Transport Economics

The issues connected to the introduction of the SECAs by January 1st 2015 are numerous and interconnected constitut-ing a mesh of problems through which ship owners and charterers have to pass. Decisions have to be made amid uncer-tainty and are bound to influence a much wider number of players than the two aforementioned ones. The European Union, itself confused about incentives and subsidies, is unable to provide assistance to its affected member states which will be left to their own devices. The same applies to ship owners who see the huge amounts of money available under the various schemes go to infrastructure projects rather than the cost of retrofits. There is no doubt there is going to be an impact on the terms of trade and most writers on this subject agree there will be higher freight rate levels in short sea shipping and a significant degree of backshift of cargoes from the sea to the land modes. This summary paper attempts to depict the larger picture in a concise way and suggests that the problem has been approached from the wrong angle ab originem.

The paper proposes an integrated procedure for the estimation of containerised OD flows at international scale. The procedure combines two different systems of models: (1) a meso-aggregated system of models for estimation of OD flows by means of a specification-calibration-validation process and (2) a macro-aggregated system of models for estimation of OD flows by means of a re-calibration process. The procedure has been tested in order to estimate the values of containerised OD flows of a geographical area composed of countries facing the Mediterranean basin at year 2006. The integrated procedure could represent a valid support for market operators and analysts, who need estimates of demand variables in order to mitigate risks of over- or under-investment, and for researchers developing freight models, because it offers the possibility to combine the potentialities of specification-calibration-validation and re-calibration processes in freight demand modelling.

Studies of urban freight mobility traditionally focused only on restocking flows and usually neglected the linkage with shopping activities even if end consumer's choices in relation to the type of retail undoubtedly impact on freight distribution flows. The paper focuses on the distribution of urban freight facilities, the choices of type of retail and the travel mode used and some models for simulating the choice of retail outlet and the transport mode are presented. The models, jointly with urban freight demand models were used to assess the effects of some land-use scenarios and to define optimal spatial distribution of urban freight facilities able to improve city sustainability and to meet the interests of end consumers, freight operators and society. The results of an application of this method to a test site are also reported and discussed.

Transport sector is considered as a spine of trade and economy. It not only facilitates trade by transfer of goods but ensures the goods gets timely delivered at desired point on time, thus bridging gap between the producer, supplier, trader and consumer.The relationship between the producer, transporter and trader is quite intrinsic. It’s not just an economic relationship, but also an emotional bonding which ensures timely transfer of goods across the length and breadth of country. In India, the transport sector comprises of large percentage of population who owns and operates transport business for their daily sustenance at very less operating profit. Indian markets are highly dependent on the services provided by the small and medium transporters. The services of small and medium transporters ensure supply of goods at local markets at reasonable price. Government of India, in its advocacy of foreign direct investment in retail sector, stressed that foreign investors will heavily invest in modernization of transport sector in order to facilitate trade. However the realities are strikingly different and if FDI in retail is permitted, it will lead to loss of livelihood of millions.

We introduce a methodology to estimate the effect of parking prices on car drivers' choice between street and garage parking. Our key identifying assumption is that the marginal benefit of parking duration does not depend on this choice. The endogeneity of parking duration is acknowledged in the estimation procedure. We apply the methodology during daytime hours to an area where cruising for parking is absent, street parking is ubiquitous and garage parking is discretely located over space. So, in this area, the average distance to the final destination is longer for garage parking than for street parking. We find that drivers are willing to pay a premium for street parking which ranges from € 0.37 to € 0.60. Given a parking duration of one hour, we find that the demand for street parking is price elastic: the price elasticity of demand for the share of street parking is - 5.5. However, this price elasticity is much smaller for shorter parking durations. Our estimates imply that even small reductions in street parking prices induce a strong increase in the stock of cars parked on-street. Our estimates also imply that a policy which contains a street premium (so street prices exceed garage prices) is welfare improving, because drivers with longer parking durations are induced to use parking locations that are, on average, farther away, so this policy reduces total walking time