|
on Transport Economics |
| By: | Shaghayegh Vosough; André de Palma; Robin Lindsey (Université de Cergy-Pontoise, THEMA) |
| Abstract: | Road traffic is a major contributor to air pollution which is a serious problem in many large cities. Experience in London, Milan, and Stockholm indicates that road pricing can be useful in reducing vehicle emissions as well as congestion. This study uses a dynamic traffic network simulator that models choices of mode, departure time, and route to investigate the effectiveness of tolls to target emissions and congestion externalities on a stylized urban road network during a morning commuting period. The spatial distribution of four pollutants is calculated using a Gaussian dispersion model that accounts for wind speed and direction. Single and double cordon tolls are evaluated, as well as flat tolls that do not change during the simulation period and step tolls that change at half-hourly intervals. The presence of emissions externalities raises optimal toll levels, and substantially increases the welfare gains from tolling, although the proportional advantage of step tolls over flat tolls is lower than if congestion is the only externality. The individual welfare-distributional effects of tolling vary strongly with residential and workplace locations relative to the cordon, and also differ for the upwind and downwind sides of the city. |
| Keywords: | congestion, dynamic traffic simulation, emissions, pollution dispersion, tolls |
| JEL: | R4 K32 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ema:worpap:2022-02&r= |
| By: | André de Palma; Lucas Javaudin; Patrick Stokkink; Léandre Tarpin-Pitre (Université de Cergy-Pontoise, THEMA) |
| Abstract: | In ride-sharing, commuters with similar itineraries share a vehicle for their trip. Despite its clear benefits in terms of reduced congestion, ride-sharing is not yet widely accepted. We propose a specific ride-sharing variant, where drivers are completely inflexible. This variant can form a competitive alternative against private transportation, due to the limited efforts that need to be made by drivers. However, due to this inflexibility, matching of drivers and riders can be substantially more complicated, compared to the situation where drivers can deviate. In this work, we propose a four-step procedure to identify the effect of such a ride-sharing scheme. We use a dynamic mesoscopic traffic simulator, Metropolis, which computes departure-time choices and route choices for each commuter. The optimal matching of potential drivers and riders is obtained outside the simulation framework through an exact formulation of the problem. We evaluate the potential of this ridesharing scheme on a real network of the Paris metropolitan area for the morning commute. We show that even with inflexible drivers and when only a small portion of the population is willing to participate in the ride-sharing scheme, ride-sharing can alleviate congestion. Further improvements can be obtained by increasing the capacity of the vehicles or by providing small monetary incentives, but without jeopardizing the inflexibility of the drivers. Thereby, we show that ride-sharing can lead to fuel savings, CO2 emission reductions and travel time savings on a network level, even with a low participation rate. |
| Keywords: | Ride-sharing, Carpooling, Matching, Dynamic Congestion |
| JEL: | R41 R48 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ema:worpap:2022-03&r= |
| By: | Robin Lindsey; André de Palma; Pouya Rezaeini (Université de Cergy-Pontoise, THEMA) |
| Abstract: | Congestion pricing has long been considered an efficient tool for tackling road traffic congestion, but tolls are generally unpopular. Interest is growing in tradable permits as an alternative. Tolls and tradable permits are interchangeable if travel conditions are unchanging, but not if conditions vary, and tolls and permit quantities are inflexible. We compare the allocative efficiency of tolls and tradable permits under uncertainty on a bimodal network. Road links and public transit service are both congestion prone. Road traffic entering a cordon area around the downtown is controlled using either a toll or a tradable permit. Two groups of travelers can drive or take transit. Group 1 travels downtown, and must either pay the toll or use a permit if driving. Group 2 travels to a suburb, and can avoid the cordon by taking a bypass. All demand and cost parameters of the model can vary, either systematically or irregularly. Travelers learn daily travel conditions in advance, and adapt their mode and route choices accordingly. A planner minimizes expected total travel costs by either setting the level of the toll or choosing the quota of permits to distribute. Two cases are considered. In the first, the toll and quota are flexible and can be adjusted to daily travel conditions. In the second, which is of central interest, the instruments are inflexible. If travelers have identical preferences, the optimal flexible toll is invariant to the numbers of travelers in each group and the capacity of the link entering the cordon. The toll is robust in the sense that inflexibility causes no welfare loss if these parameters vary. By contrast, the quota is not robust. We derive a general rule for ranking the efficiency of a fixed toll and fixed quota. We then explore a numerical example. In most instances, the fixed toll outperforms the fixed quota by a significant margin although the quota can do better for some realizations of parameter values. The relative performance of the quota improves if an environmental externality from driving also exists. Finally, we compare the welfare-distributional effects of tolls and permits, and find that suburban travelers fare better than downtown travelers from both forms of regulation. |
| Keywords: | traffic congestion; cordon toll; tradable permits; mode choice; route choice; uncertainty |
| JEL: | D62 R41 R48 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ema:worpap:2022-06&r= |
| By: | Liang Chen; Cecilia Garcia-Medina; Rui Wan |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a model of used vehicle trade between countries with different environmental regulations regarding vehicle emissions. We show that the US, given its strict environmental regulations, has incentives to export used vehicles to Mexico, which impacts air pollution emissions caused by automobile driving in Mexico. Using a unique database on vehicle registration in Mexico and imports after the NAFTA enactment, we find that Mexico's used vehicle imports reduced average pollution emissions generated by vehicles, mainly due to the "technique effect" -differences in emissions of vehicles of comparable model and age between those that operate in the US before being imported (that emit less pollutants) and those operating in Mexico. |
| JEL: | F13 L62 Q56 Q51 |
| Date: | 2022–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdm:wpaper:2022-02&r= |
| By: | Yuan, Tianchen; Alasiri, Faisal; Ioannou, Petros A. |
| Abstract: | Connectivity between vehicles and infrastructure allows the efficient flow of information in a dynamic traffic environment. This information can be used to provide recommendations to vehicles in order to alleviate traffic congestion, improve mobility with considerable benefits to the environment. The traffic flow environment however is very complex and involves many uncertainties that include inaccurate measurements, missing data, etc. Any approach to manage or control traffic should be able to handle such uncertainties in a robust way. This project focusses on variable speed limit (VSL) control as an approach to reduce congestion at bottlenecks despite the presence of uncertainties. Numerous research efforts have been made over the years in the field of VSL control in order to resolve bottleneck congestion and improve traffic mobility. Nevertheless, few of them have looked into the issue of robustness with respect to measurement or model uncertainties. In this project, a robust VSL controller is designed based on a modified multi-section cell transmission model (CTM) to alleviate freeway traffic congestion and reject uncertainties. The proposed VSL controller computes the speed limit recommendations using measured flows and densities and communicates them to the upstream vehicles. The optimum location where the speed limit recommendation should be communicated to vehicles is another control variable addressed in the project in order to maximize performance and benefits to the environment. The proposed VSL controller is integrated with ramp metering (RM) controllers and lane change (LC) recommendations to maximize performance. The effectiveness of the integrated control scheme is demonstrated using extensive Monte Carlo microscopic simulations under several traffic demand scenarios and different types and levels of uncertainties. The microscopic simulations are carried out using the commercial traffic software VISSIM. Real data are used to validate the traffic simulator. The benefits in terms of mobility, safety and emissions are quantified. View the NCST Project Webpage |
| Keywords: | Engineering, Variable speed limit, Uncertainty, Sign distance, Integrated control |
| Date: | 2022–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt2q60p994&r= |
| By: | André de Palma; Shaghayegh Vosough; Feixiong Liao (Université de Cergy-Pontoise, THEMA) |
| Abstract: | The outbreak of SARS-COV-2 has led to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 and caused over 4.5 million deaths worldwide by September 2021. Besides the public health crisis, COVID-19 affected the global economy and development significantly. It also led to changes in people’s mobility and lifestyle during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to short-term changes, the drastic transformation of the world may account for the potentially disruptive long-term impacts. Recognizing the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is crucial in mitigating the negative behavioral changes that directly relate to people’s psychological and social well-being. It is important to stress that citizens and governments face an uncertain situation since nobody knows exactly how the viruses and cures will develop. Better understanding uncertainties and evaluating behavioral changes contribute to addressing the future of urban development, public transportation, and behavioral strategies to tackle COVID-19 negative consequences. The major sources of impacts on short-term (route, departure time, mode, teleshopping, and teleworking) and medium and long-term (car ownership, work location, choice of job, and residential location) mobility decisions are mostly reviewed and discussed in this paper. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19 effects, mobility, lifestyle, teleworking, residential location |
| JEL: | I14 R1 R4 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ema:worpap:2022-04&r= |
| By: | Damiaan Persyn (University of Gottingen); Javier Barbero (European Commission - JRC); Jorge Díaz-Lanchas (Universidad Pontificia Comillas); Patrizio Lecca (PBL); Giovanni Mandras (European Commission - JRC); Simone Salotti (European Commission - JRC) |
| Abstract: | We analyse the general equilibrium effects of an asymmetric decrease in transport costs, combining a large scale spatial dynamic general equilibrium model for 267 European NUTS 2 regions with a detailed transport model at the level of individual road segments. As a case study we consider the impact of the road infrastructure investments in Central and Eastern Europe in the context of the EU cohesion policy programme. Our analysis suggests that the decrease in transportation costs benefits the regions targeted by the policy via substantial increases in GDP and exports compared to the baseline, and small increases in population. The geographic information embedded in the transport model leads to relatively large predicted benefits in peripheral countries such as Greece and Finland who hardly receive funds, but whose trade links cross Central and Eastern Europe and thus profit from the investments there. The richer, Western European non-targeted regions also enjoy a higher GDP after the investment in the East, but these effects are smaller. Thus, the policy reduces interregional disparities. There are rippled patterns in the predicted spillovers of the policy. In non-targeted countries, regions trading more intensely with regions where the investment is taking place on average benefit more compared to other regions within the same country, but also compared to neighbouring regions across an international border. Using regression analysis we uncover that regions which import intermediate inputs from Central and Eastern Europe enjoy the largest spillovers. These regions become more competitive and expand exports locally, at the detriment of other regions in the same country. |
| Keywords: | transport infrastructure; economic geography; computable general equilibrium modelling. |
| JEL: | C68 R11 R13 R15 R41 |
| Date: | 2022–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipt:termod:202202&r= |
| By: | Go, Eugenia (Asian Development Bank); Nakajima, Kentaro (Hitotsubashi University); Sawada , Yasuyuki (University of Tokyo); Taniguchi, Kiyoshi (Asian Development Bank) |
| Abstract: | The lack of suitable data is a key challenge in ex-post policy evaluations. This paper proposes a novel data to measure local economic activities using vehicle counts in each 500 meter (m) x 500 m tile. The metric is derived from high resolution satellite images using a machine learning algorithm. Using the opening of the new international airport terminal in Cebu, Philippines, as a quasi-experiment, we estimate the impact of the new infrastructure on the local economy of Metro Cebu. Results of the difference-in-differences analysis show that the new terminal significantly increased vehicle traffic in urban Cebu. The effect decays with distance from the airport, is stronger in areas where hotels are located, and is most pronounced in the peak months for international tourists. These findings imply that the opening of the new international terminal has enhanced Cebu's local economy through international tourism. |
| Keywords: | transportation infrastructure; satellite imagery data |
| JEL: | R11 |
| Date: | 2022–03–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:adbewp:0652&r= |