniqueness and further evaluating their public transport services.     

Highway finance and the private sector: Issues and alternatives

Private participation in all aspects of transportation has been prevalent throughout the history of the United States. The U.S. approach to transportation finance evolved from European influence. Particularly, the English economist Adam Smith described the role of public works in facilitating national commerce. The notion of user charges or tolls as opposed to general revenue as the source of financial support was offered as a means for constructing and maintaining roads. Highway and transportation development has undergone significant changes in the last few decades. The 1970s ushered in an era of escalating costs of highway development and maintenance. Dependency on imports of foreign oil, global economics, and related events affecting the supply and demand of motor vehicle fuel have had dramatic effects on contemporary means of funding highway programs in the U.S. In responses to this funding dilemma states highway officials began exploring various alternatives for funding transportation improvements. The role of transportation agencies has changed in emphasis since the 1950s. A variety of financial, legal, and logistical issues have forced governments to closely evaluate options for transportation development and finance. State responses to these issues vary. However, there remain a variety of funding alternatives including financing districts, impact fees, tax increment financing, toll financing, and private sector funding.     

广西城市公共交通发展对策研究

文章针对广西城市公共交通的现状,指出存在的问题,分析存在问题的原因,并结合当前国家大力实施“公交优先”战略,提出广西城市公共交通发展的对策和建议。     

Beirut travel characteristics — A comparative study

This paper reviews the results of an origin-destination survey conducted in Beirut, Lebanon. The survey was conducted according to the techniques developed and used in the U.S.A.There has always been some doubt that methodologies and techniques, namely dwelling unit interviews, developed for use in U.S. cities would work in cities of developing countries. The results of the study indicated that such methods proved to be useful and effective.In spite of the higher residential density and lower level of car ownership, trip rates in the city of Beirut were within the ranges observed in U.S. cities. The comparison of travel parameters acquired from various cities around the world might show that the regularities and trends in urban transportation are universal.     

Developing metro-based accessibility: Three aspects of China’s Rail+Property practice

Populous Chinese cities have invested heavily in metro systems and planned proactively for transit-oriented development. Rail plus property (R+P) programs, where metro corporations engage in, and even orchestrate real estate development in or around rail station areas, have been recurrently reported among these cities. However, careful assessment of these programs is still rare in the existing literature. Built upon multiple R+P programs led by Shenzhen Metro Cooperation and/or Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway Cooperation, this article fathoms the rationale for R+P programs in Mainland China, the obstacles for oversea private investors’ participation and the balance between profit making and social goods supply. It finds that R+P programs serve as alternative funding sources for expensive metro projects. It decreases municipal governments’ cash flow contribution to those projects, which is mandated by the central government. In addition, local business environment for R+P projects has disadvantaged private sector participation, especially those private investors from overseas. Furthermore, public subsidy to local metro corporations is likely to persist as R+P programs have not been designed for economic value maximization; rather, they are in place because (1) they reduce the cash flow burden of the municipal government; (2) they are tasked by the municipal government to produce a considerable number of affordable public housing.     

Learning from Los Angeles: transport,urban form,and air quality

Los Angeles is well known around the world as an automobile-oriented low density community, yet recent transportation policies have emphasized greater capital investment in rail transportation than in highways, and recent policies have attempted to discourage automobile usage through transportation demand management. While these policies have accomplished small shifts toward public transport and somewhat lower dependence upon singly occupied automobilies for work commuting, the financial costs of these policy changes has been very large in relation to their benefits. Proper pricing of transportation alternatives, more creative use of new and emerging transportation technologies, and the provision of many more opportunities for simpler private sector transport services, would all appear to be more promising as cost-effective approaches to coping with congestion in Los Angeles than the current regional transportation policies.     

Commercialising the management and maintenance of trunk roads in the United Kingdom

Public funding of new infrastructure from money raised through taxes or borrowing has been questioned globally in recent years. One alternative solution has been to finance major capital projects through Build, Operate & Transfer (BOT) schemes. In the United Kingdom, the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) has become established as the procurement method of choice for many projects and services in central and local government. It is a natural development of other changes in government administration which have been introduced over the past few years. Projects delivered in this way enable government to become a buyer of services on behalf of the public rather than a direct provider of those services to the public, taking advantage of private sector management skills and resources in their delivery. The PFI has demonstrated its ability to deliver value for money solutions in projects across a range of capital-intensive public services, but the greatest success in delivering projects has been in the transport sector. This paper outlines how the British Government's Highways Agency has restructured and commercialised the management and maintenance of the strategic road network for which it is responsible, and how it has been at the forefront of developing successful privately financed projects. The paper explains the Agency's particular version of BOT – Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) projects. These projects are delivering new and improved road construction and maintenance, providing better services to users of the country's strategic road network and achieving significant value for money savings for taxpayers.     

The metropolitan planning organization role in the 1980s

A new study by the U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations focuses on the adaptions in transit services, finances, institutions, and policy processes occasioned by current financial stress at all levels of government and by the devolution of national responsibilities to the state and local governments. This study found, in part, that (1) most metropolitan transportation planning organizations now are locally governed and staffed. (2) their planning is becoming increasingly isolated, less comprehensive, and shorter range. (3) some such organizations are experiencing strong pressure to decentralize or subregionalize, and (4) the desire for these organizations to exercise more effective areawide leadership is not matched with local approval of greater powers for them. The study concludes that informal coordination techniques or new powers granted by state legislatures are the two most likely facilitators of improved metropolitan transportation leadership in the 1980s.