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on Transport Economics |
| By: | Nugroho, Rizqi Ilma; Gnann, Till; Speth, Daniel; Purwanto, Widodo Wahyu; Hanafi, Jessica; Soehodho, Sutanto |
| Abstract: | Battery electric vehicles (BEV) present a promising approach to decarbonizing the transportation sector. This extends beyond electric passenger cars, such as electric motorcycles that hold significant potential in emerging markets with high population density and income disparities. However, providing access to infrastructure remains a challenge in increasing BEV adoption. This research endeavours to determine BEV passenger cars (BEV-PC) and motorcycles (BEV-MC) market diffusion within an emerging market city, focusing on the Greater Jakarta Area, utilizing an Agent-Based Model that considers charging infrastructure availability. Findings indicate that BEV-PC diffusion could attain about 9% of the total vehicle stock by 2030 and almost 75% by 2050 under the Current Policy. Similarly, BEV-MC adoption rates may reach 39% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. Introducing a vehicle purchase subsidy along with full abolishment of fossil fuel subsidies could amplify the diffusion of BEV-PC and BEV-MC to almost triple and double in 2030, respectively. |
| Keywords: | Battery electric vehicles (BEV), BEV passenger cars (BEV-PC), BEV motorcycles (BEV-MC) |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:fisisi:294823&r= |
| By: | Nilsson, Peter (Institute for International Economic Studies & Linnaeus University); Tarduno, Matthew (University of Illinois at Chicago); Tebbe, Sebastian (School of Global Policy and Strategy, University of California San Diego) |
| Abstract: | We provide a framework for setting congestion charges that reflect emission and congestion externalities and policy responses, such as vehicle ownership, driving, and residential sorting. Using Swedish administrative microdata, we identify these responses by exploiting a temporary exemption for alternative fuel vehicles and variation in individuals’ exposure to congestion charges. We find that commuters respond by adopting exempted alternative fuel vehicles, shifting trips away from fossil fuel toward alternative fuel vehicles, and changing where they live and work. We combine the estimated responses with the framework to recover an optimal congestion charge of €9.46 per crossing in Stockholm. |
| Keywords: | congestion pricing; |
| JEL: | R41 R48 |
| Date: | 2024–04–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:vxesta:2024_007&r= |
| By: | Fournier, Nicholas PhD; Patire, Anthony PhD; Skabardonis, Alexander PhD |
| Abstract: | Dynamic toll pricing based on demand can increase transportation revenue while also incentivizing travelers to avoid peak traffic periods. However, given the unpredictable nature of traffic, travelers lack the information necessary to accurately predict congestion, so dynamic pricing has minimal effect on demand. Dynamic toll pricing also poses equity concerns for those who lack other travel options. This research explores a potential remedy to these concerns by using a simple “futures market” pricing mechanism in which travelers can lock in a toll price for expected trips by prepaying for future tolls, with the future price increasing as more travelers book an overlapping time slot. This approach encourages travelers to avoid driving during the peak periods when pricing increases toward capacity or to purchase trips in advance when the price remains low or discounted, thus using infrastructure capacity more efficiently. Travelers that do not prepurchase their trip are subject to the real-time market price, which is determined by dynamic congestion pricing. This futures-market mechanism can augment existing toll collection technologies and provide travelers with sufficient pricing information and purchasing options to preplan their travel and avoid excessive prices. |
| Keywords: | Engineering, Congestion pricing, tolls, traffic congestion, elasticity (Economics), travel demand, congestion management systems |
| Date: | 2023–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsrrp:qt6g34r2mx&r= |
| By: | Arcak, Murat PhD; Kurzhanskiy, Alexander A. PhD |
| Abstract: | The increasing use of transportation network companies and delivery services has transformed the utilization of curb space, resulting in a lack of parking and contributing to congestion. No systematic method exists for identifying curb usage patterns, but emerging machine learning technologies and low-tech data sources, such as dashboard cameras mounted on vehicles that routinely travel the area, have the potential of monitoring curb usage. To demonstrate how video data can be used to recognize usage patterns, we conducted a case study on Bancroft Way in Berkeley, CA. The project collected video footage with GPS data from a dashboard camera installed on a shuttle bus that circles the area. We trained a machine learning model to recognize different types of delivery vehicles in the data images, and then used the model to visualize curbside usage trends. The findings include identifying hot spots, analyzing arrival patterns by delivery vehicle type, detecting bus lane blockage, and assessing the impact of parking on traffic flow. The proof-ofconcept study demonstrated that machine learning techniques, when coupled with affordable hardware like a dashboard camera, can reveal curb usage patterns. The data can be used to efficiently manage curb space, facilitate goods movement, improve traffic flow, and enhance safety. |
| Keywords: | Engineering, Curb side parking, computer vision, visual texture recognition, data collection, cameras, GPS, demonstration project |
| Date: | 2024–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsrrp:qt7vf362bp&r= |
| By: | Patire, Anthony D. PhD; Dion, Francois PhD; Bayen, Alexandre M. PhD |
| Abstract: | This report explores opportunities for employing autonomous driving technology to dampen stop-and-go waves on freeways. If successful, it could reduce fuel consumption and emissions. This technology was tested in an on-road experiment with 100 vehicles over one week. Public stakeholders were engaged to assess the planning effort and feasibility of taking the technology to the next level: a pilot involving 1000+ vehicles over several months. Considerations included the possible geographical boundaries, target fleets of vehicles, and suitable facilities such as bridges or managed lanes. Flow smoothing technology may improve the user experience and operations of managed lanes or bridges, however it may require external incentives such as reduced tolls to entice the traveling public to use it. This must be matched with other goals such as verifying vehicle occupancy. It might be possible for some hybrid solution that addresses both challenges to provide a way forward. A concept of operations needs to be developed specifically for a target road geometry and a California partner. This concept should benefit from lessons learned from previous pilot projects and will need to be defined so as to achieve both (1) a penetration rate sufficient to achieve measurable effects; and (2) sufficient quality and quantity of data to confirm benefits. |
| Keywords: | Engineering, Autonomous vehicles, connected vehicles, traffic flow, advanced traffic management systems, demonstration projects |
| Date: | 2024–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdl:itsrrp:qt726964qq&r= |
| By: | Renato Molina; Juan Carlos Villaseñor-Derbez; Gavin McDonald; Grant McDermott |
| Abstract: | Maritime transport has been historically susceptible to piracy. While broad assessments suggest the impact of modern piracy causes large economic losses, the literature lacks quantification of the magnitude of the costs and the behavioral responses that underpin them. Here, we combine theory and a unique geospatial dataset combining more than 25 million shipping voyages and thousands of pirate encounters across the globe to find that pirate encounters lead to significant and costly avoidance measures. Shippers modify their path along a route to avoid locations with known pirate encounters. This increases voyage distance and duration, which lead to significant increases in fuel and labor costs estimated to be over US$1.5 billion/year. Additionally, emission of CO2, NOx, and SOx due to increased fuel consumption results in environmental damages valued at US$5.1 billion per year. Together, our results provide the first global estimates linking the presence of pirates to individual behaviour and aggregate transportation cost, as well as its environmental impact, with major implications for the shipping industry and maritime security at a global scale. |
| Keywords: | piracy, shipping, avoidance |
| JEL: | Q50 F50 R40 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11077&r= |
| By: | Angel Espinoza E. |
| Abstract: | Improving public transport infrastructure changes local market conditions. In this paper, I examine the impact of the construction and operation of "Metrobus", Mexico City's Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system on consumer prices in chain stores, street vendors, and small family-owned (mom and pop) stores. I do so through a panel event study design. I consider the construction and operation of BRT as two different phenomena; while the former is associated to street closures, the latter reduces transportation costs. I show that only prices in mom and pop stores respond to changes in local market conditions produced by the introduction of BRT. For these businesses, construction pressures prices downwards; in contrast, operation is associated with partial price recoveries. I cannot reject a null effect in prices from chain stores or street vendors. |
| Keywords: | Public Transportation;Local Markets;Price Formation |
| JEL: | L11 L92 R12 R42 |
| Date: | 2024–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdm:wpaper:2024-02&r= |
| By: | Maysen Yen |
| Abstract: | Public transit has often been proposed as a solution to the spatial mismatch hypothesis but the link between public transit accessibility and employment has not been firmly established in the literature. Los Angeles provides an interesting case study – as the city has transformed from zero rail infrastructure before the 1990s to a large network consisting of subway, light rail, and bus rapid transit servicing diverse neighborhoods. I use confidential panel data from the American Community Survey, treating route placement as endogenous, which is then instrumented by the distance from the centroid of each tract in LA to a hypothetical Metro route. Overall, I find proximity to Metro stations increases employment for residents, which is robust to using both a binary and continuous measure of distance. Additionally, I find evidence that increased job density in neighborhoods near new transit stations is contributing to the employment increase. |
| Date: | 2024–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cen:wpaper:24-22&r= |
| By: | Shuhei Nishitateno and Paul J. Burke |
| Abstract: | In October 2003 four contiguous prefectures in Greater Tokyo introduced Low Emission Zones (LEZs) from which diesel trucks and buses without particulate filters have been banned from entering. This paper analyzes the effects of this large-scale intervention on air quality, new vehicle registrations, and birthweights. We use a matching approach to construct a control group comparable to the designated areas in terms of propensity scores based on municipality characteristics during the pre-intervention period and apply a difference-in-differences design. We find evidence that the intervention led to reductions in hourly particulate matter concentrations and the incidence of low birthweights in the Greater Tokyo LEZ relative to the control group. We also find that the LEZs led to increases in registrations of new trucks and buses. This is not the case for passenger cars, which were exempt from the regulations. Our paper provides the first evidence of a significant link between LEZs and reduced incidence of low birthweights. |
| JEL: | Q53 R48 I18 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pas:papers:2024-2&r= |
| By: | Zhi-Chun Li; De-Ping Yu; André de Palma (CY Cergy Paris Université, THEMA) |
| Abstract: | We propose an analytical solvable model for household residential location choice in a linear monocentric city corridor with bottleneck congestion. Households are heterogeneous in terms of their income. The bottleneck is located between central downtown and adjacent suburb. The urban equilibrium is formulated as the solution of differential equations. We analytically explore the distributional effects of bottleneck capacity expansion on households and the bottleneck capacity investment issues under no toll and first-best and second-best tolls. The results show that the benefits of different-income households from bottleneck capacity expansion change with toll schemes. Specifically, under the no toll and first-best toll, those who gain most are the mid-income households residing at the bottleneck and in a suburban location (close to the bottleneck) respectively, whereas those who gain least are the poorest or richest households. Under the second-best toll, there are two possible cases: the poorest households gain most while the richest households gain least, or the mid-income households residing at the bottleneck gain most while the richest or poorest households gain least. With constant return to scale for capacity investment, self-financing principle still holds for the first-best and second-best tolling in the urban spatial context. Ignoring the changes in urban spatial structure due to household relocation may cause overinvestment or underinvestment in optimal bottleneck capacity under the no toll, but definitely underinvestment under the first-best and second-best tolls. |
| Keywords: | Bottleneck congestion; urban spatial structure; heterogeneous households; capacity expansion; distributional effect; congestion tolling; self-financing |
| JEL: | R13 R14 R41 R42 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ema:worpap:2024-04&r= |
| By: | Ignatenko, Anna (Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration) |
| Abstract: | This paper documents price discrimination by transport companies, revealing their market power. Larger shipments of similar products sharing a container receive lower prices. A trade model with non-linear pricing of transportation rationalizes this with economies of scale and price discrimination, highlighting their distinct policy implications. To distinguish them, I test for the effect of competition on freight price variation specific to price discrimination. Using unexpected water level changes to instrument for competition in river transportation, I find increased competition causes steeper discounts for larger shipments. Thus, market power in transportation is less distortionary for larger firms gaining additional cost advantages. |
| Keywords: | price discrimination; quantity discounts; transportation; competition; economies of scale; mark-ups; market power |
| JEL: | D22 D43 F10 F12 F14 |
| Date: | 2024–04–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:nhheco:2024_006&r= |
| By: | OECD |
| Abstract: | The consumption of products, services and transportation has significant environmental consequences and account for the majority of global greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, demand-side policy measures have the potential to reduce the environmental footprint of these activities by up to 40-70%. This Policy Paper draws on the OECD’s recent household survey on environmental policy and behavioural change to provide insights and policy recommendations for specific measures that can encourage more sustainable household consumption of energy, transport and food as well as more sustainable waste practices. The report was prepared in support of Japan’s 2023 G7 presidency. |
| Keywords: | Demand-side policy, Energy, Food, Household behaviour, Sustainable consumption, Transport, Waste |
| Date: | 2024–05–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:envaac:42-en&r= |
| By: | Yi Ji; Myrto Oikonomou; Carlo Pizzinelli; Mr. Ippei Shibata; Ms. Marina Mendes Tavares |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the impact of changes in commuting time on welfare and labor supply in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing data from the American Time Use Survey, we observe a shift in commuting time and working hours across occupations with varying ability of telework after the pandemic. We develop a household model of labor supply that accounts for commuting time, and we characterize how changes in commuting time impact individuals' and spouses' labor supply. We calibrate the model to the data. Our findings reveal that the observed post-pandemic decline in commuting time yields significant welfare gains: between 1.5 to 4.5 percent of consumption equivalents for households where at least one spouse experiences reduced commuting. |
| Keywords: | Commuting time; Working from home; Labor Supply; Welfare Gains |
| Date: | 2024–05–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2024/094&r= |
| By: | Vidar Christiansen; Odd E. Nygård |
| Abstract: | The paper discusses the tax treatment of commuting where wages and housing cost vary across locations. An income tax distorts the locational choices of agents, who dislike commuting and have preferences for place of residence Wages, housing cost and commuting cost determine how subsidising or taxing commuting affects behaviour and social efficiency. A subsidy encourages commuting and induces agents to choose a more favourable living place. The analysis clarifies the circumstances in which the subsidy alleviates or exacerbates the tax distortions, also where housing is tax favoured, as is often the case. The distributional impact depends on the effects of wages on commuting. An empirical illustration based on Norwegian data shows how one can infer efficiency effects of responses to subsidies on commuting. |
| Keywords: | income tax, commuting, commuter cost, subsidies on commuting, place of residence |
| JEL: | H21 H24 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11080&r= |