Book Review

Vehicle Replacement — A Management Guide. By John E. Sussams. (Gower, 1983.) [Pp. 102.] £19.50.     

Book Review

This paper examines the relationship between investment in transportation infrastructure capital and the debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio. We analyse the effect of bringing forward investment originally planned for future years to be executed during times of economic crisis and also consider the possible advantages of carrying out such investments with private sector financing. This paper presents a model which shows how policy aimed to encourage investment in transportation infrastructure projects through private sector participation may help raise long-term GDP and thus lead to a lower debt-to-GDP ratio. The theoretical model is then applied to current empirical data from Israel.     

Book Review

Deregulation and Liberalisation of the Airline Industry (Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania) . By DPENDRA SINHA (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2001.) [Pp. 2 + 166.] £39.95 (hardcover). ISBN 1 84014 8357     

书评

本书以物流运输和配送为主线,着晕阐述了物流运输和配送管理的基本知识、基本方法。各章均配有物流案例、复习思考题和案例分析,便于读者进一步学习。本书既可作为中等职业学校现代物流管理专业的教材,又可作为物流从业人员的参考用书。     

书评

本书从能源、环境、经济、技术、产业领导力和政策等方面,对中国车用能源可持续转型之路进行了系统深入的分析和研究,提出了促进中国车用能源可持续转型的政策与制度建议。可供相关政府部门、汽车及能源行业管理和工程技术人员以及大专院校师生参考。书名:《中国车用能源展望》作者:清华大学中国车用能源研究中心著出版:科学出版社     

Book Review: Airline Marketing and Management

Abstract

Public transport policy in the Madrid Metropolitan Area is often deemed as a success. In 1985, an important reform was carried out in order to create a new administrative authority to coordinate all public transport modes and establish a single fare for all of them. This reform prompted a huge growth in public transport usage, even though it reduced the funding coverage ratio of the transport system. Since then, Madrid’s public transport system has been undergoing an increasing level of subsidization, which might jeopardize the financial viability of the city public transport system in the future. In this paper, we present a detailed analysis of the evolution of the public transport funding policy in Madrid in recent years. We found that the increasing level of subsidy can hardly be explained on the basis of equity issues. Moreover, we claim that there is still room for a funding policy that makes the efficiency of the system compatible with its financial sustainability.     

Impact of Everyday Weather on Individual Daily Travel Behaviours in Perspective: A Literature Review

Despite the hundreds of billions of dollars being spent on infrastructure development -- from roads, rail and airports to energy extraction and power networks to the Internet -- surprisingly little reliable knowledge exists about the performance of these investments in terms of actual costs, benefits and risks. This paper presents results from the first statistically significant study of cost performance in transport infrastructure projects. The sample used is the largest of its kind, covering 258 projects in 20 nations worth approximately US$90 billion (constant 1995 prices). The paper shows with overwhelming statistical significance that in terms of costs transport infrastructure projects do not perform as promised. The conclusion is tested for different project types, different geographical regions and different historical periods. Substantial cost escalation is the rule rather than the exception. For rail, average cost escalation is 45% (SD=38), for fixed links (tunnels and bridges) it is 34% (62) and for roads 20% (30). Cost escalation appears a global phenomenon, existing across 20 nations on five continents. Cost estimates have not improved and cost escalation not decreased over the past 70 years. Cost estimates used in decision-making for transport infrastructure development are highly, systematically and significantly misleading. Large cost escalations combined with large standard deviations translate into large financial risks. However, such risks are typically ignored or underplayed in decision-making, to the detriment of social and economic welfare.     

Barriers to Passenger Rail Use: A Review of the Evidence

Research has shown that even when rail travel is the most cost-effective mode of transport for a particular journey, many travellers will still choose other modes. This indicates the existence of non-financial barriers to rail use, and this paper reviews the evidence on the importance of such barriers, focusing particularly on the UK but also considering research from other countries. A total of 37 distinct barriers were identified, and these can be divided into “hard”, “soft” and “complementary” factors. Travellers are unlikely to consider these barriers individually, viewing them instead as a package, which can make it difficult to identify which barriers are most significant. In many cases, all barriers which exist for a particular traveller will need to be addressed before mode shift occurs. After considering the relative importance of the different barriers, the paper concludes by making some suggestions as to the most effective ways in which these barriers can be overcome and mode shift to rail achieved. This has key implications for transport policy, as it can inform the targeting of the limited funds available to influence travel behaviour and increase the sustainability of travel patterns.     

Social Media Use during Unplanned Transit Network Disruptions: A Review of Literature

Abstract

This paper explores social media's role in managing unplanned transit networks disruptions. Although literature exists more broadly on the use of social media in transit, this paper presents the first literature review in this setting. When disruptions occur, commuters require reliable, up-to-date information. Its provision reduces anxiety and allows informed choices. Social media is beneficial given it provides real-time information but it can only supplement (not replace) conventional approaches. Information reliability was critical. Research in the field of disaster management illustrates the importance of publicly contributed information. Known as “crowdsourcing”, it is part of the emerging field of crisis informatics which for the first time was linked to unplanned transit disruption management. The results highlight that social media's real-time nature can reduce disrupted travel demand; however, its utilisation can be resource-intensive. A framework presented illustrates how social media utilisation varies according to the operational characteristics of a disrupted network. Social media use as an information delivery tool is still in its infancy and an unwillingness to embrace it is an impediment to sustained growth. Crowdsourcing is one approach that could resolve the issue of transit agency resourcing whilst satisfying the increased demand and expectation for real-time information.     

汽车租赁业:呼唤重新明确定位

汽车租赁业是我国近年发展的新兴产业,但由于在市场发展初期产业定位模糊,对其发展带来一些负面影响,业内人士呼吁应对汽车租赁业进行重新定位.     

Car longevity in Sweden: A revised estimate

Previous studies have tended to exaggerate car longevity in Sweden. This has arisen because of the inclusion in the car fleet of vehicles that are no longer roadworthy. This report presents survival functions for cars for the period 1965–1984 based on estimates of the true car fleet. The mean life expectancy of cars is calculated at 14.7 years for 1984, as compared with 9.4 years in 1965. This is some 2 years below previous estimates. However, median car life in Sweden is still 1 year above that in the United States, for example.     

Use and Effects of Advanced Traveller Information Services (ATIS): A Review of the Literature

Abstract

Rapid technological developments in the field of personal communication services probe visions of a next generation in Advanced Traveller Information Services (ATIS). These technological developments provoke a renewed interest in the use and effect of such next‐generation ATIS among academia as well as practitioners. To understand better the potential use and effects of such next‐generation ATIS, a thorough review is warranted of contemporary conceptual ideas and empirical findings on the use of travel information (services) and their effects on travellers’ choices. This paper presents such a review and integrates behavioural determinants such as the role of decision strategies with manifest determinants such as trip contexts and socio‐economic variables into a coherent framework of information acquisition and its effect on travellers’ perceptions.     

屈延凯:汽车租赁必先定位而后勇——中国外商投资企业协会、租赁业委员会常务副会长专访

正确理解不同法规的租赁定义,对于理解租赁业务的政策环境,开展租赁业务,合法合规地进行租赁创新,灵活运用租赁机制有着重要意义。     

Car ownership and public transport use: Revisiting the interaction

At the beginning of the 1980s, it seemed that a consensus was emerging among researchers that public transport service levels, fares or quality had a small but possibly important effect on car ownership, and that this should be taken into account for those purposes where car ownership forecasts are used for developing policy on public transport or roads. Somehow, the findings faded away, and had little effect on policy thinking or on analytical techniques. The results of six surveys carried out in South Yorkshire over the period 1972 to 1991, during which there were extreme changes in public transport policy, tend to support a prima facie case for reopening the question. At the household level, car ownership rates are shown to be more volatile than is often assumed, especially in multiple car households. This volatility provides a context within which the quality of public transport provision appears to influence both the level of car ownership and the relationship between changes in the level of car ownership and changes in public transport use.     

Car pride and its behavioral implications: an exploration in Shanghai

Beyond their functional purpose, cars are often considered a status symbol. There may exist a certain level of pride associated with owning and using cars, particularly in regions where motorization is rapidly growing. However, there is little empirical evidence in terms of how car pride is related to different behavioral aspects, such as car ownership and use, especially in the context of developing countries. This paper presents an exploration of car pride and its association with car-related behavior. In this work, car pride is defined as the self-conscious emotion derived from the appraisal of owning and using cars as a positive self-representation. It pertains to both the symbolic and affective functions of the car. Using survey data (n?=?1389) from Shanghai, China, we empirically measure car pride as a latent variable based on five Likert-scale statements and test the association of car pride with car use, vehicle preferences, and car ownership. Based on two structural equation models, we show that: (1) car pride is positively correlated with car use; (2) car pride correlates significantly with owning newer, more expensive, and luxury cars, and Shanghai’s more expensive local car licenses; (3) car owners in general have higher car pride than non-owners; and (4) car pride is largely independent of one’s socio-economic characteristics. Although the analysis focuses on Shanghai, the findings of the positive correlation between car pride and behavior are consistent with prior studies in developed countries. These findings highlight the importance of car pride regarding multiple behavioral aspects of car ownership and use and its potential impact on mobility management.

     

Understanding connectivity to international markets: a systematic review

Improving freight connectivity is increasingly a topic at the centre of the international trade and transport policy agendas. An examination of available documents and studies in both the policy-making and the academic fields shows that the concept of freight connectivity has often been defined in different ways, and thus has taken a variety of meanings. This poses the question on what connectivity is and what are its determinants in the context of international trade. We are not aware of any studies that have analysed, in a systematic way, the different perspectives and determinants of freight connectivity so as to increase access to international markets. This paper seeks to fill this gap by performing a systematic literature review that spans disciplines such as Transport Engineering, Transport and International Economics, and Supply Chain Management. The outcome of this examination is a multidisciplinary framework that hopefully will help stakeholders to understand freight connectivity to international markets better, as well as guide future research and analysis in policy-making.     

Understanding bikeability: a methodology to assess urban networks

Transportation - A fully separated bicycle network from vehicular traffic is not realistic even for the most bicycle-friendly cities. Thus, all around the world urban cycling entails switching...     

Detection Algorithms of Intentional Car Following on Smart Networks: A Primary Methodology

Abstract

This paper explores the possibility of detecting certain movements of vehicles that might provide useful information for crime investigations. It is known that existing car following models are interested in microscopic interactions between vehicles in randomly formed pairs. The present work, however, introduces the concept of macroscopic analysis of vehicle positions on a network and the idea of seeking if these movements exhibit any meaningful relationships. First of all detection algorithms are produced for two possible types of detection: (a) was a particular vehicle followed by any vehicle? and (b) did a particular vehicle follow any vehicle? These algorithms assume that every link in the network is equipped with some sort of vehicle identification or tracking device and the identities of all vehicles, such as their number plates, are fed into the program. Then a simulation program is developed to implement the first algorithm (Type (a)), as an example, to visualise the concept. Since the present paper is a preliminary and basic approach to the problem, a number of issues and details requiring further research, together with the directions which could be taken, are also identified and discussed.