Energy use reduction potential of passenger transport in Europe

To contribute to a sustainable society, considerable reduction in energy use and CO₂ emissions should be achieved. This paper presents the results of calculations exploring the energy use reduction potential of passenger transport for Western Europe (OECD Europe minus Turkey). For these calculations, three types of options are defined emphasizing technological, infrastructural and behavioural change. By 2050, technological improvements may reduce energy use per passenger-km by - 30%. Adding infrastructural options, an energy reduction of > 50% by 2050 can be realised. To achieve further energy reductions, options with a large behavioural impact should also be implemented. This results in an 80% energy reduction potential in the transport sector by 2050. To calculate the reduction potential on OECD Europe level, one should factor in expectations concerning mobility growth. Two mobility development scenarios are used. Both scenarios foresee a net decrease in total energy use of 20% with the introduction of the technological and infrastructural improvement options. Adding options emphasizing behavioural change results in a net reduction potential of - 60% by 2050.     

An analysis of internal transit systems requirements for central cities

The deficient performance of existing downtown transit distribution systems may significantly affect the overall performance of the urban transportation system in many metropolitan areas. This paper has two principal objectives. First, it describes an approach entitled Performance Requirements Analysis for developing a set of requirements or standards that a downtown transit system should satisfy and structuring these requirements so as to generate a small set of alternative generic systems for detailed evaluation. Second, it provides a preliminary assessment of performance requirements for distribution systems in 19 of the largest cities in the United States.     

Offshore Petroleum Development and Potential

This article examines the uncertainties concerning the antiturst immunity for collective participation by liner conferences in intermodal transporation. Among them are the FMC's jurisdiction under the Shipping Act to authorize such collective actions, the legality of intermodal dual-rate contracts and the stringency by lsquo;public-interestrsquo; justification. Administrative and judicial decisions proved ineffective in resolving the issues which legislative actions had, over a decade, failed to deal with. These uncertainties could soon be ended with passage of the maritime antiturst polity emerging out of this Congress. It is, however, still uncertain as to whether, and to what extent, the viabilty of the conference system would be threatened by the continued growth of intermodalism and vice versa. Congressional intent to safeguard the continued growth of intermodalism and the development of other future innovations means that these two issues are of more than just academic interests. Yet, they have not been adequately addressed in the policy studies currently available.     

Development of and prospects for cruising in Europe

This paper evaluates the development of prospects for cruising in Europe. It examines this within the broad framework of economic theory and maritime economics. Initially, the market structures and relationships applicable to cruising are considered with particular attention being paid to the linkages between the shipping markets and tourism and leisure. This conceptual analysis suggests that whilst cruising has a strong shipping element it does not fall exclusively within the classic framework of maritime economics but draws from both shipping and tourism and leisure. For reasons of clarity, a number of definitions are also provided covering maritime tourism and leisure, cruising, and supply and demand, as it relates to cruising. Following this, an overview of the cruise industry is included. This focuses primarily on the growth in the demand both world wide and at regional level. In particular, the analysis places the development of cruising in Europe in market perspective. Subsequently, the development of cruising in the UK is examined as a case study. Initially, UK market growth is analysed and it can be seen that the UK is now the second largest cruise market in the world after North America. Projections of the growth in UK demand to 2003 are also provided. The growth in supply is also studied and the UK targeted fleet is identified. In addition, the question of ownership is addressed. The prospects of employment for UK seafarers within the cruise industry are also considered and results obtained from the analysis suggest that it should be possible to increase the participation of UK and other European seafarers within the cruise industry at all levels and in all departments. In the final section of the paper, the position of UK ports as terminals and destinations is evaluated. It is concluded that the fundamentals of the cruise business remain strong, and continued growth by the industry should be possible for the foreseeable future.     

Energy conservation in urban public transport

Urban public transport energy use is determined largely by the weight of the vehicle, and frequency of intermediate stops, imposing repeated acceleration/steady running/braking cycles, in which much of the kinetic energy is dissipated. Energy consumed for the same capacity and vehicle performance may be reduced by coasting, cutting vehicle weight, and use of regenerative braking, on electrically‐powered systems, to convert the otherwise wasted braking energy into useful form. Particular attention is paid to the last‐named, identifying results of past experience and recent simulations. Practical constraints limiting the amount of energy actually recovered are discussed, including proportion of vehicle weight braked electrically, receptivity of the supply system, stop spacing and number of vehicles operated simultaneously. Reference is also made to battery vehicles and flywheel energy storage.

It is suggested that considerable scope exists in urban electric rail operation for reduced energy consumption, as existing fleets are replaced by lighter weight vehicles, fitted for regenerative braking. Further savings may come from use of inverter equipment. Rate of fleet renewal may be an important factor. Buses are already much more energy efficient, and dramatic gains are unlikely. However, there is some scope for use of flywheel energy storage, and regenerative braking on trolleybuses.     

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.     

AN APPROACH TO THE ECONOMIC APPRAISAL OF AVCS MAGLEV

The purpose of an economic appraisal of a transportation project is to help select an efficient transportation investment plan. Here, efficiency means achieving the best transportation service from a given investment and the generation of net benefits at least as great as the costs of the investment. In this article, three future transportation investment alternatives in the USA are compared using the benefit-cost ratio method to illustrate the economic desirability of the AVCS Maglev alternative – an advanced vehicle control system based on magnetic levitation and propulsion. For the completeness of the economic appraisal and the provision of a guide to performing non-user benefit analysis for this promising ITS technology, the socioeconomic effects of implementing AVCS Maglev in the USA are evaluated based on the US National Development Model (NDM).     

Capacity Building for Integrated Coastal Management in Asia-Pacific: The Case for Case Studies

Development of awareness and capacity is a central component to the delivery of ICM and spans from local communities to national-level politicians. Education and training activities associated with ICM must be extremely varied to match both the existing capacity and role that the stakeholders play within the process of ICM. Consequently, there cannot be considered any effective “generic” ICM training; training must be tailored to match the requirements of target groups. The transfer and uptake of good-practice thus becomes an important aspect of quality enhancement in ICM capacity development. Six case studies from the Asia-Pacific region are presented that show diverse and innovative examples of good practice. A comparative analysis of these case studies is carried out in terms of institutional level of impact. In addition a generic systems-based evaluation framework is used to determine the extent to which the training impacts upon ICM implementation indicators. It is concluded that the exchange, transfer, and translation to local conditions of appropriate good practice in ICM capacity development can be an important element in enhancing the impact of ICM programs on the coastal environments and societies. Furthermore, there appears to be a positive link between the involvement of national/state/regional stakeholders in capacity-building initiatives and impacting a wider variety of indicators of ICM delivery.     

The Arctic Shipping and Environmental Management Agreement: A Regime for Marine Pollution

Climate change is predicted to have particularly challenging impacts throughout the Arctic. For instance, there is a great probability of sea ice melting, leading to increased vessel traffic and oil pollution. Eight major nation-states have vested concerns in the potential opening of Arctic sea routes. They each have pledged to take protective action through the Arctic Council. However, there is still a need to develop an international institution to simultaneously address Arctic marine pollution and protect the needs of these states. This article seeks to design a legally binding regime for oil pollution control in the Arctic. In creating this new regime, we shall utilize several shared design elements of historically effective international regimes and take advantage of the legal innovations of these agreements. Our new regime, entitled the Arctic Shipping and Environmental Management Agreement (ASEMA), will take into account both the economic and environmental interests of the parties involved.