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on Transport Economics |
| By: | Bushnell, James PhD; Mazzone, Daniel; Smith, Aaron; Witcover, Julie |
| Abstract: | California’s low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) specifies that the state’s transportation fuel supply achieve a 20% reduction in carbon intensity (CI) below 2011 levels by 2030. Reaching the standard will require substantive changes in the fuel mix, but the specifics and the cost of these changes are uncertain. We assess if and how California is likely to achieve the standard, and the likely impact of infrastructure credits on this compliance outlook. We begin by projecting a distribution of fuel and vehicle miles demand under business-as-usual economic and policy variation and transform those projections into a distribution of LCFS net deficits for the entire period from 2019 through 2030. We then construct a variety of scenarios characterizing LCFS credit supply that consider different assumptions regarding input markets, technological adoption over the compliance period, and the efficacy of complementary policies. In our baseline scenario for credit generation, LCFS compliance would require that between 60% and 80% of the diesel pool be produced from biomass. Our baseline projections have the number of electric vehicles reaching 1.3 million by 2030, but if the number of electric vehicles reaches Governor Jerry Brown’s goal of 5 million by 2030, then LCFS compliance would require substantially less biomass-based diesel. Outside of rapid zero emission vehicle penetration, compliance in 2030 with the $200 credit price may be much more difficult. New mechanisms to allow firms to generate credits by building electric vehicle charging stations or hydrogen fueling stations have minor implications for overall compliance because the total quantity of infrastructure credits is restricted to be relatively small. |
| Keywords: | Engineering, Biomass fuels, hydrogen fuels, energy resources, renewable energy sources, greenhouse gases, carbon taxes, incentives, zero emission vehicles, low carbon fuel standards |
| Date: | 2020–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt7sk9628s&r=all |
| By: | Dennis Gaus; Heike Link |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we analyze the impact of transportation infrastructure quantity and quality on regional economic production. We exploit an extensive panel dataset on the German county level (N=401), expressing the capital value and condition of highways between 2007 and 2016, to estimate a spatially extended translog production function. The spatial specification uses SLX and SDEM models, with various linear and nonlinear variants estimated using FGLS and GMM estimators accounting for endogeneity. We find, in line with existing research, a positive impact of the quantity of transport infrastructure both locally and supra-regionally. We furthermore provide evidence for the claim that insufficient maintenance and low infrastructure conditions significantly slow economic growth through a negative correlation between GDP and the quality grade of highways. A more detailed analysis, distinguishing different types of highways and constructions, confirms these findings and underlines the importance of the Bundesstraßen network as compared to the Autobahn system. The estimated impact of the quality of bridges is rather ambiguous and requires further research to achieve a better understanding. |
| Keywords: | Transport; Infrastructure; Public Capital; Economic Growth; Regional Development |
| JEL: | O18 R12 R42 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwwpp:dp1848&r=all |
| By: | Banick,Robert Steven; Kawasoe,Yasuhiro |
| Abstract: | Simple linear distances between origin and destination poorly describe travel in Nepal, where rugged terrain, underdeveloped transportation infrastructure, and diverse vegetation heavily influence favorable travel routes. In this context, expected travel times explain more about the remoteness of starting locations than geographic distance. Applied to service facilities, these time?based measures of remoteness amount to measures of physical accessibility to services. However, traditional survey?based measures of time suffer from problems of inaccurate reporting and standard survey error. Instead, this study built a geographic information system?based cost time model of travel that enables more accurate and generalizable assessment of accessibility. Having validated the generic model and compared it with other popular metrics, the study demonstrates its value by inputting a variety of services into it. This paper provides descriptive analyses of accessibility trends to these services at national, provincial, municipal, and geographic scales and suggests research possibilities unlocked by such a general purpose model. The paper concludes with thoughts for how the data and analysis, both freely available public goods, can enable additional research and better policy making. |
| Keywords: | ICT Policy and Strategies,Transport Services,Inequality,Health Care Services Industry,Educational Sciences |
| Date: | 2019–08–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:8966&r=all |
| By: | Peralta Quiros,Tatiana; Kerzhner,Tamara; Avner,Paolo |
| Abstract: | This paper presents an analysis of transit accessibility to employment for 11 African cities. The use of identical methodologies and similar data sets allows for the creation of the first benchmark to compare accessibility across urban areas in Africa through different metrics and visuals. The study shows how the spatial pattern of land use and transport systems perform in connecting people to employment opportunities in these various settings. This first comparable benchmark is achieved by overcoming two significant data hurdles that are common in many developing country cities and in Africa in particular: (i) the scarcity of information on the distribution of employment and (ii) the lack of information on transit routes and travel times. These data gaps are filled through a novel methodology to estimate the distribution of employment in urban areas (Employment Opportunity Areas) as well as a comprehensive mapping of informal transit networks. The analysis developed here can be replicated in different cities in the future. The computation of these baseline accessibility studies also opens up the possibility to assess the impacts of future transport investments and/or land use changes, through the use of counterfactual scenarios, which could assist decision makers in these cities. Finally, this analysis can serve as a demonstration that the computation of accessibility metrics is achievable, including in data scarce environments, and should be considered as a progress indicator for Sustainable Development Goal 11.2, which focuses on safe and affordable transport for all, including public transport. |
| Date: | 2019–08–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:8971&r=all |
| By: | Federico Barra (Social, Urban, Rural & Resilience Global Practice, World Bank); Claudia Berg (Research Department, Development Macro Unit, International Monetary Fund); Philip Verwimp (ECARES and Centre Emile Bernheim at Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management) |
| Abstract: | The nexus of conflict, transportation costs, and poverty is one which has received scant attention in the literature. This paper explores the effect of conflict on poverty in Nigeria, taking accessibility into account. The analysis relies on household data from the Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) and on conflict data from Armed Conflict Location Events Dataset (ACLED). To account for methodological challenges in the conflict data, we implement a ‘hot spot’ strategy whereby incidents within a limited geographic area over time are grouped. To address the potential endogeneity of conflict, we use past incidences of violence to instrument for more recent conflict. Transport costs are instrumented using the natural path, the time it takes to reach the market absent any roads. We find that decreasing transportation costs decreases multidimensional poverty and that its impact is stronger in areas of low conflict. We also find suggestive evidence that conflict and poverty are negatively correlated in Nigeria. |
| Keywords: | Multi-dimensional poverty, conflict, Nigeria, geospatial JEL Classification: O1, I3, L9 |
| Date: | 2018–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hic:wpaper:278&r=all |
| By: | Nitsch, Volker; Ahlfeldt, Gabriel M.; Wendland, Nicolai |
| Abstract: | For a complete cost‐benefit analysis of durable infrastructures, it is important to understand how the value of non‐market goods such as transit time and environmental quality changes as incomes rise in the long‐run. We use difference‐in‐differences and spatial differencing to estimate the land price capitalization effects of metro rail in Berlin, Germany today and a century ago. Over this period, the negative implicit hedonic price of rail noise tripled. Our results imply income elasticities of the value of noise reduction and transport access of 2.2 and 1.4, substantially exceeding cross‐sectional contingent valuation estimates. |
| Date: | 2019–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dar:wpaper:117314&r=all |
| By: | Amenta, Nina; Sanguinetti, Angela |
| Abstract: | This study explores the potential to promote lower-emissions air travel by providing consumers with information about the carbon emissions of alternative flight choices in the context of online flight search and booking. Researchers surveyed over 450 UC Davis faculty, researchers, and staff, asking them to choose among hypothetical flight options for university-related business trips. Emissions estimates for flight alternatives were prominently displayed alongside cost, layovers and airport, and the lowest-emissions flight was labeled “Greenest Flight”. The researchers found an impressive rate of willingness to pay for lower-emissions flights: around $200/ton of CO2E saved, a magnitude higher than that seen in carbon offsets programs. They also found that displaying carbon information encouraged Davis employees to choose nonstop (lower-emissions) flights, when available, from a more distant airport over indirect flights from their preferred airport for medium-distance flights. In a second step of analysis, they estimated the carbon and cost impacts for UC Davis business travel if the university were to adopt a flight-search interface that prioritizes carbon emissions information and displays alternatives from multiple regional airports in their employee travel-booking portal. Based on the choice models from the survey data, a year’s worth of actual employee air travel data, and data collected on flight alternatives with respect to the flights chosen by employees, they estimated potential annual savings of more than 79 tons of CO2E, and a more impressive $56,000 reduction in airfare costs, due to an increased willingness of travelers to take advantage of cheaper (often nonstop) flight options out of SFO. Broader university policies encouraging lower-emissions flights and enhanced public transportation within the multi-airport mega-region would likely support much greater carbon savings. Institutionalizing this “nudge” within organizations with large travel budgets, like the UC system, could have an industry-wide impact in aviation. View the NCST Project Webpage |
| Keywords: | Engineering, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Carbon emissions, air travel, flight search, online travel booking, eco-feedback |
| Date: | 2020–02–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt5n53672m&r=all |
| By: | Bauernschuster, Stefan (University of Passau); Rekers, Ramona (University of Passau) |
| Abstract: | We study the impact on road safety of one-day massive speed limit monitoring operations (SLMO) accompanied by media campaigns that announce the SLMO and provide information on the dangers of speeding. Using register data on the universe of police reported accidents in a generalized difference-in-differences approach, we find that SLMO reduce traffic accidents and casualties by eight percent. Yet, immediately after the SLMO day, all effects vanish. Further evidence suggests that people drive more slowly and responsibly on SLMO days to avoid fines; providing information on the dangers of speeding does not alter driving behavior in a more sustainable way. |
| Keywords: | traffic, law enforcement, safety, accidents |
| JEL: | H76 K42 R41 |
| Date: | 2019–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp12863&r=all |
| By: | Iimi,Atsushi |
| Abstract: | In recent years, there has been renewed interest in access to jobs in relation to transport connectivity. In Sub-Saharan Africa, about 14 million working age people are added to the labor market every year. Ensuring sustained access to jobs seems to be a prerequisite for inclusive and robust economic growth. The paper examines the impact of public transit connectivity on access to jobs, especially focusing on wages. Using data from Antananarivo, Madagascar, it is shown that the wages earned by commuters are systematically higher than the wages earned by those who decided not to commute and are self-employed or engaged with family businesses around their neighborhood. Proximity to public transport, especially taxi-be, is important to promote people's access to jobs. It is also found that there is a substantial gender inequality in wages in the country: Women are more likely to use buses to commute, and yet, they earn less than men. In addition, the poor tend to benefit less from public transportation. Public bus services are affordable, however, the quality of the services may remain low. |
| Keywords: | Transport Services,Labor Markets,Urban Transport,Transport in Urban Areas,Urban Housing,Urban Governance and Management,Municipal Management and Reform,Urban Housing and Land Settlements,Transport Economics Policy&Planning |
| Date: | 2019–08–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:8959&r=all |
| By: | Eduardo Engel; Ronald D. Fischer; Alexander Galetovic |
| Abstract: | Public-private partnerships (PPPs) have emerged as a new organizational form to provide public infrastructure over the last 30 years. Governments find them attractive because PPPs can be used to avoid fiscal check-and-balances and increase spending. At the same time, PPPs can lead to important efficiency gains, especially for transportation infrastructure. These gains include better maintenance, reduced bureaucratic costs, and filtering white elephants. For these gains to materialize, it is necessary to deal with the governance of PPPs, which is more demanding than for the public provision of infrastructure. The governance can be improved by the use of contracts with appropriate risk allocation and by avoiding opportunistic renegotiations, which have been pervasive. The good news is that, based on the experience with PPPs over the last three decades, we have learnt how to address these challenges. |
| JEL: | H11 H42 H83 |
| Date: | 2020–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:26766&r=all |
| By: | Nitsch, Volker |
| Abstract: | Politicians travel a lot, for various reasons. The types of trips to foreign countries range, for instance, from a formal, highly‐orchestrated, multi‐day visit to brief logistical stop‐overs, from the regular exchange of information during official talks in a working environment to ceremonial visits. This chapter reviews selected issues in the analysis of the economic effects of foreign travels by politicians. It starts by highlighting possible differences in the effects dependent on the visitor’s official position. Next, it is emphasized that only few travels, dependent on their purpose, may be economically relevant. Finally, issues related to the choice of the travel destination are discussed. |
| Date: | 2018–03–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dar:wpaper:95080&r=all |
| By: | Natesan, Sumeetha R.; Dutta, Goutam |
| Abstract: | The increase in competition among the vehicle insurance sectors has increased the number of policy options available in the market. This study focuses on the development of a utility function for these policies that will aid policy holders and potential investors in comparing them based on various attributes. A comparison of various vehicle insurance policies can help the customers to compare and choose a vehicle insurance that is suitable to them. Although there are several methods for developing a utility function, in this study, we intend to develop a linear utility model for vehicle insurance policies using two approaches: Logarithmic Goal Programming Model (LGPM) and Conjoint Analysis Method (CAM). We propose to compare the similarities and differences between the results obtained from LGPM and CAM approaches, used for developing the utility function for vehicle insurance policies. We also derive a choice probability of the vehicles insurance policies available in market by developing a multinomial logit choice model. We also study the consistency indicators of the respondents. We will provide useful insights for the use both approaches as research tools. |
| Date: | 2020–02–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iim:iimawp:14618&r=all |
| By: | Fabien Leurent (LVMT - Laboratoire Ville, Mobilité, Transport - IFSTTAR - Institut Français des Sciences et Technologies des Transports, de l'Aménagement et des Réseaux - UPEM - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech, ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech); François Combes (LVMT - Laboratoire Ville, Mobilité, Transport - IFSTTAR - Institut Français des Sciences et Technologies des Transports, de l'Aménagement et des Réseaux - UPEM - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech); Rob van Nes (TU Delft - Delft University of Technology) |
| Abstract: | The paper provides a synthetic, "strategic" model of transit systems in urban areas that features out a set of modes, quality of service and terminal access, demand and network usage by users' trips, with some hints of spatial heterogeneity. The model encompasses technical relationships relating fleet size and design parameters such as infrastructure length and station spacing, to frequency, commercial speed and access distance, hence to wait time, running time and access/egress time. Economic features are modelled, too: generalized costs to individual users, demand elasticity, supply costs and system welfare. The model can be used for synthetic statistical description of real-world systems as well as for economic analysis and the assessment of given system states against theoretical references. After introducing the model elements and relationships, we put forward a causal diagram that synthesizes the system under study and constitutes the model architecture. We then turn to mathematical analysis to formalize (i) the determination of a system state on the basis of a supply plan, technical relationships and demand behaviour, (ii) the optimisation of system welfare with respect to the action levers on the supply side. Next, for an uncongested system we establish theoretical conditions for both an optimum system state under fixed demand and a second best optimum under variable demand and tariffs. Three "golden rules" for transit network design and management are established, namely (i) balancing the rolling stock costs and the users' costs of waiting time, (ii) balancing the station costs plus the value to users of the dwelling part of their in-network times, against the users' costs of "longitudinal" access times, (iii) balancing the full supply costs and the users' costs of "transversal" access times. Furthermore, the existence and uniqueness of a System Optimum state are proven and a solution scheme is provided. |
| Date: | 2020–01–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-02462463&r=all |
| By: | Jean Bertrand Gauthier (Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz); Stefan Irnich (Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz) |
| Abstract: | Radius search is an effective neighborhood exploration technique for standard edge-exchange neighborhoods such as 2-opt, 2-opt*, swap, relocation, Or-opt, string exchange, etc. Up to now, it has only been used for vehicle routing problems with a homogeneous fleet and in the single-depot context. In this work, we extend dynamic-radius search to the multi-depot vehicle routing problem, in which 2-opt and 2-opt* moves may involve routes from different depots. To this end, we equip dynamic-radius search with a modified pruning criterion that still guarantees identifying a best-improving move, either intra-depot or inter-depot, with little additional computational effort. We experimentally confirm that substantial speedups of factors of 100 and more are observed compared to an also optimized implementation of lexicographic search, another effective neighborhood exploration technique using a feasibility-based pruning criterion. Moreover, the computational results show that depot swapping strongly favors heuristic solution quality, especially for multi-depot configurations where depots are not located close to each other. |
| Keywords: | Vehicle routing, Local search, Sequential search, Dynamic-radius search, Inter-depot |
| Date: | 2020–02–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jgu:wpaper:2004&r=all |
| By: | Ahlfeldt, Gabriel M.; Nitsch, Volker; Wendland, Nicolai |
| Date: | 2019–02–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dar:wpaper:119276&r=all |
| By: | Fabien Leurent (LVMT - Laboratoire Ville, Mobilité, Transport - IFSTTAR - Institut Français des Sciences et Technologies des Transports, de l'Aménagement et des Réseaux - UPEM - Université Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech) |
| Date: | 2020–01–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-02460977&r=all |