Modal shift from road haulage to short sea shipping: a systematic literature review and research directions

ABSTRACT

Modal shift from road haulage to short sea shipping (SSS) has been advocated by authorities and researchers for more than two decades. This paper provides a review of literature on modal shift and pinpoints paths for future research on topics in six categories: (1) factors influencing SSS competitiveness, (2) the policy-oriented perspective, (3) environmental legislation, (4) SSS performance, (5) port characteristics, and (6) the multi-agent perspective. In particular, we propose first, in evaluating the performance of SSS versus road haulage in different trade corridors, three performance-related dimensions – the economic dimension (e.g. external costs), the environmental dimension, and the dimension of service quality – should be considered. Second, researchers should use rich, real-world, numerical data and operational research techniques to identify the relative importance of individual drivers and barriers for a modal shift from road haulage to SSS. Third proposed direction is related to assessing which groups of actors certain policies should target. In doing so, researchers should extend their policy-related focus beyond the European Union, which has long encompassed the major geopolitical scope of research on the modal shift. Fourth, to moderate the adverse impact of environmental legislation on SSS, strategic solutions need to be identified. Fifth, we also suggest that the influence of contingencies, particularly port strikes and cyberattacks, on SSS operations and approaches for managing them should be investigated. Sixth, the economic and financial advantages of coordination and alliance for each transport chain agent need to be evaluated.     

Putting the blue pencil away and taking down the name board

This paper, indeed the complete Issue, is a personal indulgence, but one I think I am allowed as my last contribution to Transportation, after 40 Volumes, first as Editor then Editor in Chief; covering the whole of the life of the Journal to date. I open with a history of the Journal, first is its ownership, followed by a record of those who have wielded a blue pencil over its first 40 Volumes and then recognise some of the many others who have contributed to our work, our success, over the Volumes. I next reflect on my experience as Editor in the hope of being able to pass on some of what I have learned to my successors and to others editing like journals, before explaining the rationale for the other papers I have selected for inclusion. Finally, and here is the real indulgence, I express some personal views on transport education, research, policy and planning.     

Impacts of an emission based private car taxation policy - First year ex-post analysis

This paper assesses the impacts of a targeted policy designed to influence car purchasing trends towards lower CO₂ emitting vehicles. Vehicle registration tax and annual motor tax rates in Ireland changed in July 2008 from being based on engine size to emissions performance of cars. This paper provides a one year ex-post analysis of the first year of the tax change, tracking the change in purchasing trends arising from the measure related to specific CO₂ emissions, engine size and fuel, and the implications for car prices, CO₂ emissions abatement, and revenue gathered. While engine efficiency improvements had been offset by purchasing trends towards larger and generally less efficient cars in the past, with the average MJ/km remaining constant from 2000 to 2007, this analysis shows that in the first year of the new taxation system the average specific emissions of new cars fell by 13% to 145 g/km. This was brought about, not by a reduction in engine size, but rather through a significant shift to diesel cars. Despite an unexpected reduction in car sales due to a recession in 2008, the policy measure has had a larger than anticipated impact on CO₂ emissions, calculated to be 5.9 ktCO₂ in the first year of the measure. The strong price signal did however result in a 33% reduction in tax revenue from VRT, in financial terms amounting to a drop of €166 million compared to a baseline situation.     

Impacts of a multimodal mobility service on travel behavior and preferences: user insights from Munich’s first Mobility Station

The City of Munich, in cooperation with the local public transport provider MVG, is testing a pilot project of a “Mobility Station”, which is a multimodal mobility hub connecting public transport (PT) and new shared mobility services. The project’s goal is to provide sustainable mobility options that allow citizens to be mobile without owning a car. To evaluate the acceptance of the Mobility Station, as well as short and long term effects on mobility behavior, we developed an online user survey in close cooperation with the stakeholders and experts in the field of shared mobility. The results provide insights on the awareness and perception of the Mobility Station among users, their mobility patterns, current degree of multimodality, as well as actual and potential changes on mobility behavior and travel preferences due to the multimodal mobility service. Most users are young, male, and highly educated individuals with access to multiple mobility options. PT plays a central role for daily mobility together with the services they were identified to be customers of. The high share of users that use different mobility services at least once a month indicates some degree of multimodality. Actual and potential changes in mobility behavior towards multimodality were revealed. Some users declared to use other mobility services more often. They appreciate the availability of different mobility options and show interest in other services and intermodal connections indicating that there is still potential to increase multimodal behavior.     

Service effectiveness of prt vs collective ‐ corridor transport

A generalised model is used to provide estimates of overall trip times and speed for conventional corridor‐collective transport and PRT. The results demonstrate why traditional forms of transport find difficulty providing an effective service in a city. Short separations between stops are required to minimise walk times but on conventional transport this leads to significant reductions in achievable speed because of the need for frequent stops. It is also shown that there is very little benefit in service effectiveness from LRT/APM/Monorail over buses. PRT is immune to these effects. The present calculations typically show a benefit for PRT of a factor of two or greater in trip time over either bus or LRT/APM.     

回到1971的未来

战火纷飞的年代,汽车制造商们关心的是汽车的安全性能和楔形主题1971是动荡的一年。北爱尔兰动乱升级,多少无辜的平民被杀害;美国仍深陷越南战争的泥潭。第26届联合国大会以压倒性多数通过第258号决议,决定恢复中华人民共和国在联合国的一切合法权利。那时的苏联仍是西方阵营的头号敌人。     

竞争由求合作供应商联手打造汽车乘员安全

汽车零部件供应商、高校研究者和政府机构,正以分享先进技术的方式,共同探寻拯救生命的安全技术.     

Three-phase traffic theory and two-phase models with a fundamental diagram in the light of empirical stylized facts

Despite the availability of large empirical data sets and the long history of traffic modeling, the theory of traffic congestion on freeways is still highly controversial. In this contribution, we compare Kerner’s three-phase traffic theory with the phase diagram approach for traffic models with a fundamental diagram. We discuss the inconsistent use of the term “traffic phase” and show that patterns demanded by three-phase traffic theory can be reproduced with simple two-phase models, if the model parameters are suitably specified and factors characteristic for real traffic flows are considered, such as effects of noise or heterogeneity or the actual freeway design (e.g. combinations of off- and on-ramps). Conversely, we demonstrate that models created to reproduce three-phase traffic theory create similar spatiotemporal traffic states and associated phase diagrams, no matter whether the parameters imply a fundamental diagram in equilibrium or non-unique flow-density relationships. In conclusion, there are different ways of reproducing the empirical stylized facts of spatiotemporal congestion patterns summarized in this contribution, and it appears possible to overcome the controversy by a more precise definition of the scientific terms and a more careful comparison of models and data, considering effects of the measurement process and the right level of detail in the traffic model used.