An Epsilon Bargaining Game-Theoretic Formulation Between Carrier and Container Terminal Operators for Servicing Vessels During Unloading Operations

Due to globalization trends and the increasing competition between ports, the maritime policy for container shipments has witnessed a change in operations that resulted in less reliance on direct freight flows and higher transshipment operations. Motivated to investigate a soft intelligent decision-making approach using game theory in the context of servicing vessels during unloading operations in transshipment, we propose an epsilon bargaining approach between the carrier and the container terminal operator (CTO). The objective of the game is to maximize the carrier service level while minimizing operation costs for the CTO. The players' utilities, which depend on the service level and the fees for the carrier, as well as the revenues generated and the cost incurred for the CTO, are uniquely formulated and evaluated in a bargaining scenario using an ordinal ranking approach. The negotiation process is further improved between the two players based on our proposed Epsilon Bargaining Equilibrium, which to the best of our knowledge has not been used in maritime transportation problems. Results from a risk aversion case illustrate the value of the soft computing mathematical model that we formulated and motivate follow-up research.     

综合交通客运枢纽信息化初探

介绍综合交通客运枢纽信息化建设的设计思路，重点阐述信息系统应完成的主要功能、系统构成及主要设备配置。     

柳肇铁路引入广州枢纽后方通路方案研究

新建铁路日益增多,许多既有枢纽不断有新的线路接入,进一步扩充枢纽运输能力,同时也对枢纽布局产生一定的影响。以新建柳肇铁路引入广州枢纽为例,结合项目功能定位、枢纽通道能力适应性、城市规划发展等,阐述新建铁路线路引入枢纽需要考虑的因素,通过对方案长度、运输组织、工程投资、实施难度等方面的综合比较,科学选择技术经济合理的引入方案。     

地铁设备巡检移动终端视频实时传输应用研究

针对地铁设备巡检工作中对实时视频信息采集的需求，研究在WiFi(无线通信)环境下， Android（安卓）平台的地铁设备巡检移动终端的视频实时传输功能。功能实现包括视频采集端和视频播放端，视频采集端负责采集视频数据、数据压缩和数据包封装，视频播放端则负责接收解析数据包，将数据进行解码播放。在H.264视频压缩技术，实时传输协议以及流媒体服务器等相关技术的基础上，实现了Wifi环境下视频实时传输、播放等功能，且传输过程中视频传输流畅、延迟较小、丢包率低。     

西安至宝鸡客运专线引入宝鸡枢纽方案研究

宝鸡枢纽衔接陇海、宝成、宝中3条铁路干线,西宝客运专线拟建车站位于渭河南侧城市新区,结合既有宝鸡枢纽功能和现状论述客运专线引入枢纽方案,从近远期工程的差异性、线路技术条件、与城市规划的协调、工程投资4个方面进行分析比较,确定新建南环客运专线及新宝鸡客站为西宝客运专线引入枢纽推荐方案。     

Spatial analysis of the competitiveness of the high-speed train and air transport: The role of access to terminals in the Madrid–Barcelona corridor

This paper analyzes the effect of access and egress time to transport terminals over the spatial competiveness of the high-speed train (HST) in the Madrid–Barcelona (Spain) corridor, one of the densest airline domestic markets in the world. Applying spatial data from 2010 provided by a geographical information system (GIS) to a mode choice model estimated with sample travelers in this corridor, the present study examines whether and how the level-of-service of transport terminals spatially affects the competitiveness or modal distribution of HST and air transport in the provinces of Madrid and Barcelona; and, in particular, the degree of competitiveness that can be accrued by the access time provided by private car and transit in different market segments, especially mandatory and leisure trips. In a number of urban zones near train stations and airports, terminal accessibility clearly favors one transport mode in comparison to the other. Improving terminal accessibility via private car or public transit not only affects the relative access to terminals, but also represents a key strategy for readjusting the market shares of the competing modes in the corridor.     

基于LS-SVM船舶动力定位有限时间控制器设计

为了解决船舶模型存在任意不确定性的船舶动力定位问题,基于有限时间Lyapunov理论提出了一种非奇异快速终端滑模控制策略,提高了系统收敛速度及抗干扰能力。针对模型不确定性问题,利用最小二乘支持向量机(LS-SVM)的非线性函数逼近技术进行补偿控制,引入“最小参数”技术,将在线学习参数减少到一个,解决了“维数灾难”问题。最后的仿真对比结果验证了提出的控制策略的优越性。     

Which terminals should expand investment: a perspective of internal non-cooperative competition in a port?

ABSTRACT

With the increasing container cargo throughput and the arising of port congestion, container ports start to choose the investment expansion strategy to increase the port efficiency and then to figure out the problem of port congestion. To analyze this strategy, we formulate a non-cooperative game model for a two-terminals-one-port system, and derive the optimal equilibrium outcomes of the investment expansion strategy and investment constant strategy. In the game, we find that when the investment parameter of expansion strategy and impact of handling efficiency on demand changes, both pure-strategy Nash equilibrium and mixed-strategy Nash equilibrium exist, and two terminals are more likely to choose the investment expansion strategy in most cases. Numerical simulation is applied to explore the equilibrium strategy under different circumstance.     

Terminal investment timing decisions in a competitive setting with uncertainty using a real option approach

This paper uses a real option approach to analyze terminal investment timing decisions for situations in which a port faces competition from its rivals in an uncertain market. We propose a network model to describe carriers’ cargo routing decisions and competition among rival ports. We then transform this model into a multicommodity flow problem and use the column generation algorithm to solve it. After obtaining a port’s possible future annual revenues and the potential net present value (NPV) for its terminal construction project through the network model, we adopt the expanded NPV rule and transform the investment timing decision into an optimal stopping problem. A least squares Monte Carlo simulation algorithm is proposed to find the investing probabilities for future years. The proposed models are applied to a steel cargo terminal investment case in the Port of Bengbu in Anhui province of China. The impacts on the investing probability and the expanded NPV of changes in the demand volatility, the initial investment and the port discharging rate are analyzed to provide managerial insights for port managers.     

A study of economic efficiency in port security inspection

The purpose of this paper is to study an economic efficiency for the prediction of additional truck turnaround time and for determining the number of the port security inspection equipment required at a terminal inspection station. The economic efficiency with six base models was developed to assist terminal operators' decision‐making. In addition, this study developed an optimal procedure that terminal operators could use to optimally run in terms of various statistics processes including exponential, deterministic, and others, seeking a solution that was beneficial for both terminal operators and truckers. As a result of this research of the additional cargo turnaround time for port security delay, the following conclusion can be drawn and made. The average additional delay time in the inspection station is very dependent on the inspection rate of the lower stage. The higher weighted inspection time based on raising security level allows less number of trucks to be inspected, which will derive high delay in the inspection station. Increase of rate of Green Lane usage will allow a decrease in the arrival rate, which may derive improvement of inspection equipment efficiency and average delay time at the inspection station. In multiple stage model, total number of trucks and delay time very closely follow those of low inspection stage rate and number of inspection units. Free Lane is to be followed by Customs‐Trade Partnership Against Terrorism and standardization of customs, packing, loading and unloading, documents, procedure, and exchange working in each country. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.