Does competitive tendering improve customer satisfaction with public transport? A case study for the Netherlands

During 10 years experience with competitive tendering of regional and local public transport in the Netherlands, national average trip satisfaction of passengers increased from 6.84 to 7.25 (+0.41). This is a remarkable improvement, but a closer look at the data reveals that also in regions without competitive tendering the improvement in satisfaction was substantial. The difference in the improvement for regions with and without tendering is only +0.06. Tendering led in the majority of concession areas to an improvement of average trip satisfaction, but in some 40% of the cases a deterioration was observed. A change of operator in general has a negative impact on satisfaction. We also find that the effect on satisfaction of early tendering is larger than of later tendering. This may well be the consequence of a shift in emphasis of authorities and operators from quality improvement to efficiency improvements. The model building and analysis is based on the comparison per year-pair of regions tendered versus regions non-tendered (in that specific year-pair). So we compare the effects on satisfaction of tendered regions relative to non-tendered regions.An analysis concerning the weighted satisfaction judgments of 15 underlying service attributes revealed that ‘service frequency, on-time performance, travel speed, and vehicle tidiness’ contribute the most to the effect on satisfaction in the tendered regions. We found that new vehicles impact highly on satisfaction with travel speed and vehicle tidiness. The emphasis in the tenders with increasing service frequency, led to an increase in satisfaction but, may have a deteriorating effect on (the satisfaction with) on-time performance.     

The response of the legal system to technological innovation in aquaculture: A comparative study of mariculture legislation in California,Florida and Maine

This article examines salt‐water aquaculture (mariculture) legislation in California, Florida, and Maine, as illustrative of one generic response of the law to aquacultural innovation. Unlike aquacultural legislation in other states, generally drafted to restrict leasing of coastal waters for specific existing technologies, the legislation studied represents a more flexible approach which would accommodate new technologies. Analysis of specific provisions of the three laws indicates the complexity of the issues involved and a variety of mechanisms selected for regulating mariculture, and identifies different state priorities and goals. This report concludes that whereas broadly drafted legislation exemplified by the statutes under study is more likely to accommodate new mariculture technologies than piecemeal legislation, there are a number of complex issues that must be identified and resolved in order to achieve the desired results. The failure of each of the states to respond fully to the broad range of issues involved may inhibit aquacultural innovation or unduly restrict nonaquacultural uses of the coastal zone.     

A test of inter-modal performance measures for transit investment decisions

Choices among alternative transit capital investments are often complex and politically controversial. There is renewed interest in the use of performance indicators to assist in making rational and defensible choices for the investment of public funds. To improve the evaluation of rail and bus performance and provide more useful information for transit investment decision-makers, it is important to use performance indicators that fairly and efficiently compare different transit modes. This paper proposes a set of inter-modal performance indicators in which service input, service output, and service consumption are measured by total cost, revenue capacity miles/hours, and unlinked passenger trips/miles respectively based on economic principles and evaluation objectives. The proposed improvements involve the inclusion of capital as well as operating costs in such comparisons, and the recognition of the widely varying capacities of transit vehicles for seated and standing passengers. Two California cases, the Los Angeles – Long Beach Corridor and the Market/Judah Corridor in San Francisco, are used for testing their usefulness in the evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of rail and bus services. The results show substantial differences between performance indicators in current use and those proposed in this study. The enhanced inter-modal performance indicators are more appropriate for comparing the efficiency and effectiveness of different modes or a combination of transit modes at the corridor and system levels where most major investment decisions are made. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

基于ITS的公共交通换乘等待时间最短调度问题研究

为使公共交通的换乘时间实现最佳衔接,先进的公共交通系统的高效率和优势得以体现,在对各国研究现状分析的基础上,研究了ITS实时提供公共交通信息的条件下,公共交通换乘等待时间最短调度问题。为了对公共交通换乘总等待时间最短目标下的公共汽车发车时刻表确定方法进行分析,应用运筹学理论,分别针对一个换乘点和多个换乘点的情况建立了线性规划模型,并用一个换乘点的算例验证了模型的可行性和有效性。结果表明：该方法能最大限度地减少乘客换乘总等待时间,尤其是对于发车间隔较大的公共交通方式间换乘的时间节约效果更为明显。     

论不同提供主体下道路资源的有效供给

从准公共产品的特征出发，分析了道路资源典型的准公共产品特性，阐述了公共部门提供（准）公共产品和私人部门提供（准）公共产品同样都存在着低效率和社会福利损失的原因。在针对由政府部门提供免费道路、政府提供收费道路以及私人提供收费道路三种供给方式进行了经济学比较的基础上，提出了几种以公私合作供给为基础的道路资源有效供给方式。     

我国出租车行业的民营化改革

从揭示出租车行业的性质入手,系统分析了我国作为主体的出租车运营业,即北京模式的现状,并以民营化理论为基础,具体阐述了我国出租车行业民营化的路径。同时基于出租车行业作为城市公共交通一部分的公益属性,论证了政府再管制的合法性和措施。     

镇区中心道路改建工程的共性分析及设计要点

该文分析了镇区中心道路改建工程的四个共性:道路拓宽困难、地下管线密布、重视景观、对工程投资敏感等,就这些特性对此类工程的设计要点进行了归纳和总结。     

非开挖技术在市政公用设施建设中的应用

随着城市化进程的加快,市政公用设施投资建设和修复维护也与日俱增,但苛刻的现实条件也使得市政公用设施建设和管理必须探索新的施工工艺和方法。该文从市政公用设施建设者和管理者的角度,探讨了非开挖技术的应用及面临的问题,提出了自己的见解。     

智能公交电子站牌显示时间预测方法研究

公共交通智能化调度系统是利用先进的技术手段，动态地获取实时公共交通信息，实现对公交车辆的实时监控和调度，这是公交调度的新模式。公交站点间运行时间预测是城市公共交通智能化调度最重要的工作。研究了基于智能化调度系统的公交电子站牌显示时间的预测理论、模型和方法，旨在为推进我国智能公交系统的快速发展奠定基础。     

筑路机械招标采购有关问题的探讨

通过对筑路机械设备招标采购必要性、重要性的理论探索和招标工作的实践摸索，对招标程序和招标中应注意的问题作出了认真分析和探讨，并对公平、公正、公开地搞好设备招标工作提出了建议。