Inland Waterway Networks in Europe: The Neglected Potential, Bottlenecks and Polley Initiatives

Series: Discussion Papers of the Institute for Economic Geography and GIScienc

Limits to the (De-)Regulation of Transport Services

In section 1 the disaggregated approach of network economics is explained which distinguishes between the network levels transport services, traffic control systems and fixed infrastructure. Section 2 starts with an explanation of the theory of monopolistic bottlenecks, which can be used as a basis for distinguishing between parts of a network where competition functions efficiently and those that enjoy stable, network-specific market power. Section 3 explores the opportunities for potential and active competition on the markets for transport services, while Section 4 explains the potential for auction competition in respect of air traffic and train control systems. Section 5 is devoted to regulation in connection with access to transport infrastructure, including the relationship between disaggregated regulation of bottlenecks and the essential facilities theory, and the development of an appropriate approach towards regulation of access charges. Lastly, the paper looks at the ongoing reform of access to European airports (Section 6) and rail networks (Section 7). --

Pedestrian level of service assessment in an area close to an under-construction metro line in Thessaloniki, Greece

Abstract Pedestrian mobility is one of the most sustainable transport alternatives as it offers significant environmental, social and economic benefits. In fact, the non-motorization contributes to the reduction of emissions and at the same time, walking is able to revive purchases and also sociality and communication between people. The present paper focuses on the assessment of a section of a pedestrian area located in the center of the Municipality of Kalamaria, which is one of the biggest Municipalities in the Thessaloniki Metropolitan area, Northern Greece. The pedestrian area which was examined includes the oldest and most important pedestrian street in the Municipality, as it is located in the central business district (CBD) and it serves a large number of pedestrian flows on a daily basis. Also, the construction of a metro station in the area is expected to further increase the pedestrian flows. The analysis of the paper includes the evaluation of the existing situation of the pedestrian street through Viswalk, which is a microscopic software for pedestrian simulation. The aim of the specific evaluation is the identification of variations in the Level of Service (LOS), as the pedestrian composition and flows change. The results of the simulation show that even tripling the pedestrian flow in the pedestrian area will not cause a significant drop in LOS, with the exception of specific sections of the pedestrian street, where bottlenecks are formed

An integrated variable speed limit and ALINEA ramp metering model in the presence of High Bus Volume

Under many circumstances, when providing full bus priority methods, urban transport officials have to operate buses in mixed traffic based on their road network limitations. In the case of Istanbul’s Metrobus lane, for instance, when the route comes to the pre-designed Bosphorus Bridge, it has no choice but to merge with highway mixed traffic until it gets to the other side. Much has been written on the relative success of implementing Ramp Metering (RM), for example ALINEA (‘Asservissement line´ aire d’entre´ e autoroutie’) and Variable Speed Limits (VSL), two of the most widely-used “merging congestion” management strategies, in both a separate and combined manner. However, there has been no detailed study regarding the combination of these systems in the face of high bus volume. This being the case, the ultimate goal of this study is to bridge this gap by developing and proposing a combination of VSL and RM strategies in the presence of high bus volume (VSL+ALINEA/B). The proposed model has been coded using microscopic simulation software—VISSIM—and its vehicle actuated programming (VAP) feature; referred to as VisVAP. For current traffic conditions, the proposed model is able to improve total travel time by 9.0%, lower the number of average delays of mixed traffic and buses by 29.1% and 81.5% respectively, increase average speed by 12.7%, boost bottleneck throughout by 2.8%, and lower fuel consumption, Carbon Monoxide (CO), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx), and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) emissions by 17.3% compared to the existing “VSL+ALINEA” model. The results of the scenario analysis confirmed that the proposed model is not only able to decrease delay times on the Metrobus system but is also able to improve the adverse effects of high bus volume when subject to adjacent mixed traffic flow along highway sections

‘Forewarned is Forearmed’: Overcoming Multifaceted Challenges of Digital Innovation Units

Due to rapidly changing customer needs, enterprises seek to innovate continuously. Incumbent firms need to improve their capabilities to develop, evaluate, and implement digital innovations. Recently, many enterprises established digital innovation units (DIUs) for accelerating their digital innovation endeavors. Although numerous units exist in practice, the number of negative press headlines that address failure or dissolution of DIUs is increasing. Based on a literature review and a qualitative cross-industry study with eleven enterprises, we discuss the relation of DIUs to organizational concepts like ambidexterity, bimodal, and trimodal IT. Furthermore, we substantiated seven multifaceted challenges of DIUs, which span across stages of innovation development, organizational units, and hierarchical levels. Based on these findings, we developed three recommendations for responses to these challenges: (1) DIU-Business-IT collaboration across stages, (2) network of executive responsibilities, and (3) general digital awareness of the organization as a whole