Competition and public service obligations in European aviation markets

This paper analyzes the effect of universal service policies on the airline markets of five European Union countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) in the period 2002–2010. Results show that airfare discount schemes for island residents raise demand and positively affect competition and the number of flights at the route level. These effects are evident in France and Italy, but are particularly marked in Spain. By contrast, public service obligations (PSOs) reduce competition on the protected routes, while their effect on the number of flights differs depending on national regulations. In Spain, routes protected with PSOs have greater flight frequencies than those on unprotected routes of similar characteristics, but in France, Italy and the UK the opposite result is found. The empirical model also finds that on routes with low-cost airlines market concentration is smaller and there is a larger number of flights. This result is relevant for the design of universal service policy, since in recent years low-cost airlines have entered a number of thin routes and have increased access to air transportation.     

Implementation of interactive transit information kiosks at New York City transit facilities: Analysis of user utilization and lessons learned

Transit Traveler Information Systems (TTIS) comprise a wide range of technologies that transit agencies use to provide reliable and timely transit-related information to customers. The touch-screen interactive information kiosk is an example of these emerging TTIS technologies. This paper examines the implementation of interactive touch-screen information kiosks, known as “On the Go!” Touch-Screen Travel Stations, at Metropolitan Transportation Authority-New York City Transit (MTA-NYCT) facilities in 2011. It analyzes data from passenger intercept surveys, from the kiosks’ built-in application usage logs and from field observations to understand actual passenger utilization of the kiosks and to assess the implications for transit agencies. The field observations also made it possible to obtain a profile of kiosk users, which sheds light on the concept of the “digital divide.” The findings, presented as lessons learned, can help agencies elsewhere develop guidelines and effective strategies for implementing similar interactive transit information systems.     

The passenger vessel services act and America's cruise tourism industry

The Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA) of 1886, a cabotage law, attempts to shield U.S. maritime shipping from foreign competition. It also applies to the U.S. cruise ship industry. The PVSA requires foreign cruise ships that carry passengers between U.S. ports to also stop at foreign ports. Norwegian Cruise Line America (NCLA), which operates one U.S. flagged cruise ship in Hawaii, wants the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to require foreign cruise ships offering Hawaii itineraries from the U.S. west coast to spend more time in foreign ports. We analyze the merits of NCLA's proposal. We argue that rather than making the PVSA even more protectionist, the law should be repealed.     

The effects of information bias and riding frequency on noise annoyance to a new railway extension in Hong Kong

We investigate how two non-acoustic factors, information bias and riding frequency, can affect the annoyance response of an urban population to noise created by a new railway line. The study shows that information bias is asymmetrical. Respondents receiving only information on positive measures taken by the authority to reduce noise emission are more tolerant of the noise impact, but those receiving only critical views tend to be more annoyed because they feel that not all measures to reduce noise have been employed. Additionally people who use the line frequently are more tolerant to the noise impact than those who do not. Information bias seems to have a temporary masking effect over riding frequency lasting for a few weeks after railway opening. This suggest that whilst free flow of information provided by the authority can help alleviate annoyance response, encouraging the people affected to make use of the new infrastructure may be useful to reduce public resistance and noise annoyance.     

信息技术对水运公共行政的影响

社会信息化是当代社会的一种大趋势，它正推动着水运公共行政现代化的进程。信息技术的发展对诸如行政人员、行政决策、行政组织、行政方法、行政公文、政府管理模式等公共行政要素和过程产生着深远的影响。     

A zonal inference model based on observed smart-card transactions for Santiago de Chile

The collection of origin–destination data for a city is an important but often costly task. This way, there is a need to develop more efficient and inexpensive methods of collecting information about citizens’ travel patterns. In this line, this paper presents a generic methodology that allows to infer the origin and destination zones for an observed trip between two public transport stops (i.e., bus stops or metro stations) using socio-economic, land use, and network information. The proposed zonal inference model follows a disaggregated Logit approach including size variables. The model enables the estimation of a zonal origin–destination matrix for a city, if trip information passively collected by a smart-card payment system is available (in form of a stop-to-stop matrix). The methodology is applied to the Santiago de Chile’s morning peak period, with the purpose of serving as input for a public transport planning computational tool. To estimate the model, information was gathered from different sources and processed into a unified framework; data included a survey conducted at public transport stops, land use information, and a stop-to-stop trip matrix. Additionally, a zonal system with 1176 zones was constructed for the city, including the definition of its access links and associated distances. Our results shows that, ceteris paribus, zones with high numbers of housing units have higher probabilities of being the origin of a morning peak trip. Likewise, health facilities, educational, residential, commercial, and offices centres have significant attraction powers during this period. In this sense, our model manages to capture the expected effects of land use on trip generation and attraction. This study has numerous policy implications, as the information obtained can be used to predict the impacts of changes in the public transport network (such as extending routes, relocating their stops, designing new routes or changing the fare structure). Further research is needed to improve the zonal inference formulation and origin–destination matrix estimation, mainly by including better cost measures, and dealing with survey and data limitations.     

关于上海公交体制改革的几点建议

在改革推进中，上海在公交管理体制、运营机制、服务质量方面得到不断提升。随着上海城市社会、经济的快速发展，2010年上海世博会的召开以及居民出行要求的日益提高，上海市公交系统面临新的挑战，由此提出了进一步深化公交体制改革的要求。对于上海这一轮的公交体制改革，从改革的目的、改革的方式方法、改革的配套措施等方面提出了几点建议。     

同一水域两起船舶碰撞事故引发的思考

广州港沙角水域发生了两起大型拖带船组碰撞锚泊船的事故，其发生的时间、地点、性质有惊人的相似之处，本文从两起事故的共同点出发进行了详尽的原因分析，并提出了在狭窄水道进行大型拖航时应采取的安全措施。     

河池市城乡公交客运发展思路探析

文章基于广西河池市城乡公交客运发展情况,分析了发展城乡公交客运存在的问题,提出了加快城乡公交客运发展的建议,为河池市加快发展城乡公交客运提供思路。     

稳心高分布对集装箱船总体性能影响研究

以某支线型集装箱船为依托,针对主尺度和主要船型系数相同,稳心高分布不同的两版型线,分别对对应方案的破舱稳性、装载性能、快速性等总体性能进行评估,并对结果进行研究和分析,进而揭示了稳心高分布对集装箱船总体性能影响的一般规律,为设计者合理优化船型稳心高分布以及市场选择合理的船型方案提供了参考和建议。