“Turn on the radio,bust out a song”: the experience of driving to work

Though driving to and from work has become a prevalent experience in the lives of individuals in every metropolitan region in the US, much remains to be learned about the activity from the perspective of the drivers. To increase our understanding of the motivation for certain travel behaviors, we must first know something about what those drivers experience. The existing literature explains much, but the application of new methodologies could improve our ability to explain the willingness of individuals to choose to drive through increasingly congested road networks. The results of this study of oral histories of 12 women commuters underscore the idea that commute should be seen as a set of subjective behaviors that contradict some existing assumptions about why individuals commute.     

Comments on “Case studies of shipping along Arctic routes. Analysis and profitability perspectives for the container sector” [Transp. Res. Part A: Policy Pract. 66 (2014) 144–161]

This paper points out an important factor that was neglected by “Case studies of shipping along Arctic routes. Analysis and profitability perspectives for the container sector,” when analysing the operating economy of Arctic routes. Further, this paper explains the idea that cargo has a time value. Arctic routes are likely to bring greater commercial value than the Suez, if cargo time value were to be considered.     

The “Ubernomics” of ridesourcing: the myths and the reality

ABSTRACT

This paper looks at the economics of ridesourcing (or app-based ride-hailing) with a particular focus on the US. It brings together the rather dispersed literature on the subject focusing on the economic characteristics of the underlying industry and sets this within the broader context of transportation economics. In particular, it sorts out the realities of ridesourcing from some of myths that were perpetrated in its early days and, in many cases, still persist. It considers some of the empirical evidence that has emerged regarding the key parameters that determine the way Uber and the like operate, and the welfare implications of this, together with comments on some of the regulatory reactions to the new transportation platform. It concludes by suggesting some ways in which recent developments in economic could move forward our understanding of the industry as technologies and markets change.     

From ‘Our Air Is Not for Sale’ to ‘Airtrack’: The Part Privatization of the UK's Airspac

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.     

Explaining the “immigrant effect” on auto use: the influences of neighborhoods and preferences

Since immigrants will account for most urban growth in the United States for the foreseeable future, better understanding their travel patterns is a critical task for transportation and land use planners. Immigrants initially travel in personal vehicles far less than the US-born, even when controlling for demographics, but their reliance on autos increases the longer they live in the US. Cultural or habitual differences, followed by assimilation to auto use, could partly explain this pattern; and it may also be partly due to changes in locations and characteristics of home and work neighborhoods. Previous studies have rarely investigated non-work travel, and have not tested workplace land use measures, compared the relative influences of enclave and home neighborhood measures, or looked at the role of culturally-bound residential preferences or motivations for migration. This study relies on a unique and rich dataset consisting of a survey of US residents born in South Asia, Latin America, and the US, joined to spatial information in a GIS. I find that the home built environment is the most consistently influential factor in explaining the lower auto use of both recent and settled Latin American immigrants. Indian immigrants use autos less than would be expected given their home and work neighborhoods. There is little evidence that either ethnic enclaves, or cultural differences, play a role in lower auto use by immigrants. These results suggest there may be a role for neighborhood built environment policies in delaying immigrant assimilation to auto use in the US.     

“Cutting costs to the bone”: the Portuguese experience in renegotiating public private partnerships highways during the financial crisis

Transportation - How can governments renegotiate public private partnerships (PPPs) in order to reduce public expenditures? In 2011, in the aftermath of the financial and sovereign debt crisis,...     

Use of combinatorial auctions in the railway industry: Can the “invisible hand” draw the railway timetable?

Rail capacity is currently administratively allocated in Europe, whereas the economic literature has often contemplated the opportunity of introducing market mechanisms, auctions in particular, into this industry. This article tries to fill the gap between practice and theory. It first describes the properties of rail capacity (rigidity and non-homogeneity) and shows that because of its very nature, this capacity must be allocated through combinatorial auctions. As identified by the economic literature, using combinatorial auctions introduces a lot of complexity (winner determination and information burden) into the allocation process. To deal with this complexity, some form of centralized planning is necessary to design the right market mechanisms and to allocate capacity. This could have strong consequences on the current deregulation process.     

“This train is without a destination”: a cost benefit analysis of the retention of railway services — the Penistone line

The paper undertakes a cost‐benefit analysis of a disinvestment using readily available data and demonstrates that a relatively straightforward yet systematic approach can provide useful input to the decision‐making process. Despite various assumptions necessitated by the analysis, it is argued that the net benefits of the railway line retention are unlikely to be significantly sensitive to their variation within feasible limits. The most significant component in the analysis is seen to be the operative costing system and it is argued that this should be revised.     

The effect of slow zones on ridership: An analysis of the Chicago Transit Authority “El” Blue Line

Transit agencies frequently upgrade rail tracks to bring the system to a state of good repair (SGR) and to improve the speed and reliability of urban rail transit service. For safety during construction, agencies establish slow zones in which trains must reduce speed. Slow zones create delays and schedule disruptions that result in customer dissatisfaction and discontinued use of transit, either temporarily or permanently. While transit agencies are understandably concerned about the possible negative effects of slow zones, empirical research has not specifically examined the relationship between slow zones and ridership. This paper partially fills that gap. Using data collected from the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Customer Experience Survey, CTA Slow Zone Maps, and, the Automatic Fare Collection System (AFC), it examines whether recurring service delays due to slow zones affect transit rider behavior and if the transit loyalty programs, such as smart card systems, increase or decrease rider defections. Findings suggest that slow zones increase headway deviation which reduces ridership. Smart card customers are more sensitive to slow zones as they are more likely to stop using transit as a result of delay. The findings of this paper have two major policy implications for transit agencies: (1) loyalty card users, often the most reliable source of revenue, are most at risk for defection during construction and (2) it is critical to minimize construction disruptions and delays in the long run by maintaining state of good repair. The results of this paper can likely be used as the basis for supporting immediate funding requests to bring the system to an acceptable state of good repair as well as stimulating ideas about funding reform for transit.     

“Bottom line” business standards versus public service obligations: The case of the German federal railway

The publicly-owned German Federal Railway Corporation (DB) is technically very proficient but economically very inefficient. The financial burden that is revenue shortfall has imposed on the State has become nearly intolerable. There are external and internal reasons for the DB's financial problems. External factors include: competition from other modes, changes in demand for bulk goods, and a shift in national traffic flows from east-west to north-south. Internal causes are: low productivity growth, confused regulations about reimbursing costs for public service burdens and lack of freedom for management to pursue cost-lowering measures. The article describes four different periods of policy aimed at consolidating and modernizing the German Rail System. The latest set of proposals for a financial cure involve a transfer of the track and infrastructure to direct government responsibility and putting transport operations into a for-profit corporation. The debate still continues over precise details of a proposed remedy but the political interests involved will likely prevent a novel or clear-cut solution.     

Corrigendum to “Micro-foundations of congestion and pricing: A game theory perspective” [Transp. Res. Part A 39 (2005) 691–704]

This paper amends “Micro-foundations of Congestion and Pricing: A Game Theory Perspective” Levinson (2005), correcting the calculated tolls and Nash equilibria predicted for a three-player game.