Incentives to reduce port inefficiency: a theoretical approach

Over the last decades, the European Union (EU) has devoted a large amount of effort and money to projects aimed at boosting some of its maritime corridors as a modal alternative to road or rail freight transport. However, the overall design of most of these programmes has ex post revealed as very ineffective. This paper suggests that promoting port efficiency might be a more suitable target to increase the modal split of Short Sea Shipping (SSS) than subsidizing firms to transfer cargo from road to sea. But defining ‘port efficiency’ is a complex task and, therefore, granting money directly to port authorities could also generate perverse moral hazard effects, particularly when the improvements are difficult to monitor and many investments are non-refundable. The European Court of Auditors points out that millions of EU public port finance was wasted on empty terminal and other unused infrastructure. The objective of this paper is to design a proper subsidy to promote SSS by encouraging port improvements through a proper system of incentives. As a policy recommendation, in this paper we propose the development of a subsidy per inefficiency-reduction unit.     

TransMilenio BRT system in Bogota,high performance and positive impact – Main results of an ex-post evaluation

The paper presents the main characteristics, costs and impacts of TransMilenio, the bus based mass transit system of Bogotá, using BRT corridors and feeder services. An ex-post cost-benefit analysis is done, including monetary valuation of direct impacts on travel time and travel cost and externalities, such as improved road safety and air quality. Impacts on crime, land values, employment and tax revenue are also presented. The results are positive and robust; nevertheless, it is important to recognize that user perception has declined and there is urgent need to introduce service improvements. The paper also includes an ex-ante evaluation of the projected expansion using current costs, which indicates the need to limit construction capital costs. The results are an indication of the potential of BRT, and the evaluation methodology is applicable to other transit projects.     

Indicators for Evaluating the Impact of Artificial Islands on the Barcelona Coast

Artificial islands have been constructed next to large cities due to the need for extra space in highly populated areas. These emerged structures have been used by many countries as platforms for developing infrastructure (airports, harbors, highways, etc.), rebuilding ecological areas, and creating new spaces for tourism or residential areas. In this study, two state-of-the-art numerical models for wave propagation and nearshore circulation are used to simulate the effects of an emerged artificial island on the Barcelona coast. Several sea indicators (wave height, intensity and direction of currents, and mean water level) are analyzed to assess the changes likely to be induced by an artificial island. Three different situations are studied and the indicators are compared across the different tests to obtain information that can be used in the planning process of these structures. In two-meter wave conditions, the tests show that wave height is generally reduced in the sheltered area, which leads to improved safety for beach users (bathing is prohibited when wave height exceeds the two-meter threshold). However, the numerical models also reveal that velocities in the sheltered area usually decrease, which must be controlled to prevent stagnation in the bathing area.     

Manoeuvring and hotelling external costs: enough for alternative energy sources?

Local air pollution is the most relevant externality of maritime transport, and its effects are more acute in urban areas as a result of manoeuvring, hotelling and load/unload activities at ports. This article is intended to assess ships’ local air pollution impact in generally densely populated harbour areas to decide whether alternative power supply measures are feasible. First, an optimized infrastructure investment model is developed to ease implementation and maximize the efficiency of alternative power supply projects. Once target harbours and traffic (ship types) within a national port network have been chosen, a vessel traffic analysis (ship type, tonnage, manoeuvring, and hotelling times) is carried out to quantify and evaluate annual polluting emissions (PM_2,5, SO₂, NOx, and VOCs) and their externalities. Finally, the assessment model is applied and results of the Spanish port network case study are discussed. The results obtained are significant and bring the possibility of further controlling the ship’s environmental performance at berth.     

Monopoly,Subsidies and the Mohring Effect: A Synthesis

Abstract

This paper provides a unifying framework to analyze whether a monopoly transit provider will under or over-supply frequency. To this end we couch the problem in term of Spence [(1975). Monopoly, quality and regulation. The Bell Journal of Economics, 6, 417–429] who analyzed the incentives to provide quality by a monopolist. We show that all of the results of a recent academic exchange discussing this topic are special cases of Spence [(1975). Monopoly, quality and regulation. The Bell Journal of Economics, 6, 417–429], albeit with an adjustment in order to take into account the cost structure of frequency provision in the case of public transport. In theory then, there are cases when a monopolist may offer optimal or above optimal levels of frequency without requiring subsidies. However, public transport is rarely provided by an unregulated monopolist. Rather, these services are usually provided either by an exclusive operator under regulated fares or by a group of competing operators, with or without fare regulation. We show that in the first case frequency will always be below the social optimal level.     

Willingness to Pay for Airline Service Quality

Abstract

This paper looks at estimated valuations of some service‐quality attributes in an airline choice context using stated preferences methods. The analysis is based on information obtained in the most important route connecting the Canary Islands with the Iberian Peninsula: Gran Canaria–Madrid, and tries to contribute to the body of knowledge in this area, given the relatively few studies of the monetary valuations of air travel regarding level‐of‐service attributes. A feature of this analysis is the examination of variations in values according to different characteristics of the service, such as price, penalties for changes in the ticket, legroom, food, etc.; the currently experienced level of the attribute, and various socio‐economic factors that affect the characteristics of the trip and passengers. In addition, the important issue of added value regarding different attributes is addressed, obtaining the willingness‐to‐pay for different improvements of service quality. A further analysis is made about how taste heterogeneity (market segments) affects these values. Results from the stated preference experiment and the market value of some comparable service are also compared. Finally, the paper brings together evidence from other studies and compares them with the findings obtained herein.     

Accompanied versus Unaccompanied Transport in Short Sea Shipping between Spain and Italy: An Analysis from Transport Road Firms Perspective

Short sea shipping (SSS) is called to play a key role in ensuring sustainable mobility in the European context. In the past years several studies tried to define the SSS requirements and also to identify the SSS lines that were economically viable. However, no studies approach the profile of their users—the road transport firms—and the organizational patterns adopted by them, in order to gain a better understanding of this transport modality. This research, on the basis of a sample of 81 international road transport firms that use SSS between Spain and Italy, analyses the profile of these firms and certain elements inherent to their relationship with the shipping firms, according to the two modalities of organizing their SSS transport operations: accompanied versus unaccompanied.     

Implementing Road User Charging: The Lessons Learnt from Hong Kong,Cambridge and Central London

Abstract

This paper studies the possibility of increasing shipping of fruit and vegetables from Almería (southeast of Spain) to Port Vendres‐Perpignan (southeast of France). Almería is one of the areas of vegetables production largest in the world and Perpignan is one of the most important customers of Almería. After analysing the potential volume of shipping, we estimate a mode choice model which allows us to study the sensitivity of final clients (horticultural operators) to future change in the variables which condition the choice between transport by sea or by land. This will also help us to calculate the market share of each system as a function of foreseeable change in the variables.     

A cooperative waiting strategy based on elliptical areas for the Dynamic Pickup and Delivery Problem with Time Windows

The purpose of this paper to present a cooperative scheduling algorithm for solving the Dynamic Pickup and Delivery Problem with Time Windows (DPDPTW). The idea behind cooperative waiting strategies is to calculate simultaneously the waiting times for all nodes in the solution. Classical non‐cooperative scheduling algorithms perform the scheduling for each route independently of the scheduling of the other routes. We present the Cooperative Scheduling Problem (CSP) based on the elliptical areas generated by vehicles waiting at their nodes. The CSP is solved by means of a genetic algorithm and is evaluated by using a set of benchmarks based on real‐life data found in the literature. Initially, two waiting strategies are presented: Wait‐Early‐Time scheduling and Balanced‐Departure scheduling. Extensive empirical simulations have been carried out by analyzing the degree of dynamism and the average waiting time, a new concept defined to take into account the gap between the time windows of pickup and delivery nodes. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigating the predictive performance of computational process activity-based transportation models

The aim of this paper is to achieve a better understanding of computational process activity-based models, by identifying factors that influence the predictive performance of A Learning-based Transportation Oriented Simulation System model. Therefore, the work activity process model, which includes six decision steps, is investigated. The manner of execution in the process model contains two features, activation dependency and attribute interdependence. Activation dependency branches the execution of the simulation while attribute interdependence involves the inclusion of the decision outcome of a decision step as an attribute to subsequent decision steps. The model is experimented with by running the simulation in four settings. The performance of the models is assessed at three validation levels: the classifier or decision step level, the activity pattern sequence level and the origin–destination matrix level. The results of the validation analysis reveal more understanding of the model. Benchmarks and factors affecting the predictive performance of computational activity-based models are identified.