Organization and planning of ambulance transport services in England and Wales

The ambulance service is the largest special needs transport operator in England and Wales and an important pillar of support to the National Health Service. In the last decade its size and role as a transport agency have been the subject of at least two government‐inspired reviews which have questioned the efficiency of the ambulance service and examined in some detail its operational performance. The ambulance service also faces constraints on its funding, like the rest of the health service, which raises questions as to its ability in the future to meet all patient demands for transport, especially in the area of non‐emergency outpatient services. The organization of the ambulance service is described from a number of perspectives: historical, institutional and managerial. These suggest that changes occurring in the approach to health care and management which are based on assumptions of cost‐effectiveness and competition, will likewise affect the organization and provision of patient transport services. The ambulance service may become an even more specialist operator competing or co‐operating in certain areas of work with other transport agencies especially in the area of non‐emergency outpatient services. Scenarios are outlined on how this may be achieved and the likely implications for the delivery of health care.     

Nigerian railways: problems and prospects

The very special topography of Greece with the hundreds of mainland and island ports generates vast possibilities for developing routing networks to link the ports to each other while satisfying total demand. An algorithm which minimizes total operating costs (fixed and variable) has been adapted and used to determine an optimal network solution. The total operating costs of this solution is compared to the total operating costs of the existing (1964 data) network and the optimal networks when fixed and variable costs are minimized independently. It is found that the actual network follows the minimal total operating costs solution quite closely.     

GIS-Based Coastal Behavior Modeling and Simulation of Potential Land and Property Loss: Implications of Sea-Level Rise at Collaroy/Narrabeen Beach,Sydney (Australia)

Rising sea level potentially poses a threat to many coastal areas, thereby possibly affecting coastal environments, including human assets. Taking into account the precau--tionary principle demanded at the Framework Convention for Climate Change in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, coastal managers and planners are required to evaluate the possibility of both physical and economic impacts of sea-level rise. However, long-term and cost-intensive data capture is often not affordable for a first estimation of general trends. To determine physical and economic impacts on a spatial scale of less than 10 km, a rapid and low-cost method is required. A Geographic Information System (GIS), in combination with readily available data and two coastal behaviour models (the Bruun-GIS Model and the Aggradation Model) was applied to simulate shoreline recession caused by a rise in sea level. In addition, the potential impacts of a 50-year design storm were considered in conjunction with sea-level rise. The monetary vulnerability was assessed and combined with the simulated recession rates. This procedure provides a first estimate on the potential risk a locality (here Collaroy/Narrabeen Beach) may face due to the impacts of sea-level rise and/or coastal storms. Overall, the modelling outcome suggests that long-term erosion problems associated with rising sea level are less significant in comparison with those impacts associated with short-term coastal storm events for Collaroy/Narrabeen Beach.     

Book reviews

TRANSPORT AND REURBANISATION, by Leo H. Klaassen, Jan A. Bourdrez and Jacques Volmuller. Gower Press, England, 1981. 214 pp.

TRANSPORT AND PUBLIC POLICY PLANNING, edited by David Banister and Peter Hall. Mansell Publishing Ltd., London, 1981. 455 pp.

ACCESS FOR ALL by K. H. Schaeffer and Elliott Sclar. Columbia University Press, 1982. 182 pp.

ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS OF TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS, by Louis F. Cohn and Gary R. McVoy. John Wiley, 1982. 374 pp. (£35.00).

THE ECONOMICS OF URBAN FREIGHT TRANSPORT, by K. J. Button and A. D. Pearman. The MacMillan Press Ltd., London. 218 pp. (£20.00).

TRANSPORTATION MARKINGS, BY Brian Clearman. University Press of America, 1981. 459 pp.

REGULATION AND POLICIES OF AMERICAN SHIPPING, by Ernst G. Frankel, Auburn House Publishing Co., Boston, Massachusetts. 321 pp. ($24.95)     

Marine Facilities and Water Quality: Regulatory Versus Voluntary Approaches

This research examines the influence of traditional regulatory and voluntary approaches upon the willingness of marine facilities to address potential harms to water quality. Traditional regulatory approaches rely on enforcement of mandatory provisions while voluntary approaches use noncoercive means to engender voluntary actions to address potential harms within the context of broader laws. This research shows that mandatory regulations are not always necessary, but at the same time voluntary approaches are not always sufficient to motivate action. Given this, regulators need to consider the mix of approaches and other steps to achieve regulatory objectives. The latter include greater levels of information, technical assistance, and funding; stronger involvement of trade associations as conduits for information; and, in particular, the fostering of a collective sense of obligation to address potential harms.     

The MEPLAN models of Bilbao,Leeds and Dortmund

A trio of closely related land‐use/transport interaction models was developed using Marcial Echenique & Partners’ software package MEPLAN. The models were for the cities of Bilbao, (Spain), Dortmund (West Germany) and Leeds (England). All were calibrated using data drawn from earlier studies. The three models were used to predict the effects (relative to a base case) of a common programme of land‐use and transport policies or scenarios. This paper explains briefly the theoretical basis of the MEPLAN package as applied to urban models such as these three; describes the types of policies that have been assessed; and presents some of the key results.     

Examining Residents’ Proximity,Recreational Use,and Perceptions Regarding Proposed Aquaculture Development

Competing interests related to marine resources have the potential to create conflict in the coastal zone. In many parts of the world marine farms exist in close proximity to areas that support recreation and tourism. The purpose of this study was to examine residents’ perceptions of proposed marine farm development related to their proximity to, and recreational use of, a coastal area in New Zealand. Residents from two areas were surveyed about their recreational use of the region and about perceptions related to marine farm development. Results indicated that those living closest to proposed marine farms used the area more often and in different ways, were most sensitive to marine farm development, and were less positive in their evaluations of marine farms, despite agreeing that marine farms can have positive economic consequences for nearby communities. Implications for using stakeholder input for the planning and management of marine farms are discussed.     

The road network management system in Slovakia

Traffic on the road network in Slovakia is increasing greatly, as a result of the country's location in central Europe. In recent years, transit truck traffic has exceeded the network's capacity causing many accidents, low vehicle speed and rapid degradation of the pavement. To deal with this situation a Road Network Management System (RNMS) has been developed. This system is based on national standards that evaluate road parameters, characteristics, and traffic levels and on new methods that consider the environmental impact and methods based on international standards (HDM III). Using these, the RNMS was developed as one homogeneous unit, not only in terms of its capacity, traffic level and economic efficiency, but also to evaluate individual sections, to optimize action, and prepare a rehabilitation budget. It took only five years to develop the RNMS because Slovakia has much relevant experience based on high level research in highway design, structural pavement design and material engineering.