The influence of the operational environment on efficiency of international airports

Heterogeneity must be considered in the efficiency analysis of decision‐making units; otherwise, the results will be strongly biased. This is also valid for airport management where the operational environment heavily influences efficiency. In this paper, conditional efficiency measures are applied to airports to incorporate heterogeneity in non‐parametric frontier models which are robust for outlying observations. In particular, the influence of the operational environment on airport efficiency is examined in a sample of 141 international airports. The conclusions show that the operational environment indeed matters and that privatisation, regulation, traffic transfer and the dominant carrier have a positive effect on efficiency, whereas aeronautical revenues influence it negatively. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Added Value of Accounting For Users’ Flexibility and Information on the Potential of a Station-Based One-Way Car-Sharing System: An Application in Lisbon,Portugal

Car-sharing systems are an alternative to private transportation whereby a person may use an automobile without having to own the vehicle. The classical systems in Europe are organized in stations scattered around the city where a person may pick up a vehicle and afterward return it to the same station (round trip). Allowing a person to drop off the vehicle at any station, called one-way system, poses a significant logistics problem because it creates a significant stock imbalance at the stations, which means that there will be times when users will not have a vehicle available for their trip. Previous mathematical programming formulations have tried to overcome this limitation by optimizing trip selection and station location in a city in order to capture the best trips for balancing the system. But there was one main limitation: The users were assumed to be inflexible with respect to their choice of a station, and held to use only the one closest to their origin and destination. If the user is willing to use the second or even the third closest station the user could benefit from using real-time information on vehicle stocks at each station and be able to select the one with available capacity. In this article we extend a previous model for trip selection and station location that takes that aspect into account by considering more vehicle pick-up and drop-off station options and then apply it to a trip origin–destination matrix from the Lisbon region in Portugal. Through the extended formulation we were able to conclude that user flexibility allied with having information on vehicle stocks increases the profit of the company, as people will go directly to a station with a vehicle available, thus making the use of the fleet more efficient. Observing the size of the stations resulting from the model, we also concluded that the effect of information is enhanced by large car-sharing systems consisting of many small stations.     

Risk-Sharing in Seaport Terminal Concessions

Over the last two decades, infrastructure development has often been supported by public–private partnerships, particularly under concession arrangements. This paper addresses terminal concession contracts in the seaport sector, and especially the problem of risk-sharing. An effective allocation of risks is the base for the well functioning of the market, and for the success of the ‘landlord’ model. Under this model, the relationship between concessionaires and port authorities is fully dependent on a contract that should be in force for the period of the concession (20, 30 or more years). Based on several Portuguese concession contracts, this paper addresses the issue of risk-sharing agreements. Some policy implications are drawn, namely, alternative contract arrangements to decrease opportunistic behaviour by concessionaires, and to provide incentives to improve efficiency.     

Flexibility in planning and development of a container terminal: an application of an American-style call option

The prosperity and social progress of developed and developing economies is highly dependent on the existence of efficient transport infrastructure. Nevertheless, current budgetary constraints are jeopardizing the necessary investments in new or existing infrastructure. New models for planning and managing infrastructure are now necessary to overcome the lack of public economic resources available. Port infrastructure is no exception and, due to the vast number of uncertainties involving these projects, it is relevant to maximize the capture of the latent value of flexible options. Incorporating flexibility in these projects, prior to the implementation phase, can be a solution that allows port managers to address future uncertainties and mitigate risk exposure. This paper analyzes the incorporation of flexibility in port planning through the use of an American call option to the physical capacity expansion problem. The rationale is to implement a flexible expansion plan, through options that can be exercised at any given time, that are able to deal with uncertainty in demand. The paper uses a case study – Terminal Container of Ferrol, in Spain – and the results support the hypothesis that imbedded flexibility will robustly increase the net present value of the project.