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on Transport Economics |
| By: | Batsirai Brian Matanhire (Financial Analyst / Economist Cambridge Resource International Inc.) |
| Abstract: | Road infrastructure is of vital importance for the economic development of a country. Roads facilitate the movement of people, goods, services and resources. Traditionally, public infrastructure such as roads has been provided using national budgetary resources. Over time the participation of the private sector has increased in the procurement and provision of road infrastructure. Public authorities have been partnering with the private sector due to the limitation of capital to undertake such projects. Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) of various forms have been used extensively in road transportation projects as an alternative to state and local government procurement and provision of road infrastructure. The objective of this study is to undertake an integrated investment appraisal of a proposed PPP toll road project in the Southern African country of Zimbabwe using Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA). |
| Keywords: | Infrastructure, Toll Road, Public-Private Partnership, Cost Benefit Analysis, Zimbabwe |
| JEL: | D61 H54 L92 R42 |
| Date: | 2019–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qed:dpaper:4517&r=all |
| By: | Kenneth Gillingham (Yale University, United States); Sebastien Houde (ETH Zurich, Switzerland); Arthur A. van Benthem (University of Pennsylvania, United States) |
| Abstract: | A central question in the analysis of fuel-economy policy is whether consumers are myopic with regards to future fuel costs. We provide the first evidence on consumer valuation of fuel economy from a natural experiment. We examine the short-run equilibrium effects of an exogenous restatement of fuel-economy ratings that affected 1.6 million vehicles. Using the implied changes in willingness-to-pay, we find that consumers act myopically: consumers are indifferent between $1 in discounted fuel costs and 15-38 cents in the vehicle purchase price when discounting at 4%. This myopia persists under a wide range of assumptions. |
| Keywords: | fuel economy, vehicles, myopia, undervaluation, regulation |
| JEL: | D12 H25 L11 L62 L71 Q4 |
| Date: | 2019–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eth:wpswif:19-321&r=all |
| By: | Stef Proost; Mads Greaker; Cathrine Hagem (Statistics Norway) |
| Abstract: | Higher battery storage capacity in electric vehicles (EV) can potentially serve two purposes: First, the larger the capacity, the less need for inconvenient recharging during long trips. Second, the larger the capacity, the larger the potential gains from vehicle-to-grid (V2G) electricity supply during peak prices or during periods of imbalance. We present an analytical model for the intertwinement of the consumers’ choice of battery capacity and the potential for supplying power to the electricity market. We show that V2G increases the consumers’ choice of battery capacity, and it may reduce the cost of owning an EV vis-à-vis a traditional car. Furthermore, V2G alleviates the capacity pressure on peak hours, and thereby reduces the need for investment in backup power, saving social costs. Based on a future scenario for the Belgian electricity market, we provide a numerical illustration indicating that the savings may be substantial. |
| Keywords: | Electric vehicles; Vehicle-to-grid; V2G; Electricity market |
| JEL: | Q41 Q42 Q54 R42 |
| Date: | 2019–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:903&r=all |
| By: | Kenneth Gillingham; Fedor Iskhakov; Anders Munk-Nielsen; John P. Rust; Bertel Schjerning |
| Abstract: | We introduce a computationally tractable dynamic equilibrium model of the automobile market where new and used cars of multiple types (e.g. makes/models) are traded by heterogeneous consumers. Prices and quantities are determined endogenously to equate supply and demand for all car types and vintages, along with the ages at which cars are scrapped. The model allows for transactions costs, taxes, flexible specifications of car characteristics, consumer preferences, and heterogeneity. We apply the model to two examples: a revenue-neutral replacement of the new vehicle registration tax with a higher fuel tax and a hypothetical “merger to monopoly” in an oligopolistic new car market. We show substantial gains in consumer welfare from the tax policy change, as well as important effects on government revenues, automobile prices, driving, fuel consumption and CO 2 emissions, while the merger leads to substantial welfare losses. |
| JEL: | L9 L98 Q4 Q5 R4 |
| Date: | 2019–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:25840&r=all |
| By: | Geir H. M. Bjertnæs (Statistics Norway) |
| Abstract: | This study calculates efficient taxes on fuel and road use designed to combat driving related externalities. The study shows that the efficient road user charge on fuel is below the marginal mileage-related damage to prevent tax avoidance due to an excessive economic driving-style. The current US tax rate on gasoline is way below the efficient tax rate while the current UK rate is slightly above the efficient rate in this case. The efficient tax on fuels exceeds the marginal damage of CO2- emissions to promote an economic driving-style when the tax is combined with a GPS-based tax on road use. The efficient GPS-based tax rate on road use is reduced below the marginal damage of mileage-related externalities in this case. |
| Keywords: | Transportation; optimal taxation; environmental taxation; global warming |
| JEL: | H2 H21 H23 Q58 R48 |
| Date: | 2019–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssb:dispap:905&r=all |
| By: | Wu, Guoyuan; Ye, Fei; Hao, Peng; Esaid, Danial; Boriboonsomsin, Kanok; Barth, Matthew J. |
| Abstract: | Eco-driving strategies based on connected and automated vehicles (CAV) technology, such as Eco-Approach and Departure (EAD), have attracted significant worldwide interest due to their potential to save energy and reduce tail-pipe emissions. In this project, the research team developed and tested a deep learning–based trajectory-planning algorithm (DLTPA) for EAD. The DLTPA has two processes: offline (training) and online (implementation), and it is composed of two major modules: 1) a solution feasibility checker that identifies whether there is a feasible trajectory subject to all the system constraints, e.g., maximum acceleration or deceleration; and 2) a regressor to predict the speed of the next time-step. Preliminary simulation with microscopic traffic modeling software PTV VISSIM showed that the proposed DLTPA can achieve the optimal solution in terms of energy savings and a greater balance of energy savings vs. computational efforts when compared to the baseline scenarios where no EAD is implemented and the optimal solution (in terms of energy savings) is provided by a graph-based trajectory planning algorithm. View the NCST Project Webpage |
| Keywords: | Engineering, Eco-driving, deep-learning, energy and emissions, VISSIM |
| Date: | 2019–05–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt9fz140zt&r=all |
| By: | Liehui Wang; Yuanbo Zheng; César Ducruet (GC - Géographie-cités - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - UPD7 - Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Fan Zhang |
| Abstract: | After the the Belt and Road initiative launched in 2013, Chinese terminal operators invested in ports situated along the "21st- century Maritime Silk Road (MSR)". Identifying which ports are important is made possible through applying complex network methods and GIS analysis. This paper thus identifies strategic hub ports and investment strategies along the MSR. Our main conclusions are as follows. (1) In 2017, the ports with the greatest contact with China were located in the Southeast Asian and European shipping areas. (2) The overseas invested terminals of Chinese terminal operators are mainly concentrated in European and the Mediterranean Sea. Although the connection between China and Southeast Asia is strengthening, terminal operations in Southeast Asia did not expand significantly in the past 12 years. (3) The ports of Singapore, Kelang, Manila (Asia), Rotterdam, Hamburg (Europe), Suez and Port Said (Mediterranean and Red Sea), Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney (Oceania) are the ports of major concern for current and future investment by Chinese terminal operators. |
| Keywords: | Maritime Silk Road,port competition,terminal operators,terminal investment,investment direction,shipping networks |
| Date: | 2019–04–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-02092097&r=all |
| By: | Nikhil Garg; Hamid Nazerzadeh |
| Abstract: | Uber and Lyft ride-hailing marketplaces use dynamic pricing, often called surge, to balance the supply of available drivers with the demand for rides. We study pricing mechanisms for such marketplaces from the perspective of drivers, presenting the theoretical foundation that has informed the design of Uber's new additive driver surge mechanism. We present a dynamic stochastic model to capture the impact of surge pricing on driver earnings and their strategies to maximize such earnings. In this setting, some time periods (surge) are more valuable than others (non-surge), and so trips of different time lengths vary in the opportunity cost they impose on drivers. First, we show that multiplicative surge, historically the standard on ride-hailing platforms, is not incentive compatible in a dynamic setting. We then propose a structured, incentive-compatible pricing mechanism. This closed-form mechanism has a simple form, and is well-approximated by Uber's new additive surge mechanism. |
| Date: | 2019–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1905.07544&r=all |
| By: | Del Chiappa, Giacomo; Balboni, Bernardo |
| Abstract: | The topics of disintermediation and re-intermediation, both offline and online, have captured the attention of researchers and practitioners alike. Relying on an information search perspective, this study aims to identify which factors (i.e. different socio-demographic characteristics and travel-related variables) best predict whether a traveller will seek information from a travel agency or from a service provider (i.e. information source choice) and if this will be done face to face or through the Internet (i.e. choice of communication channel). Contribution to the body of knowledge and managerial implications are discussed and suggestions for future research are given. |
| Keywords: | Information source; information channel; disintermediation; short-haul travelling; Italy |
| JEL: | L83 L86 M31 R41 |
| Date: | 2019–04–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:93998&r=all |
| By: | Thigpen, Calvin |
| Abstract: | Efforts to encourage bicycling to school can achieve numerous societal benefits, including improved childhood health, reduced traffic congestion, and even long-term effects such as increased bicycling skill and attitudes. Most of the literature on children bicycling to school focuses on the influence of infrastructure interventions, yet relatively few studies have robustly evaluated the influence of encouragement efforts. This study seeks to examine the effects of three encouragement efforts undertaken at primary and secondary schools in Davis, California: the Active4.me scanning program, the Monkey Money incentive system, and the national Bike-to-School Day celebration. I use a binomial regression to statistically analyze bicycle rack count data and Safe Routes to School classroom tallies collected by city employees and local volunteers. After accounting for the schools’ physical environment and characteristics, as well as the influence of weather and the natural environment, I find that all three of the encouragement efforts increase levels of bicycling to school. I conclude by suggesting that these encouragement programs have the potential for lasting influence by providing children with the skills and confidence to bicycle later in life. I also note the value of further state support for the parent volunteers who operate these encouragement programs, in order to allow the spread of similar encouragement programs across a variety of cities, including disadvantaged communities. |
| Keywords: | Social and Behavioral Sciences, Bicycling, School travel, Encouragement, Incentives, Bike to School Day |
| Date: | 2019–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt74x2j6ng&r=all |
| By: | Waterson, Michael (University of Warwick); Xie, Jian (University of Warwick) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the London bus market, a large market with regular procurement of bus services, for possible collusion using a wide variety of techniques, making use of the data at our disposal. There is little evidence of collusion in bidding for contracts apparent from our data, despite some features of the market that might lead to collusive behaviour. |
| Keywords: | Cartel behaviour ; Procurement ; Detecting Cartels ; Bus market |
| JEL: | D44 L41 L92 D22 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wrk:warwec:1195&r=all |