nep-tre New Economics Papers
on Transport Economics
Issue of 2022‒06‒27
eight papers chosen by
Erik Teodoor Verhoef
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

  1. Evaluating Pilot Approaches to Increase Rural Mobility By Rodier, Caroline; Harold, Brian; Zhang, Yunwan
  2. Outsourcing the last mile: Should regulation be strictly focused on the urban segment? By Pétronille Reme-Harnay
  3. Barriers and enablers to local active travel during COVID-19: A case study of Streetspace interventions in two London boroughs By Lunetto, Maria Elizabeth; Castro, Oscar; Gericke, Chiara; Hale, Joanna
  4. How to Mitigate Transportation Emissions in Saudi Arabia? The Role of Energy Price Governance By Sa'd Shannak; Jeyhun Mikayilov; Rubal Dua
  5. Commuting to Work and Gender-Conforming Social Norms: Evidence from Same-Sex Couples By Oreffice, Sonia; Sansone, Dario
  6. Understanding the impact of travel on wellbeing: evidence for Great Britain during the pandemic. By MAMATZAKIS, emmanuel; MAMATZAKIS, E
  7. How Should We Measure Infrastructure? The Case of Highways and Streets By Robert Kornfeld; Barbara M. Fraumeni
  8. Highway toll allocation By Hao Wu; Rene van den Brink; Arantza Estevez-Fernandez

  1. By: Rodier, Caroline; Harold, Brian; Zhang, Yunwan
    Abstract: People who live in rural areas in California face unique transportation challenges due to long travel distances, infrequent transit service, the cost of car ownership, and limited access to app-based rideshare services that are common in more populated urban centers. Over the past eight years, UC Davis has partnered with the eight San Joaquin Valley Metropolitan Planning Organizations to identify and support development of three innovative mobility pilot concepts for the region. Researchers at the University of California, Davis evaluated these three pilot programs using survey and service usage data collected from their launch dates in 2019 and 2020 through November 2021 to understand the participant characteristics and outcomes of each pilot. This policy brief summarizes the key findings from that research. View the NCST Project Webpage
    Keywords: Business, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Demand responsive transportation, Mode choice, Ridesharing, Rural areas, Shared mobility, Transportation disadvantaged persons, Travel behavior, Vehicle sharing
    Date: 2022–05–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsdav:qt7t63z1sc&r=
  2. By: Pétronille Reme-Harnay (AME-SPLOTT - Systèmes Productifs, Logistique, Organisation des Transports et Travail - Université Gustave Eiffel)
    Abstract: Because of the development of e-commerce and the reduction of the shipments'size, the parcel delivery sector is growing rapidly. However, faced with their clients demands and constraints of urban cities (parking, congestion, delivery density), the parcel delivery groups have chosen to outsource their urban deliveries. This enables them to reduce payroll costs but also implies consequences for urban subcontractors such as economic dependence. However, outside the city, when urban constraints no longer apply, subcontractors who work in long-distance inter-urban freight transport seem less affected. The article questions the pertinence of the scale of subcontracting regulation. Should it be strictly urban as suggested by the difference of consequences for urban and inter-urban subcontractors? The paper highlights the large number of variables that could affect subcontractors' dependence and the complexity of public decision making in the urban transport sector.
    Keywords: TRANSPORT INTERURBAIN,DEPENDANCE ECONOMIQUE,TRANSPORT URBAIN,SOUS-TRAITANCE
    Date: 2022
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03672575&r=
  3. By: Lunetto, Maria Elizabeth (University College London); Castro, Oscar; Gericke, Chiara; Hale, Joanna (UCL)
    Abstract: During COVID-19, UK local authorities increased emergency active travel interventions. This study aimed to understand what aspects of temporary Streetspace for London schemes representbarriers or enablers to walking and cycling for short local journeys.Focusing on two London boroughs, we sampled 885 publiccomments about Streetspace schemes and conducted 21 semi-structured interviews. We triangulated the data in a thematic analysis to identify barriers and enablers, which were categorised usingthe Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, Behaviour(COM-B)model.Opportunity and motivation were reflected in the barriers (accessibility and integration; controversy, dissatisfaction,and doubt), enablers (new routes and spaces; sustainability and health beliefs) and mixed themes (changes to traffic and environs; feeling safe). Although aspects of Streetspace schemeswere seen to enableactive travel,our findingssuggest that additional processes to address the acceptability, equity, and unintended consequences ofemergency interventions will be important to their long-term success for health and sustainability.
    Date: 2022–04–19
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:6mxvy&r=
  4. By: Sa'd Shannak; Jeyhun Mikayilov; Rubal Dua (King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center)
    Abstract: In light of Saudi Arabia’s recent energy-pricing reform strategy, this paper investigates the main drivers of fuel carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the transport sector. We employed a battery of econometric techniques to analyze the long-run relationships between income, fuel prices, energy share, population, and total carbon emissions in the transportation sector.
    Keywords: Agent Based modeling, Analytics, Applied Research, Autometrics
    Date: 2022–05–22
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:prc:dpaper:ks--2022-dp04&r=
  5. By: Oreffice, Sonia (University of Exeter); Sansone, Dario (University of Exeter)
    Abstract: We assess the role of gender-conforming social norms in household decision-making and gender inequalities in the labor market with a parsimonious household model that endogenizes commuting time. Using the American Community Survey 2008-2019, we test the model predictions and find that women in same-sex couples have a longer commute to work than working women in different-sex couples, whereas the commute to work of men in same-sex couples is shorter than the one of working men in different-sex couples, even after controlling for demographic characteristics, partner’s characteristics, location, fertility, and marital status. These differences among men and women amount to 50%, and 100%, respectively, of the gender commuting gap estimated in the literature, and are particularly stark among married couples with children. Within-couple gaps in commuting time are also significantly smaller in same-sex couples, and labor supply disparities mimic the commuting ones. According to our model, these differences are interpreted as gender-conforming social norms leading women in different-sex couples into jobs with a shorter commute and fewer hours worked while their male partners/spouses hold jobs with a longer commute and more hours worked, thus reinforcing gender inequalities.
    Keywords: commute, household decisions, labor supply, LGBTQ+, specialization, travel time
    JEL: D10 J15 J16 J22 R20 R41
    Date: 2022–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15332&r=
  6. By: MAMATZAKIS, emmanuel; MAMATZAKIS, E
    Abstract: The paper investigates whether the wellbeing in Great Britain, measured by life satisfaction and happiness, is affected by the dramatic decline in travelling during the pandemic. I employ a Bayesian vector autoregression (VAR) that includes wellbeing, travel, and Covid-19 as endogenous variables while it controls for exogenous variables. I include in the VAR various modes of travel, like flying, car, rail, and cycling and also various Covid-19 related variables like confirmed infections, confirmed deaths and hospitalisations. The empirical findings of impulse response functions provide detailed responses of wellbeing and traveling in Great Britain to shocks in Covid-19 while testing for the direction of causality. Travel is negatively affected by shocks in Covid-19 and in turn, shocks in travel would reduce wellbeing. Interestingly, results show little to no evidence of responses of Covid-19 to shocks in various modes of travel. So, while the decline in travel reduces wellbeing, it does little to combat Covid-19. The forecast error variance decomposition analysis confirms the importance of travel for wellbeing and shows that while the pandemic has caused an unprecedented decline in traveling, this is not going to persist beyond the medium term. However, the decline in traveling in Great Britain would have a negative effect on life satisfaction and a positive effect on anxiety and such effects could persist. Lastly, the paper provides forecasting of the main endogenous variables.
    Keywords: Wellbeing; Travel in Great Britain; Covid 19; Bayesian VAR.
    JEL: I0 M0 Z0
    Date: 2022–05–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:112974&r=
  7. By: Robert Kornfeld; Barbara M. Fraumeni
    Abstract: The recent debates on infrastructure spending have led to renewed interest in the measurement of infrastructure and its effects on growth and well-being. This paper updates estimates of one important type of infrastructure capital—highways and streets. We compare BEA’s capital measures with more readily understood physical measures of road and lane miles, road quality and usage, and other measures from Highway Statistics (HS) data from FHWA. We also use the HS data and related research to disaggregate investment in highways and streets into more detailed types, such as new construction, repair and resurfacing, and bridge work, and apply separate depreciation rates to each type to produce updated estimates of net wealth stocks and depreciation. Relative to published BEA estimates, constant-price depreciation is revised up by about $9–$12 billion annually in recent years, and constant-price net stocks are revised down by about 22 percent. For the period from 2007 forward, net stocks per capita are flat in the published BEA estimates but decline slightly in the revised estimates. In addition, we update Fraumeni’s (2007) estimates of productive stocks that are converted to wealth stocks to facilitate a comparison. These updated wealth estimates also show lower net stocks and higher depreciation than in the published BEA estimates. We hope this paper encourages discussion about how to measure infrastructure capital, particularly highways and streets, and its effects.
    JEL: E01
    Date: 2022–05
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:30045&r=
  8. By: Hao Wu (Hunan University); Rene van den Brink (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam); Arantza Estevez-Fernandez (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
    Abstract: This paper analyzes the allocation of the total toll collected in a highway among its segments. Based on different toll charging rules, we propose the Segments Equal Sharing method, the Exits Equal Sharing method, and the Entrances Equal Sharing method. We provide axioms and characterize these methods used to distribute the toll. Besides, we show how these methods can be obtained by applying the Shapley value to associated coalitional transferable utility games.
    Keywords: Highway toll allocation problem, Axiomatic characterization, Shapley value
    JEL: R49 C71
    Date: 2022–06–07
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tin:wpaper:20220036&r=

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