Transport system management in San Francisco: an assessment

The paper reports the results of a transportation corridor study. The emphasis in the study is in transportation system management (TSM) policies although some capital intensive alternatives are also considered.

The results suggest that currently popular TSM policies in U.S.A., even when augmented with capital intensive changes, have only marginal impacts on modal choices. These currently popular policies, high occupancy vehicle priority lanes, improved bus and express bus service, increased feeder bus service and so forth, appear to confer benefits to well to do suburbanites but do not improve the transportation of urban dwellers.

Another interesting result is that if user costs were increased to cover the full costs of transportation the transit fares for low income people would increase ten percent and the increase for urban dwellers would be about 20 percent. Interestingly, there would be no change in bus fares for either group. However, for high income travellers and suburbanites the increase in transit fares would be in excess of 100 percent. Thus, the current fare structure is inequitable making the low income people and the urban dwellers to pay a much larger share of their transportation cost than the often well to do suburbanites.     

Environmental risk assessment of the most commonly transported chemicals: case study of Finnish coastal areas

The environmental hazard potential of a total of 15 chemicals that are transported through the Finnish coastal areas was assessed in this paper using a scoring method developed for accidents. The study indicates that the chemicals most commonly transported/handled in Finnish ports are methanol, sodium hydroxide solution, acids, pentanes, phenol, xylenes, methyl tert-butyl ether, ethanol and ethanol solutions. For the evaluation of the environmental hazardousness of various chemicals, a priority list of chemicals that are the most commonly transported regionally in marine environments was compiled for this study. The method used has many similarities to other commonly used scoring systems, but this study gave more weight to specific characteristics of an accidental release, water biota and impact on the environment. Nonylphenol, ammonia and sulphuric acid ranked as the most hazardous substances on the list. The results of the study can be used by rescue and environmental authorities and enterprises to improve preparedness for accidents and to mitigate the effects of accidental spills.     

Assessment of the chemical concentrations and the environmental risk of tank cleaning effluents in the Baltic Sea

The environmental risks of tank cleaning waters were evaluated in this study by conducting a risk assessment of five target chemicals (nonylphenol, phenol, sulphuric acid, styrene and xylenes) following EU risk assessment methodology in which the Predicted Environmental Concentrations (PECs) of the chemicals are determined and compared to their corresponding predicted no effect concentrations (PNECs). The results of the risk assessment demonstrated the importance of prewashing cargo tanks ashore before the main washing. Without prewashing the cargo tanks and discharging the generated prewashing effluents into reception facilities ashore, the PEC/PNEC ratios obtained for further washings exceed accepted levels regardless of the chemical and the quantity of chemical residue (15:50:300 l). In contrast, if the cargo tanks are prewashed and the remaining prewash residues in the tanks are small (≤15 l), the risk arising from tank cleaning effluents stays at accepted levels, and no harm is caused to aquatic organisms. When the prewash residue is around 50 l, the risk arising from further washings mostly remains at accepted levels. Whenever the prewashing is carried out, the tank washings only represent a minor and local risk for water biota. The study showed that prewashing requirements for the most hazardous category of X cargoes and high-viscosity and solidifying Y cargoes are necessary to keep the hazards arising from these substances at accepted levels. Furthermore, MARPOL Y class also includes persistent and toxic chemicals whose release in the sea without prewashing is not recommended, even if the regulations might not necessarily require prewashing.     

New models for financing and managing highways: asset-based road corporations in China

The China International Engineering Consulting Corporation undertook, in 1997, the study of Viability of Asset Based Road Corporations in China as part of the World Bank's transport sector program review. The purpose was to investigate, in a case study format, road administration in China with two specific objectives: to compare (toll) road management in different provinces and to investigate the financial viability of China's toll roads.This paper shows that the three case projects studied, each having different management structures, are all financially viable given the present financing arrangements. However, should the projects be immediately subject to market interest rates and loan maturities prevailing in China today, their financial viability would be uncertain.In a broader context, the World Bank's lending program has enabled China to experiment with different kinds of toll road management structures. These models have both advantages and disadvantages and seem to fit that province's political economic environment in which they are employed. The toll roads and, especially, the impacts of the toll road management and financing arrangements on road administration present challenges to road administration rarely faced even in the developed countries. The challenges involve questions of the congruence of public good and private interest, as well as the role of planning and public accountability – all serious questions as China moves forward in development. These questions are raised in the context of the case studies.     

Performance indicators for the road sector

Seeing the trend for public accountability of road administrations and noting the many reform efforts undertaken in transport sectors around the world, the OECD established a Scientific Expert Group on Performance Indicators for the Road Sector in 1996 to provide its member countries a framework for assessing road administrations' performance. The results of the Expert Group's work is presented in this paper.Fifteen indispensable, forty primary, and thirty-five secondary indicators are proposed to portray the road sector from different perspectives. They are designed to be changed in response to human needs and technological development and supplemented by country specific indicators. In keeping with this approach and in support of one of the maxims of the Expert Group that 'useful performance indicators are those which are used', an application in the form of a Field Test is now in progress by an OECD task force.The Performance Indicators proposed are grounded in a mental model adopted by the Expert Group. This model is management by results model, and is useful as a theoretical tool in the many highly fluid contexts in which restructuring is moving forward. In the model, the products and services are judged by standards or criteria; outcomes – derivatives of products and services through user interface – are judged relative to objectives and user satisfaction. The achievement of objectives, however, is not proposed as the only or even primary basis of evaluation. The situation is more abstract and complex. Therefore, the various uses of Performance Indicators – including the opportunities to assist road administrations in becoming learning organizations – are given much emphasis in the paper. The views and conclusions in the paper are those of the author and should not be attributed to the World Bank or its affiliated organizations.     

Public participation in the Helsinki crosstown artery project

The paper reports on citizen participation in the planning of Helsinki Crosstown Artery in the early 1990s. The project had difficult beginnings: there was disagreement on benefits and costs, a broad-based mistrust, and an externally prepared work program which sought to resolve these emotional disagreements using technical information. The citizen participation program consisted of Open Houses preceded by a newsletter, newspaper advertisements, a 1–800 Number hotline, and a responsiveness summary. Additional techniques were used as necessary. The design of the citizen participation program was sound and inexpensive, provided for continuous evaluation, and drove the planning work. Substantial informed consent was created in the project. The main conclusion from the present case study is this: in planning and in public participation emotional issues dominate and can rarely be solved by “rational” studies. The citizen participation technique evolved during the study is transferable and has broad planning implications.