Delivering Value for Money to Government through Efficient and Effective Public Transit Service Continuity: Some Thoughts

Abstract

This paper documents some thoughts on the reform agenda in public transit that is occurring throughout the world. The specific focus is on a growing commitment to competitive regulation through competitive tendering, and the efforts by a few governments (notably in Australia) to take control of the tangible assets used by private operators as a mechanism to exercise the opportunity, if so taken, to put services out to competitive tender. The paper reviews the theoretical arguments and empirical evidence on contracting regimes and asset ownership, and the role that government and the operator might play in a setting in which building trusting and collaborative partnerships has merit in delivering services that are in the main funded from the public purse.     

Transport in a high‐density urban environment: the experience of Hong Kong

In Hong Kong the high cost of land reclamation servicing has made it necessary to plan land use through zoning commercial and industrial activity and by adopting very high densities for residential accommodation. Traffic has concentrated along particular corridors where its volume now exceeds road capacity. The imperative development of an urban rail system has affected the economic stability of most public transport. Simultaneously, private motoring has increased so rapidly that fiscal restraints have been imposed, generating a serious proposal for electronic road pricing. The future growth of links with China will end Hong Kong's relative isolation and present new transport planning challenges.     

Ship underwater noise assessment by the acoustic analogy. Part I: nonlinear analysis of a marine propeller in a uniform flow

The aim of this work is to analyze the hydroacoustic behavior of a marine propeller through the acoustic analogy and to test the versatility and effectiveness of this approach in dealing with the many (and relatively unexplored) issues concerning the underwater noise and its numerical prediction. In particular, a propeller in a noncavitating open water condition is examined here by coupling a Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes hydrodynamic solver to a hydroacoustic code implementing different resolution forms of the Ffowcs Williams–Hawkings (FWH) equation. The numerical results suggest that unlike the analogous aeronautical problem, where the role played by the nonlinear quadrupole sources is known to be relevant just at high transonic or supersonic regime, the pressure field underwater seems to be significantly affected by the flow nonlinearities, while the contribution from the linear terms (the thickness and loading noise components) is dominant only in a spatially very limited region. Then, contrary to popular belief and regardless of the low blade rotational speed, a reliable hydroacoustic analysis of a marine propeller cannot put aside the contribution of the nonlinear noise sources represented by the turbulence and vorticity three-dimensional fields and requires the computation of the FWH quadrupole source terms.     

Introducing advanced electronic driver support systems: An exploration of market and technological uncertainties

R&D in the field of driver support systems is increasingly paid attention to. These systems can contribute significantly to public traffic goals. However, there is much uncertainty about future technology developments, market introduction, and impacts on driver and traffic behaviour. An international Delphi study collecting expert opinions on these issues is partly described here. The Delphi study was organized in three rounds. Opinions of 50 experts from the USA, Japan and Europe were collected. The paper is limited to market introduction, and technological and driver-behavioural barriers. The main conclusion is that future developments are less obvious than often assumed.     

The growth and patterns of international trade

Over the last 40 years, there has been an unprecedented growth in trade amongst countries, and the growth in trade shows no sign of slowing down. The increases in trade have put tremendous pressure on the maritime and port industries, and these industries have responded with innovations, investment, and greater productivity. International trade and maritime trade are synonyms, and an understanding of the determinants of international trade is central to understanding maritime trade. In this paper, we provide a review of the international trade literature with a focus on the determinants of trade and the evolution of trade modeling. We then present a broad overview of the extent and growth of trade in the context of primary determinants. The basic results are: (1) Trade is growing at a phenomenal rate; (2) Trade is dominated by relatively few countries who tend to remain dominant; (3) While trade of all products is growing, there are large differences in the growth rates, but yet, there is stability in the relative sizes of product markets; and (4) Over the last 40 years, trade has changed from major flows between the US and Europe to major flows between Asia and the US.     

The econometric testing of investment incentives: A cointegrated approach

Thie paper re-examines the link between shipping investment and investment incentives, first explored in this journal by Marlow, and subsequently developed by mcWilliams et al. in the July–September issue. Examination of the ststistical properties of the data reveals that some of McWilliams' results may be flawed. A modified version of the Marlow model is estimated. checking for statistical and economic consistency, using cointegration, checking for statistical and economic consistency, using cointegration techniques. The estimated model resolves marlow's original challenge, but does not appear to be as robust as could be wished.     

“I can do perfectly well without a car!”

This article presents the results of a study exploring travellers’ preferences for middle-distance travel using Q-methodology. Respondents rank-ordered 42 opinion statements regarding travel choice and motivations for travel in general and for car and public transport as alternative travel modes. By-person factor analysis revealed four distinct preference segments for middle-distance travel: (1) choice travellers with a preference for public transport, (2) deliberate-choice travellers, (3) choice travellers with car as dominant alternative, and (4) car-dependent travellers. These preference segments differ in terms of the levels of involvement and cognitive effort in travel decision making, the travel consideration-set and underlying motivations. The study showed that for most people there is more to travel than getting from point A to point B, and that there is considerable heterogeneity in middle-distance travel preferences. Policy implications for reducing the need for travel and promoting a modal shift from car to other travel modes are discussed.     

Cluster-based correlation of severe driving events with time and location

In this article, a systematic strategy is proposed to identify severe driving events occurrence correlation with time and location. The proposed approach, which is constructed based on batch clustering and real-time clustering techniques, incorporates historical and real-time data to predict the time and location of severe driving events. Batch clustering is implemented with the combination of subtractive clustering and fuzzy c-means clustering to generate clusters representing the initial correlation patterns. Real-time clustering is then developed to create and update real-time correlation patterns on the foundation of the batch clustering using the evolving Gustafson–Kessel like (eGKL) algorithm. In both clustering processes, the correlation of the events within time domain is identified first, and then two different levels of accurate correlations are conducted for the location domain. Real-time data of operating vehicles each equipped with a data acquisition and wireless communication platform are used to validate the proposed strategy. Batch clustering results reveal the severe braking events distribution and concentration at daytime and nighttime. Real-time clustering provides and updates the variation of the correlations/intercorrelation of different regions. Drivers can be notified of the potential severe driving locations through maps showing the driving routes. Through the variation of the correlations, drivers can recognize the events occurrence at different times and locations. The generated time series can be potentially used to develop spatial-time models for regions to model and forecast the events occurrence.     

Experimental study comparing racecar aerodynamic downforce-generating devices using scale model NASCAR COT

The performance and safety of the rear wing and spoiler employed on the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) COT (car of tomorrow) racecar are experimentally studied using 10 % scale models in a water channel. Particle image velocimetry is used to qualitatively examine the differences in flow structures between the two downforce-generating devices under 0 and 180-degree yaw cases. The latter is important due to an issue with the COT flipping into the air when at extreme yaw (i.e. during a crash). At zero yaw, it is observed that smaller length scales of the flow structures in the wake of the wing compared to those in the wake of the spoiler, provide more predictable handling for racecars in close proximity and may allow more safe and competitive racing. At 180-degree yaw, it is observed that wake-structure interactions may not allow proper operation of anti-flipping devices (roof flaps) on the winged car. In the extreme yaw case, local flow scales are examined and show much stronger Reynolds number (Re) dependence for the wing than the spoiler.