New appraisal values of travel time saving and reliability in Great Britain

Transportation - This paper provides an overview of the study ‘Provision of market research for value of time savings and reliability’ undertaken by the Arup/ITS Leeds/Accent consortium...     

Semi-Active Attitude and Vibration Control

The paper discusses the attitude and vibration control of a passenger car on the basis of a full vehicle model. The analysis presented consists of two parts: (I) The introduction of a newly developed semi-active anti-roll/pitch system, (ii) An example of an actively suspended full vehicle model using a simple control strategy to improve ride comfort. The attitude control using semi-actively generated compensation forces prevents the car from rolling in curves and pitching during braking or accelerating. The strength of the system is the small energy consumption. The performance of the combination of both attitude and vibration control can compete with a fully active suspension system.     

Measuring the welfare effects of infrastructure: A simple spatial equilibrium evaluation of Dutch railway proposals

We specify a spatial computable general equilibrium model for the Netherlands based on the so-called New Economic Geography. The model distinguishes 14 sectors, two modes of transportation and over 500 municipalities. Key parameters are estimated by fitting predicted interregional trade flows to bi-regional input-output data. The model is then calibrated to a baseline scenario for 2020. From there, the transport grid is modified in line with six proposals for changes in rail infrastructure. The effects of these changes on employment and welfare are computed. We find that the most ambitious project leads to a redistribution of around 8000 jobs from regions further out to regions along the line and especially at the end of it. The net national welfare effect is equivalent to a 250 million euro (0.016%) increase in GDP.