Policy Issues in U.S. Transportation Public-Private Partnerships: Lessons from Australia, Research Report 09-15

In this report, the authors examine Australia’s experience with transportation public-private partnerships (PPPs) and the lessons that experience holds for the use of PPPs in the United States. Australia now has decades of experience in PPP use in transportation, and has used the approach to deliver billions of dollars in project value. Although this report explores a range of issues, the authors focus on four policy issues that have been salient in the United States: (1) how the risks inherent in PPP contracts should be distributed across public and private sector partners; (2) when and how to use non-compete (or compensation) clauses in PPP contracts; (3) how concerns about monopoly power are best addressed; and (4) the role and importance of concession length. The study examines those and other questions by surveying the relevant literature on PPP international use. The authors also interviewed 23 Australian PPP experts from the academic, public and private sectors, and distilled lessons from those interviews

Enabling Development; design of a the Single Seat Wintec Electric Vehicle.(SSWEV)

The research project is related to the single seat three-wheel electric vehicle. Due to the high consumption of the oil in New Zealand (NZ) which have a direct impact on the economy, the authorities are now looking for an alternative source to power the vehicles and revolutionize the transport industry. There is another motive behind the development of electric vehicle (EV) which is linked with the environmental conditions of the country. The Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles increase the air pollution in the country and due to which the global warming has become a serious issue. To reduce the global warming effect and air pollution the electric vehicles have become a strong candidate or choice for the transportation. This project covers the electric vehicle in three parts: the Road Legal Status of EV in New Zealand, the Battery Electric System(BES), and Vehicle Design. There are some limitations which are associated with electric vehicles such as legislation does not encourage the people to purchase an electric vehicle, and the manufacturers are still interested in ICE vehicles. The research project proposes the desired policy for the EV in New Zealand. The possible design of the EV is proposed which is modeled in SolidWorks. Furthermore, the entire battery electric system and its management is included in the report which describes the proposed Battery electric system for single-seat electric vehicle. The primary goal in developing the battery electric system of the EV was to ensure that it has long driving range. The current EV are struggling to achieve the long driving range. The design selected for the EV is Reverse-trike. The unique features include the shifting of the centre of mass of the more extensive position. This design provides more stability and traction to the vehicle as the weight shift is towards the front wheels of the car

How efficient is current infrastructure spending and pricing?

Infrastructure (Economics) ; Finance ; Pricing ; Public policy

The Critical Role of Public Charging Infrastructure

Editors: Peter Fox-Penner, PhD, Z. Justin Ren, PhD, David O. JermainA decade after the launch of the contemporary global electric vehicle (EV) market, most cities face a major challenge preparing for rising EV demand. Some cities, and the leaders who shape them, are meeting and even leading demand for EV infrastructure. This book aggregates deep, groundbreaking research in the areas of urban EV deployment for city managers, private developers, urban planners, and utilities who want to understand and lead change

Congestion charging mechanisms for roads : an evaluation of current practice

The author explores 20 criteria for a good road pricing system and presents case studies illustrating the costs, revenues, and benefits of alternative congestion charging mechanisms. The author finds that manual tollbooths are not suitable for congestion charging because they are land-, labor-, and time-intensive. Cordon pricing (as in the Bergen toll ring) can be an effective instrument for charging for congestion if half the toll lanes are reserved for seasonal pass holders traveling through the pricing points at regular highway speed. Enforcement of those driving in reserved lanes can be carried out by periodic videographs of vehicle license plates. Area licensing schemes require that vehicles entering the central business district during peak hours prominently display a monthly or daily license. Enforcement is undertaken at gantry points by traffic wardens who perform visual checks on the nonstop traffic. The enforcement costs of area licensing schemes are prohibitive at motorway speeds but relatively low-cost in a standard congested urban setting with limited gateways. Area licensing schemes, also known as supplementary licensing, carry the lowest cost per transaction. Electronic road pricing with automatic vehicle identification (an off-vehicle recording system) is electronic toll collection by time of day writ large and made obligatory on vehicle owners in a jurisdiction. The cost of the electronic equipment is not trivial, but is outweighed by the benefits. Sensitivity analysis performed on the Hong Kong electronic road pricing scheme in 1983-85 shows that even after excluding time savings, the savings in operating costs produce benefit figures that are greater than system costs. The invasion-of-privacy issues that led to the political failure of the Hong Kong electronic road pricing scheme can not be overcome by giving road users access to confidential numbered account arrangements with a prepaid cash deposit. The capital cost of electronic road pricing with smart card technology (an on-vehicle charging system) is higher than the cost for automatic vehicle identification technology alone, but benefits still outweigh costs (as in the Dutch proposal). Together, the benefit-cost ratio and the cost per transaction are acceptable but this technology is still not widely used commercially. The author argues that electronic approaches to direct road use charging are superior to manual approaches for road users, road authorities, and society as a whole. And rapid progress in microelectronics, cryptology, and microwave technologies will continue to yield large-scale economies in the manufacturing of automatic vehicle identification equipment, read-write transponders, smart cards, and the hardware and software that go with them. The author ranks electronic road pricing with automatic vehicle identification alone higher than electronic road pricing with smart card-type AVI based on an unweighted index of all criteria. And generally, the area licensing scheme is superior to cordon pricing. If budgets allow, authorities should investigate the feasibility of electronic road pricing. If the budget is tight, they should look into the area licensing scheme with its low cost and high benefit-cost ratio (the latter being the most important of the 20 criteria the author uses). Both conceptually and practically, the author finds that it is important to earmark the proceeds of road pricing to implement marginal cost pricing in the road sector.Roads&Highways,Public Sector Economics&Finance,Banks&Banking Reform,Urban Transport,Municipal Financial Management

Investments in solid waste management : opportunities for environmental improvement

This paper presents the findings of a brief evaluation of World Bank experience in municipal solid waste management (MSWM) and recommends approaches to improving future Bank performance in this subsector. The paper is presented in four chapters. Chapter I describes the methodology by which the MSWM investments were reviewed and presents definitions and discussion of the benefits of MSWM to the environment and urban productivity in developing countries. Chapter II presents the overall results relating to to the Bank's total lending for solid waste management, including the findings of the Regional evaluation of MSWM lending. Chapter III examines the findings related to the design and implementation of the Bank's MSWM components and discusses such issues as the size and scope of investments, borrowing levels, cost recovery, and private sector participation. Finally, chapter IV presents recommendations for improving the design and execution of future MSWM projects or components. Annexes to the paper include a series of tables containg summary data on MSWM components in Bank projects and eight individual case studies highlighting specific MSWM projects or components in selected countries.Urban Solid Waste Management,Sanitation and Sewerage,TF030632-DANISH CTF - FY05 (DAC PART COUNTRIES GNP PER CAPITA BELOW USD 2,500/AL,Waste Disposal&Utilization,Energy and Environment

Legal Structure of Frustration: Alternative Strategies for Public Choice Concerning Federally Aided Highway Construction

Building highways is certain to cause trouble. The enterprise must contend with the schizophrenia of a populace which chafes at any obstacle to freedom of movement in its role as consumer of transportation goods and services and yet demands in its capacity as landowner, conservationist or merchant that transportation facilities be constructed (or not constructed) in a manner which maximizes nontransportation values. Almost everybody tends to be for highways-provided that they go through somebody else\u27s back yard while remaining close enough to his own property to provide access without loss of other amenities. But it is not only that we are differentially affected by particular highway projects that creates dissension. Even if we could agree on the broad categories of things that are valuable to all of us and that we would like considered in highway planning, we would not be likely to rank them in the same order of priority. We are faced here, as in so many other areas, with developing a system of public choice which optimizes the realization of the demands of the whole populace within the constraints of limited resources