Impacts of motor vehicle operation on water quality in the US – Cleanup costs and policies

This paper investigates the costs of controlling some of the environmental impacts of motor vehicle transportation on groundwater and on surface waters. We estimate that annualized costs of cleaning-up leaking underground storage tanks range from $0.8 billion to $2.1 billion per year over 10 years. Annualized costs of controlling highway runoff from principal arterials in the US are much larger: they range from $2.9 billion to $15.6 billion per year over 20 years (1.6–8.3% of annualized highway transportation expenditures). Some causes of non-point source pollution were unintentionally created by regulations or could be addressed by simple design changes of motor vehicles. A review of applicable measures suggests that effective policies should combine economic incentives, information campaigns, and enforcement, coupled with preventive environmental measures. In general, preventing water pollution from motor vehicles would be much cheaper than cleaning it up.     

工程造价人员做好工程经济工作的新思路

工程造价控制是一项涉及立项、设计、施工、结算等内容的系统工程,采取的预防措施和控制手段应贯穿于工程项目建设的全过程。此文针对工程建设领域多年来存在的工程技术与经济分离的现象,从工程造价人员整体素质不高,在项目建设过程中参与的深度和广度不够,创新服务能力弱,急需改进和提高等方面进行分析与探讨,并提出工程造价人员要不断学习和掌握一定的工程技术,与设计人员密切配合,在提高编制概预算水平的基础上,向工程经济与技术相结合的模式发展,开创新理念的工作思路,这一思路可促使工程投资效益最大化。     

筑路机械经济寿命和维修周期的决策方法

应用以机械设备经济寿命为基础的数学模型,给出了确定筑路机械更新和维修周期的新方法。并通过具体实例阐明了这一理论方法的应用。为筑路机械的管理使用提供了科学的依据。     

浅述过水侧石在天津临港经济区清河道道路设计中的应用

多年以来,我国的城市道路建设均使用城市地下雨水管道收集路面雨水,这种方法破坏了原有的雨水循环系统,产生了很多问题。在临港经济区清河道的道路设计中,因地制宜地设计了一种过水侧石,既不破坏原来的雨水循环系统,又极大地降低了工程量。详细介绍这种过水侧石在清河道道路设计中的应用。     

小型运输船船型经济性论证分析

文章根据大连湾老铁山水道的情况,考虑变吃水的运输方式,以船长、船宽、吃水及航速作为变量来进行船型方案的组合。选用净现值、内部收益率、投资回收期、必要运费率和综合经济指标作为衡量船型方案的标准,通过分析计算得出最佳的船型方案,为小型渔货船型选择提供参考。     

城市道路交通噪声污染经济损失及评估

文章应用市场估值法、享乐价格法和意愿调查价值评估法对城市道路交通噪声经济损失的货币化进行分析,并以北京市为例,计算评估了城市道路交通噪声带来的经济损失。     

回流法在原油回注中的应用

泄压罐原油回注是密闭输油的重要一环。乌鄯原油支干线乌鲁木齐输油首站投产以来不能成功回注。通过对回注过程中黏度、流量等进行分析,提出4种解决方案,经过可行性论证得出最佳方案,给出了回流法的应用原则和实践过程,为输油生产中遇到的类似问题提供参考。     

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.     

A simulation approach for estimating value at risk in transportation infrastructure investment decisions

Traditional economic analysis techniques used in the assessment of Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects are based upon the assumption that future cash flows are fully deterministic in nature and are not designed to account for risks involved in the assessment of future returns. In reality, many of these infrastructure projects are associated with significant risks stemming from the lack of knowledge about future cost and benefit streams. The fundamental premise of the PPP concept is to efficiently allocate risks between the public and the private partner. The return based on deterministic analysis may not depict a true picture of future economic outcomes of a PPP project for the multiple agencies involved. This deficiency underscores the importance of risk-based economic analysis for such projects. In this paper, the authors present the concept of Value-at-Risk (VaR) as a measure of effectiveness (MOE) to assess the risk share for the public and private entity in a PPP project. Bootstrap simulation is used to generate the risk profile savings in vehicle operating cost, and in travel time resulting from demand-responsive traffic. The VaR for Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is determined for public and private entity. The methodology is applied to a case study involving such a joint venture in India, the Mumbai Pune Expressway/National Highway 4 (MPEW/NH4), and fiscal implications from the perspective of the public and the private entities are examined. A comparison between deterministic and risk based economic analysis for MPEW/NH4 is presented. Risk analysis provides insightful results on the economic and financial implications from each participant's viewpoint.     

Coastal Management and Economic Development in Developed Nations: The Forth Estuary Forum

This article considers the issue of economic development as a component of coastal management initiatives in developed countries, focusing on the Forth Estuary Forum as a case study. The evolution of coastal management into integrated coastal management is briefly considered, as is the context of the Scottish coastal management system and a brief discussion of the variations between the different legal systems within the UK. The current hurdles to economic development and the views of developers and economic agencies being considered in the coastal management process itself are highlighted, illustrating the process of integration and the current voluntary regime in the UK, particularly in the Forth Estuary Forum. The article concludes that economic development issues must be taken seriously if coastal management is to be integrated and inclusive.