Analytical and institutional methods and frameworks

This chapter presents a summary of the findings of the workshop on ‘Analytical and Institutional Methods and Frameworks’. The paper discusses the nature of the analytical methods used in the papers presented and the purposes for which they were employed, which were generally to either assist in the planning and operation of public transport or to monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of transport services. Subsequent sections examine issues related to data collection and management, and the more general issue of institutional arrangements. Policy and research agendas needed to support further consideration of the subject are then identified.     

WRC已经没有前途——莫斯利专访

一方面受到斯巴鲁和铃木退出的冲击,另一方面又面临“国际拉力挑战赛”（Intercontinental Rally Challenge）日益增长的威胁,WRC面对的是一个艰难的2009赛季,但是莫斯利却向我们说明什么才是锦标赛的未来,他又怎样使赛事更加稳固并且获得更多的利益。     

Workshop 4: Designing contracts/concessions: What has worked and what has not and why?: 12th International Conference Series on Competition and Ownership in Land Passenger Transport

A contract establishes a mutual relationship between an authority and an operator. From the point of view of the authority, it is a tactical level mechanism to achieve the strategic objectives of government. Management of contractors translate the requirements of contracts into operational practices to guide the day-to-day work of staff for the delivery of services. Much can go wrong with contracts for the provision of public transport services. Workshop participants identified and ranked 25 potential risk factors. The five most important factors, which relate to objectives, tender assessment, allocation of risks, financial viability and dispute management, were examined drawing on the 11 papers presented to the workshop. Matters that work, that do not and would make the most difference to the success of contracts were identified.     

Can bus really be the new tram?

BRT appears to be less expensive to build and operate than tram systems but can it really approach the performance level of a tram system and what is the environmental performance of comparable systems?     

Effects of waste disposal on benthic faunal succession on the abyssal seafloor

Strategies to predict, and thus limit, potentially detrimental environmental impacts of abyssal disposal of wastes are severely limited by our lack of knowledge of deep-sea processes and lack of opportunity to directly study waste disposal in abyssal environments. Probable successional sequences following burial of benthic faunas by sewage sludge and dredged material on the abyssal seafloor are drawn by analogy with well-known processes in shallow-marine water. Scales of change and recovery of abyssal benthic faunas from episodic deposition of waste material are examined by extrapolation from what is currently known about turbidite sedimentary provinces, in particular, the Venezuela Abyssal Plain and the Great Meteor East area of the Madeira Abyssal Plain. Results suggest that initial benthic faunal recolonization would take place within years following episodic depositions of waste on the abyssal seafloor. Anoxic conditions or chemical inhibitory effects may delay initial benthic recolonization for hundreds of years. Establishment of equilibrium benthic faunal assemblages probably takes hundreds to potentially thousands of years. Potentially detrimental effects dictate that the surface areas of individual waste deposits should be minimized and the deposits should be isolated by capping with nontoxic materials or chemical barriers.     

Communication problems inherent in a cross-cultural manning environment

The globalization of shipping means that the industry needs cosmopolitan managers who can negotiate with—and manage—people of different cultures. The causes and consequences of cultural differences are explained in the paper with particular reference to power differentials and rule orientation. The dangers of stereotypes are high-lighted. Communication problems are discussed in the context of transmitting values.     

TRESIS: A transportation,land use and environmental strategy impact simulator for urban areas

The Institute of Transport Studies has developed a Transportation and Environment Strategy Impact Simulator (TRESIS) as a decision support system to assist planners to predict the impact of transport strategies and to make recommendations based on those predictions. A key focus of the simulator is the richness of policy instruments such as new public transport, new toll roads, congestion pricing, gas guzzler taxes, changing residential densities, introducing designated bus lanes, implementing fare changes, altering parking policy, introducing more flexible work practices, and the introduction of more fuel efficient vehicles. The appropriateness of mixtures of policy instruments is gauged in terms of a series of performance indicators such as impacts on greenhouse gas emissions, accessibility, equity, air quality and household consumer surplus. In this paper we introduce TRESIS to the research community, focussing on the structure of the system and the diversity of applications. Applications are presented to illustrate the diversity and richness of TRESIS as a policy advisory tool.