Low cost carrier competition and route entry in an emerging but regulated aviation market – The case of China

Although China lags behind other liberalized aviation markets in low cost carrier (LCC) development, its largest LCC, Spring Airlines, has achieved rapid growth in traffic volume and revenue, as well as consistent profitability, since its inauguration in 2005. Our empirical study on the Chinese domestic market suggests that Spring adopts a “cream skimming” strategy to enter high-priced routes, allowing the carrier to achieve both a very high load factor and considerable profitability. Spring’s capacity and market share on individual routes are constrained to low levels, likely due to government regulation and/or a “puppy dog” strategy adopted by the carrier. As a result, Spring is able to achieve fast growth without triggering price wars. To incumbent full service carriers, high speed rail (HSR) services impose much more significant competitive pressure than low cost carriers. Similar to LCCs in developed markets, Spring prefers to serve markets with high traffic volumes out of its operational base in Shanghai. Overall, Spring’s entry decision is not significantly affected by competition, either from full service airlines or HSR services. Our investigation suggests that LCCs have potential to introduce more competition but are yet to be a “game changer” in China. Further deregulation of the domestic market is needed.     

用现代项目管理理论控制工程总承包项目费用

0引言现代项目管理作为一门专业学科,已逐步发展成为独立的科学体系,并越来越广泛地应用于工程项目建设领域。所谓项目管理,就是以项目为对象的系统管理方法,通过一个临时性的专门的柔性组织,对项目进行计划、组织、指导和控制,以实现项目全过程的动态管理和项目目标的综合协调     

基于成本与效益分析的劳务企业运行机制

通过对劳务企业与非劳务企业2种运行模式下的成本对比与效益分析,发现劳务企业的建立会触及现有模式下的利益分配,而将被抵触。但劳务企业的建立是“以人为本”,引导农民工有序流动,有利于工程质量的提高和强化安全生产,势在必行。因此,规范建筑劳务市场,促进劳务企业健康发展,必须有有效的企业运行机制和政策支持。这里就有效地建立劳务企业运行机制提出了相应的建议和措施。     

工程设计变更对造价管理的影响

0引言随着我国经济建设的深入发展,国家对基本建设的投资力度也不断加大。为了使基建投资与投资管理二者相辅相成,建设单位采取了一些措施,并取得了一些成绩,但投资失控的现象仍时有发生,其原因仍然是主客观因素作崇。铁路工程有其自身的特点,即点多线长、投资大、隐蔽工程多、     

Optimal bus service patterns and frequencies considering transfer demand elasticity with genetic algorithm

This paper attempts to optimize bus service patterns (i.e., all-stop, short-turn, and express) and frequencies which minimize total cost, considering transfer demand elasticity. A mathematical model is developed based on the objective total cost for a generalized bus route, which is optimized subject to a set of constraints ensuring sufficient capacity, an operable bus fleet, and service frequency conservation. To optimize the integrated service of a bus route with many stops, which is a combinatorial optimization problem, a genetic algorithm is developed and applied to search for the solution. A case study, based on a real-world bus route in New Jersey, is conducted to demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of the developed model and the solution algorithm. Results show that the proposed methodology is fairly efficient, and the optimized bus service significantly reduces total cost.     

新疆地区某公路施工项目管理存在的问题及对策

基于新疆地区某公路施工项目管理的实践经验，分析管理中存在的问题，并针对性地提出相应解决对策，以期为实际公路施工项目管理工作提供借鉴和参考。     

放射式轨道路网的系统出行成本研究

探讨放射式轨道路网下的系统出行成本，能够为评价轨道交通服务水平、确定合理的线路数量和运营参数提供理论支持。基于研究区域人口密度服从Clark 分布，建立了系统出行成本模型。模型将乘客在步行时间、车站等待时间和车上等待时间换算为费用作为系统出行成本的一部分，结合运营商的运营和维护成本得到系统人均出行总成本。以成都市为例，通过模型分析确定最优发车频率为13 veh/h、轨道线路数为5条，较符合实际情况，验证了模型的有效性。     

A translog cost function of the integrated air freight business: The case of FedEx and UPS

This paper analyzes the cost structure of the integrated air freight business by means of a translog cost function. This allows to extend knowledge on the supply side and to examine if strategies of integrators are consistent with cost structure. The cost function is based on quarterly time-series data from 1990 to 2010 for FedEx and UPS. A total and a variable model are estimated. In addition, a static as well as a dynamic approach is followed. We find that integrators exhibit strong scale and density economies in the short and the long term. This result is in line with the aggressive expansion and cooperation strategies pursued by integrators. Our results indicate that the concentration in the integrated air freight industry will continue: a concern for industry actors and regulatory agencies.     

Policy analysis of third party electronic coupons for public transit fares

Mobile technologies are generating new business models for urban transport systems, as is evident from recent startups cropping up from the private sector. Public transport systems can make more use of mobile technologies than just for measuring system performance, improving boarding times, or for analyzing travel patterns. A new transaction model is proposed for public transport systems where travelers are allowed to pre-book their fares and trade that demand information to private firms. In this public-private partnership model, fare revenue management is outsourced to third party private firms such as big box retail or large planned events (such as sports stadiums and theme parks), who can issue electronic coupons to travelers to subsidize their fares. This e-coupon pricing model is analyzed using marginal cost theory for the transit service and shown to be quite effective for monopolistic coupon rights, particularly for demand responsive transit systems that feature high cost fares, non-commute travel purposes, and a closed access system with existing pre-booking requirements. However, oligopolistic scenarios analyzed using game theory and network economics suggest that public transport agencies need to take extreme care in planning and implementing such a policy. Otherwise, they risk pushing an equivalent tax on private firms or disrupting the urban economy and real estate values while increasing ridership.     

An advanced traveler general information system for Fresno,California

This study estimates the effects of an advanced traveler general information system (ATGIS), which includes fuel consumption and health-related emissions cost information on transportation network users’ travel choice behavior for recurrent congestion conditions. The effects are estimated using four different formulations based on four different behavioral assumptions. Incorporating stochastic features in link cost estimation rather than in route choice, we provide a novel modeling approach that enables us to use transportation planning models of major metropolitan areas without a need for major computationally-expensive changes in the existing models. We examined the effects of an ATGIS on the Fresno, CA, road network and found several interesting results. First, the ATGIS impact is closely related to pre-system (prior to the implementation of an ATGIS) perceived fuel and emissions costs. Total travel time in the city can be reduced by 17% (no pre-system perceived costs) to 1% (accurate pre-system perceived costs), and even increased by 1% (higher-than-actual pre-system perceived costs). Second, the addition of emissions costs, although negligible relative to fuel and time costs, can effectively reduce total system-wide travel time by up to 1% and fuel consumption by up to 0.6% during peak hours. Third, the ATGIS can reduce annual social costs by as much as $1053 million (high gas price, no pre-system perception) to $48 million (medium gas price, accurate pre-system perception), which are comparable to social cost savings by a congestion pricing (CP) scheme in the study area.