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on Transport Economics |
| By: | Sauter, Verena; Speth, Daniel; Plötz, Patrick; Signer, Tim |
| Abstract: | Facing climate change, The European Union has set ambitious greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets. Within Europe, heavy-duty vehicles (HDV) account for a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector and therefore plays a central role in achieving the climate targets. A potential solution to reduce GHG emissions is the use of battery electric vehicles (BEV). However, the limited range of BEV requires a European public fast-charging network to ensure widespread deployment of BEV. Here, European road freight transport flows are modelled based on the publicly available European Transport policy Information System (ETISplus) dataset. The resulting truck flows serve as input for a charging infrastructure network model. Potential charging stations are located using a coverage-oriented approach and sized according to a queuing model such that an average waiting time of five minutes is guaranteed at each location. Our results show that for a share of 15% BEV in HDV stock and a dense network with charging locations every 50 km, a total of 4,067 charging points at 1,640 locations are required by 2030. In contrast, with a share of 5% BEV and charging locations every 100 km, 1,715 charging points are needed at 812 locations. Our findings provide insights for the design of a public fastcharging network in Europe and thus supports the planning of future infrastructure projects. |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fisisi:s022021&r= |
| By: | Andres Fielbaum; Alejandro Tirachini; Javier Alonso-Mora |
| Abstract: | On-demand ridepooling (ODRP) can become a powerful alternative to reduce congestion and emissions, if it attracts private car users rather than from public transport. Therefore, it is crucial to identify the strategic phenomena that determine when ODRP systems can run efficiently, and understand when they could be integrated into a public transport network. In this paper, we analyze the performance of an ODRP system operated in a zone covered by a single public transport line. The fleet of low-capacity vehicles is endogenously adapted to the demand. Considering both users' and operators' costs, we identify two sources of scale economies: when demand grows, the average cost is reduced due to an equivalent of the Mohring Effect (that is present in public transport), and due to matching the users in more compatible groups when they are assigned to the vehicles, which we call Better-matching Effect. A counter-balance force, called Flex-route Effect, is observed when the vehicle loads increase and users face longer detours. We find a specific demand range in which this last effect dominates the others, imposing diseconomies of scale when only users' costs are considered. Such a phenomenon is not observed in public transport systems based on fixed routes. However, when considering both users' and operators' costs, scale economies prevail. We compare the ODRP results against public transport, for a feeder line and a circular line with homogeneous demand. We show that ODRP is more competitive when users share a common destination (the feeder line) and when the demand is low, although scale effects suggest that ODRP can also play a role when the demand is high. Relaxing door-to-door vehicle requirements to allow short walks, is shown to be crucial for ODRP to become a viable alternative for both human-driven and automated vehicles, if the ODRP must serve all requests. |
| Date: | 2021–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2106.15270&r= |
| By: | Panle Jia Barwick; Shanjun Li; Andrew R. Waxman; Jing Wu; Tianli Xia |
| Abstract: | We estimate an equilibrium model of residential sorting with endogenous traffic congestion to evaluate the efficiency and equity impacts of urban transportation policies. Leveraging fine-scale data on household travel diaries and housing transactions with home and work locations in Beijing, we jointly estimate travel mode and residential location decisions. The estimation highlights the importance of incorporating work commute in housing decisions and features preference heterogeneity for the ease of work commute by gender. Counterfactual simulations show that while different policies can attain the same level of congestion reduction, their impacts on residential sorting and social welfare are drastically different. First, a driving restriction intensifies income-stratified urban structure where high-income households live closer to subway and work. Distance-based congestion pricing reduces the spatial separation between residence and workplace across income levels, while subway expansion does the opposite. Second, residential sorting strengthens the effectiveness of congestion pricing in improving traffic conditions but undermines that of the driving restriction and subway expansion. Third, the driving restriction is welfare reducing as it leads to large distortions on travel choices. Congestion pricing improves welfare but is regressive, highlighting the need to recycle revenue to address the associated equity concern. Finally, congestion pricing and subway expansion when combined deliver the largest congestion relief and efficiency gain and at the same time achieve self-financing, with revenue from congestion pricing fully covering the cost of subway expansion. |
| JEL: | H23 R3 R41 R48 R51 |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29012&r= |
| By: | He, Qian; Rowangould, Dana; Karner, Alex; Palm, Matthew; LaRue, Seth |
| Abstract: | The Covid-19 pandemic has decimated public transit service across the United States and caused significant decreases in ridership. Adapting to the pandemic has been more challenging for some transit riders than for others. Little is known about the reasons for pandemic-era mode shifts and the impacts of pandemic-related transit reductions on riders’ day-to-day lives. Using a national survey of U.S. transit riders (n=500), this study examines changes in transit use since the pandemic began, the reasons for transit reductions, and the effects of reduced transit use and transit service on transit riders’ ability to meet their travel needs. The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing transportation burdens for essential transit riders, pointing to shortcomings inherent in current transit financing policy. We close with recommendations for strengthening the transit service for these groups in the long term as we recover from the pandemic. |
| Date: | 2021–07–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:3km9y&r= |
| By: | Alexey Gubin; Valeri Lipunov; Mattia Masolletti |
| Abstract: | The authors of the article analyze the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on the transport and logistics sector. The research is interdisciplinary in nature. The purpose of the study is to identify and briefly characterize new trends in the field of transport and cargo transportation in post-COVID conditions. |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2107.00390&r= |
| By: | Sharat Ganapati; Woan Foong Wong; Oren Ziv |
| Abstract: | Entrepôts are hubs that facilitate trade between multiple origins and destinations. We study these entrepôts, the network they form, and their impact on international trade. We document that the trade network is a hub-and-spoke system, where 80% of trade is shipped indirectly—nearly all via entrepôts. We estimate indirect-shipping consistent trade costs using a model where shipments can be sent indirectly through an endogenous transport network and develop a geography-based instrument to estimate economies of scale in shipping. Counterfactual infrastructure improvements at entrepôts have on average ten times the global welfare impact of improvements at non-entrepôts. |
| JEL: | F10 F12 F14 |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29015&r= |
| By: | Rosellon, Maureen Ane, D. |
| Abstract: | Electric Vehicles (EVs) have gained attention globally as countries pursue the use of alternative technologies that reduce harmful emissions, climate-related effects and reliance on the use of fossil fuels. In the Philippines, policies and programs in support of the EV industry have been implemented, while a pending legislation awaits enactment. In an attempt to contribute insights to the policy discussion on EVs, the study examines the EV industry in the Philippines, current regulations, and challenges faced by the industry. The study finds strengths and opportunities in the EV industry, which include positive industry outlook and prospects for manufacturing in the supply chain. It also identifies weaknesses and threats related to technology utilization and competition. The study also presents recommendations to take advantage of the industry's potentials. <p>Comments to this paper are welcome within 60 days from date of posting. Email publications@mail.pids.gov.ph. |
| Keywords: | electric vehicles, clean technology, clean energy |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:phd:dpaper:dp_2021-15&r= |
| By: | Pike, Susan; Handy, Susan |
| Abstract: | This study evaluates changes in travel mode shares in California over the period from 2012, when the California Household Travel Survey (CHTS) was most recently completed, to 2017, the most recent implementation of National Household Travel Survey (NHTS). Initial review of the data suggests decreases in biking and walking over this time period. This study explores the factors contributing to this change, namely are these apparent changes the artifact of methodological differences between the analysis of the two surveys, or do they reflect real changes in the travel behavior of Californians? The piece also explores external factors, or changes over time that may contribute to mode share changes, such as demographic shifts or system-wide shocks such as the Great Recession. There are many differences in the preparation of the data used in the analysis across the two surveys; for example, the variables included in weighting are not the same for the CHTS and the NHTS. These differences are not found to have an impact on the outcomes of interest; however, they do suggest the need for more coordination among the NHTS and the CHTS to better enable comparative studies. View the NCST Project Webpage |
| Keywords: | Social and Behavioral Sciences, Travel mode shares, Changes in walking and biking, California mode shares, NHTS, CHTS, Survey methods |
| Date: | 2021–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt8s35092p&r= |
| By: | Moran, Marcel E. |
| Keywords: | Social and Behavioral Sciences |
| Date: | 2021–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsrrp:qt3gj1t495&r= |
| By: | Ana Paula Franco; Sebastian Galiani; Pablo Lavado |
| Abstract: | The Inca Empire was the last of a long series of highly developed cultures in pre-colonial South America. It stretched across parts of the current territories of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and the whole of Peru. The Inca Road was its 30,000-kilometer-long transportation system. The aim of this study is to identify its long-term impact on current development in Peru. Our results show that the long-run effect of the Inca Road includes increases in wages and educational attainment, a reduction of child malnutrition and an increase in children’s mathematics test scores. We also find that these effects are around 20% greater for women and explore the mechanisms that may account for this pattern. |
| JEL: | O1 |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28979&r= |
| By: | Kevin R. Williams |
| Abstract: | Airfares fluctuate due to demand shocks and intertemporal variation in willingness to pay. I estimate a model of dynamic airline pricing accounting for both sources of price adjustments using novel flight-level data. I use the model estimates to evaluate the welfare effects of dynamic airline pricing. Relative to uniform pricing, dynamic pricing benefits early-arriving, leisure consumers at the expense of late-arriving, business travelers. Although dynamic pricing ensures seat availability for business travelers, these consumers are then charged higher prices. When aggregated over markets, welfare is higher under dynamic pricing than under uniform pricing. The directionality of the welfare effect at the market level depends on whether dynamic price adjustments are mainly driven by demand shocks or by changes in the overall demand elasticity. |
| JEL: | L11 L12 L93 |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28989&r= |
| By: | Paul L. E. Grieco; Charles Murry; Ali Yurukoglu |
| Abstract: | We construct measures of industry performance and welfare in the U.S. car and light truck market from 1980-2018. We estimate a differentiated products demand model for this market using product level data on market shares, prices, and product characteristics, and consumer level data on demographics, purchases, and stated second choices. We estimate marginal costs under the conduct assumption of Nash-Bertrand pricing. We relate trends in consumer welfare and markups to industry trends in market structure and the composition of products, like the rise of import competition, the proliferation of SUV's, and changes in vehicle characteristics. We find that although prices rose over time, concentration and market power decreased substantially. Consumer welfare increased over time due to improving product quality and falling marginal costs. The fraction of total surplus accruing to consumers also increased. |
| JEL: | L1 L40 L62 |
| Date: | 2021–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:29013&r= |