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on Transport Economics |
| By: | Sanders, Rebecca L.; Weinzimmer, David; Dittrich, Heidi; Cooper, Jill F. |
| Abstract: | Safe Routes to Transit (SR2T) was initiated in 2004 with the adoption of the San Francisco Bay Area’s Regional Measure 2 which established a $1 increase in Bay Area bridge tolls. The intended purpose of this funding was to support various transportation projects within the region in order to reduce congestion along the seven state-owned toll bridge corridors. Consistent with this purpose, the SR2T Program was awarded $20 million to fund enhancements to increase walking and cycling to regional transit stations. SR2T funds were used for the following improvements, among others: ssecure bicycle storage at transit stations; safety enhancements for pedestrian and bicycle station access to transit stations/stops; removal of pedestrian/bicycle barriers near transit stations; and system-wide transit enhancements to accommodate bicyclists or pedestrians. MTC collaborated with Fehr & Peers and the UC Berkeley Safe Transportation Research and Education Center (SafeTREC) to oversee the assessment of the SR2T program on mode share, perceived traffic safety, traffic behaviors and perceived air quality. Additional data was collected to obtain economic feedback on spending behavior as related to mode choice. Transit stations were chosen based on key variables associated with travel behavior and mode choice, such as population density, employment density, and the percentage of households living beneath the poverty line. The transit stations included in the before and after study were the Balboa Park, Bay Fair, Civic Center, Glen Park, Lafayette, and Pittsburg BART stations, as well as the Palo Alto Transit station. Fremont and Rockridge BART stations were the control sites. |
| Keywords: | Engineering, Safe Routes to Transit, pedestrians, bicyclists |
| Date: | 2014–05–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsrrp:qt5vj1h92m&r=tre |
| By: | Kenneth Small (Department of Economics, University of California-Irvine) |
| Abstract: | The bottleneck model of congestion with endogenous scheduling has become a standard tool of transportation economics. It provides surprising insights about the time pattern of congestion, optimal pricing, and many distinct inefficiencies of unpriced equilibria including wrong departure order with heterogeneous preferences, wrong allocation of users across links of a network, and wrong order in which parking spaces are occupied. It illuminates the roles of travel-time reliability, traffic information, and extreme congestion (“hypercongestionâ€). It has been developed for use in practical network planning. Future use will probably emphasize greater realism, leading to more practical applications. |
| Keywords: | Congestion; Bottleneck; Scheduling; Congestion pricing; Parking; Reliability |
| JEL: | R41 R48 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:irv:wpaper:141506&r=tre |
| By: | Aggelos AGGELAKAKIS (CERTH/HIT); Joao Bernardino (TIS); Maria Boile (CERTH/HIT); Panayotis Christidis (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Ana Condeco (European Commission – JRC - IPTS); Michael Krail (Fraunhofer ISI); Anestis Papanikolaou (CERTH/HIT); Max Reichenbach (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology- ITAS); Jens Schippl (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology- ITAS) |
| Abstract: | This publication aims to bridge the gap between the analysis of the trends in the European transport system and the evaluation of their impacts on competitiveness. Specifically, this report presents the future challenges, demand drivers and upcoming innovations which can have a considerable impact on the global demand patterns for the passenger and freight transport and how this might affect the competitiveness of related industries and service providers. Emphasis is given to targeted research strategies. The goal is to investigate the challenges for the European transport sector in the long term, in order to develop the suitable strategic options for European transport research policy. |
| Keywords: | transport, industry, competitiveness, research |
| JEL: | L90 L99 R23 R40 R49 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:iptwpa:jrc93544&r=tre |
| By: | Thomas Michielsen; Reyer Gerlagh; Inge van den Bijgaart; Hans Nijland |
| Abstract: | To what extent have national fiscal policies contributed to the decarbonisation of newly sold passenger cars? We construct a simple model that generates predictions regarding the effect of fiscal policies on average CO<sub>2</sub> emissions of new cars, and then test the model empirically. Our empirical strategy combines a diverse series of data. First, we use a large database of vehicleâ€specific taxes in 15 EU countries over 2001â€2010 to construct a measure for the vehicle registration and annual road tax levels, and separately, for the CO<sub>2</sub> sensitivity of these taxes. We find that for many countries the fiscal policies have become more sensitive to CO<sub>2</sub> emissions of new cars. We then use these constructed measures to estimate the effect of fiscal policies on the CO<sub>2</sub> emissions of the new car fleet. The increased CO<sub>2</sub>â€sensitivity of registration taxes have reduced the CO2 emission intensity of the average new car by 1,3 percent, partly through an induced increase of the share of dieselâ€fuelled cars by 6,5 percentage points. Higher fuel taxes lead to the purchase of more fuel efficient cars, but higher annual road taxes have no or an adverse effect. Key Words: vehicle registration taxes, fuel taxes, CO<sub>2</sub> emissions |
| JEL: | H30 L62 Q48 Q54 Q58 R48 |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpb:discus:302&r=tre |
| By: | Tarasov, Alexander; Felbermayr, Gabriel |
| Abstract: | This paper endogenizes the spatial distribution of infrastructure investment and transportation costs. Transportation costs between two addresses depend on cumulative infrastructure investment. In a continuous space setting with several independent countries or regions, consumers demand domestic and foreign goods, while central planners care only about welfare of their own constituencies. The equilibrium of the game between countries features under-investment and excessive spatial variation. The distribution of infrastructure is skewed towards central regions, rationalizing the non-linear trade-impeding role of distance in empirical gravity models and the so called border puzzle. We find that the endogenous allocation of infrastructure investment magnifies small discrete border frictions and creates `border regions' within countries. Privatizing infrastructure provision does not solve the problem. French data on transportation costs and an empirical gravity model for trade between US states motivate and corroborate our theory. |
| JEL: | F11 R42 R13 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:vfsc14:100511&r=tre |
| By: | Plötz, Patrick; Funke, Simon; Jochem, Patrick |
| Abstract: | Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) combine electric propulsion with an internal combustion engine. Their potential to reduce transport related green-house gas emissions highly depends on their actual usage and electricity provision. Various studies underline their environmental and economic advantages, but are based on standardised driving cycles, simulations or small PHEV fleets. Here, we analyse real-world fuel economy of PHEV and the factors influencing it based on about 2,000 actual PHEV that have been observed over more than a year in the U.S. and Germany. We find that real-world fuel economy of PHEV differ widely among users. The main factors explaining this variation are the annual mileage, the regularity of daily driving, and the likelihood of long-distance trips. Current test cycle fuel economy ratings neglect these factors. Despite the broad range of PHEV fuel economies, the test cycle fuel economy ratings can be close to empiric PHEV fleet averages if the average annual mileage is about 17,000 km. For the largest group of PHEV in our data, the Chevrolet Volt, we find the average fuel economy to be 1.45 litres/100 km at an average electric driving share of 78%. The resulting real-world tank-to-wheel CO2 emissions of these PHEV are 42 gCO2/km and the annual CO2 savings in the U.S. amount to about 50 Mt. In conclusion, the variance of empirical PHEV fuel economy is considerably higher than of conventional vehicles. This should be taken into account by future test cycles and high electric driving shares should be incentivised. |
| Keywords: | electric vehicles,plug-in hybrid electric vehicles,real-world fuel economy,utility factor |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fisisi:s12015&r=tre |
| By: | Alfredo Marvão Pereira (Department of Economics, The College of William and Mary); Rui M. Pereira (Department of Economics, The College of William and Mary) |
| Abstract: | In this paper we analyze the effects of infrastructure investment on economic performance in Portugal using a newly developed data set. We employ a vector autoregressive approach to estimate the elasticity and marginal products of investments on twelve different types of infrastructure investment on private investment, employment and output. We find that the largest long-term accumulated effects come from investments in railroads, ports, airports, health, education, and telecommunications. For all of these infrastructures, the output multipliers are sizable enough to suggest that these investments would pay for themselves in the form of additional tax revenues. We find also that for investments in airports and health infrastructures the bulk of the effects are short-term demand side effects while for railroads and health the bulk of the effects come from long-term supply side effects. Finally, investments in health and airports show a clear pattern of decreasing marginal returns with railroads, ports, and telecommunications showing a relative stable pattern. In terms of the other infrastructure assets, we find that the economic effects of investments in municipal roads, highways, and electricity and gas are not significant or relevant. Investments in national roads, waste and waste water, and refinery infrastructures have positive economic effects but not large enough to also have a positive budgetary effects. Clearly, not all infrastructure investments are created equal along several and rather relevant dimensions from a policy perspective. |
| Keywords: | Infrastructure Investment, Multipliers, Economic Performance, Budgetary Effects, VAR, Portugal. |
| JEL: | C32 E22 E62 H54 H60 O47 O52 |
| Date: | 2015–02–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cwm:wpaper:156&r=tre |
| By: | Marco Francesconi; Jonathan James |
| Abstract: | We estimate the effect of binge drinking on accident and emergency attendances, road accidents, arrests and the number of police officers on duty using a variety of unique data from Britain and a two-sample minimum distance estimation procedure. Our estimates, which reveal sizeable effects of bingeing on all outcomes, are then used to monetize the short-term externalities of binge drinking. We find that these externalities are on average £4.9 billion per year ($7 billion), about £80 for each man, woman and child liing in the UK. The price that internailizes this externality is equivalent to an additional 9p per alcoholic unit, implying a 20% increase with respect to the current avarage prices. |
| Date: | 2015–02–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esx:essedp:760&r=tre |