Competition in Brazilian bus and coach services - The results of recent competitive tendering processes

This paper analyses the terms and the results of a sample of some recent Brazilian bidding processes for the concession of public passenger transport services: namely, urban and metropolitan bus or regional coach services. The analysis is based on selected issues relating to competitiveness and upon the legal framework that applies in this sector. It was concluded that, given the lack of bidding processes for concessions in the bus and coach sector in Brazil, the fact that some bidding processes have been carried out should be considered a sign of progress. However, these auctions have not necessarily prioritised competitiveness, since many barriers to entry into the systems were imposed by the bidding terms. Future competitive tendering processes should seek to abide by stricter principles of competitiveness, if they wish to avoid the entire effort expended on conducting such processes serving only to mask nothing more than formal obedience to the law and to discredit the bidding process in the eyes of Brazilian citizens.     

Transportation of dangerous goods by road: the Brazilian case for selection of carriers based on a risk management methodology

Abstract

This article applies a methodology for selecting carriers for the transportation of dangerous goods by road, with a special focus on risk management aspects. The methodology makes use of Stated Preference techniques and verifies the most critical risk-related variables influencing decision-making from the shippers' point of view. It embraces the planning and execution stages, an evaluation of the contracted company and a feedback process. The methodology was effectively applied to the case of liquid fuel shippers in the Brazilian middle-west region where it proved possible to identify which dangerous goods road transport company to contract in accordance with the risk management factors selected by the decision makers.     

PantoCat statement of method

The pantograph–catenary dynamic interaction analysis program (PantoCat) addresses the need for a dynamic analysis code able to analyse models of the complete overhead energy collecting systems that include all mechanical details of the pantographs and the complete topology and structural details of the catenary. PantoCat is a code based on the finite element method, for the catenary, and multibody dynamics methods, for the pantograph, integrated via a co-simulation procedure. A contact model based on a penalty formulation is selected to represent the pantograph–catenary interaction. PantoCat enables models of catenaries with multiple sections, including their overlap, the operation of multiple pantographs and the use of any complex loading of the catenary or pantograph mechanical elements including aerodynamic effects. The models of the pantograph and catenary are fully spatial being simulated in tangential or curved tracks, with or without irregularities and perturbations. User-friendly interfaces facilitate the construction of the models while the post-processing facilities provide all quantities of interest of the system response according to the norms and industrial requirements.     

Crash analysis and dynamical behaviour of light road and rail vehicles

The main goal of crashworthiness is to ensure that vehicles are safer for occupants, cargo and other road or rail users. The crash analysis of vehicles involves structural impact and occupant biomechanics. The traditional approaches to crashworthiness not only do not take into account the full vehicle dynamics, but also uncouple the structural impact and the occupant biomechanics in the crash study. The most common strategy is to obtain an acceleration pulse from a vehicle structural impact analysis or experimental test, very often without taking into account the effect of suspensions in its dynamics, and afterwards feed this pulse into a rigid occupant compartment that contains models of passengers. Multibody dynamics is the most common methodology to build and analyse vehicle models for occupant biomechanics, vehicle dynamics and, with ever increasing popularity, structural crash analysis. In this work, the aspects of multibody modelling relevant to road and rail vehicles and to occupant biomechanical modelling are revised. Afterwards, it is shown how multibody models of vehicles and occupants are used in crash analysis. The more traditional aspects of vehicle dynamics are then introduced in the vehicle models in order to appraise their importance in the treatment of certain types of impact scenarios for which the crash outcome is sensitive to the relative orientation and alignment between vehicles. Through applications to the crashworthiness of road and of rail vehicles, selected problems are discussed and the need for coupled models of vehicle structures, suspension subsystems and occupants is emphasized.     

Railway vehicle performance optimisation using virtual homologation

Unlike regular automotive vehicles, which are designed to travel in different types of roads, railway vehicles travel mostly in the same route during their life cycle. To accept the operation of a railway vehicle in a particular network, a homologation process is required according to local standard regulations. In Europe, the standards EN 14363 and UIC 518, which are used for railway vehicle acceptance, require on-track tests and/or numerical simulations. An important advantage of using virtual homologation is the reduction of the high costs associated with on-track tests by studying the railway vehicle performance in different operation conditions. This work proposes a methodology for the improvement of railway vehicle design with the objective of its operation in selected railway tracks by using optimisation. The analyses required for the vehicle improvement are performed under control of the optimisation method global and local optimisation using direct search. To quantify the performance of the vehicle, a new objective function is proposed, which includes: a Dynamic Performance Index, defined as a weighted sum of the indices obtained from the virtual homologation process; the non-compensated acceleration, which is related to the operational velocity; and a penalty associated with cases where the vehicle presents an unacceptable dynamic behaviour according to the standards. Thus, the optimisation process intends not only to improve the quality of the vehicle in terms of running safety and ride quality, but also to increase the vehicle availability via the reduction of the time for a journey while ensuring its operational acceptance under the standards. The design variables include the suspension characteristics and the operational velocity of the vehicle, which are allowed to vary in an acceptable range of variation. The results of the optimisation lead to a global minimum of the objective function in which the suspensions characteristics of the vehicle are optimal for the track, the maximum operational velocity is increased while the safety and ride quality measures of the vehicle, as defined by homologation standards, are either maintained in acceptable values or improved.