Generation of the transport service offer with application to timetable planning considering constraints due to maintenance work

Line planning is an important step in strategic timetable planning in public transport. In this step the transport offer for the customer is generated by the public transport operator, whereby the resulting costs for the operator should be as deep as possible. Mathematical models for line planning allow to create optimized line plans quickly. Planners can use these models to rate and select different alternatives. This is particularly valuable under the aspect of increasing maintenance and construction tasks of the railway infrastructure. We show, that in this case, it is possible to create functional requirements for automated timetable creation from the result of line planning step. The practical use of the involved models is illustrated by a real application example

Bexley report: a report to MCCH on a suitable transport policy for its Bexley services

This report presents the findings of and recommendations from the study commissioned by MCCH to advise on a comprehensive transport policy for MCCH to use in providing services in both its residential homes and day-care centres in Bexley. It describes the current positions of transport supply for, and of transport demand by the community of people with learning difficulties in the London Borough of Bexley. It also considers the extent to which the transport supply is meeting or not meeting the transport demands and the expressed needs of the people and/or their representatives. The report considers the implications for improvement in transport provision of certain proposed actions by MCCH. Finally, the report presents some recommendations based on a user-centred strategy to help MCCH incorporate their concept of empowering their service users through suitable transport provision. This study has been conducted with the ethos and operational objectives of the MCCH group firmly in mind. MCCH has an objective to enhance quality of life for their service users and is very concerned with ensuring that its service users are enabled to exercise the rights and opportunities of citizenship with particular reference to freedom of choice in time and mode of travel. MCCH holds that real improvement in services to learning disability people must include increased range and choice of people-centred opportunities that address the total needs and aspirations of service users and their carers, underpinned by values and principles of good practice. Thus MCCH desires to put back in the control of users, the lever of decision making as regards services provided to 4 them and intends to do this by actively eliciting user/stakeholders involvement in decision-making. Contrary to the standard social service transport provision style, MCCH desires to create choice for service-users, feeling that people should be able to decide whether, e.g. to go by bus or train and be supported in their decision and not be constrained by the schedule of the provided transport. The specific terms of reference for this study are 1. To examine the current demand for, and provision of, transport within MCCH’s Bexley services. To assess how best these services might be reconfigured and managed, having regard to: · Desire to increase empowerment and choice for service users · Optimizing the integration of the transport management in Bexley within MCCH’s organization, in the light of most efficient use of resources and practice elsewhere in MCCH · Desire to better integrate residential services with day services in Bexley · MCCH’s intention to reconfigure Bexley day services · The move of service users towards ‘supported living’ as opposed to registered care · The objectives and concerns of all parties involved, including Bexley Social Services, Bexley Transport Services, the parents/relatives/carers of the service users and the service users themselves · The way vehicles are currently owned and funded · Efficiency and cost 2. To produce outline proposals, plans and specifications of how a reconfigured transport service would look and operate, including details of resource requirements in enough detail to allow reasonably accurate costing to be derived

Service-Oriented Multigranular Optical Network Architecture for Clouds

This paper presents a novel service-oriented network architecture to bridge the informational gap between user applications and optical networks providing technology-agnostic multigranular optical network services for clouds. A mediation layer (service plane) between user applications and network control is proposed to facilitate a mapping process between user application requests and the network services. At the network level, a multigranular optical network (MGON) is proposed and implemented to support dynamic wavelength and subwavelength granularities with different transport formats [optical burst switched (OBS), optical burst transport (OBT)], reservation protocols (one-way, two-way), and different quality-of-service (QoS) levels per service type. The service-oriented multigranular optical network has been designed, implemented, and demonstrated on an experimental testbed. The testbed consists of service and network resource provisioning, service abstraction, and network resource virtualization. The service-to-network interoperation is provided by means of a gateway that maps service requests to technology-specific parameters and a common signaling channel for both service and network resource provisioning

Road and Maritime Transport Costs: A Comparative Analysis of Spanish Exports to Poland and Turkey

In this paper, we analyze the determinants of maritime and road transport costs for Spanish exports to Poland and Turkey and investigate the different effects of these costs on international trade. First, we investigate the extent to which maritime and road transport costs depend on different factors such as unit values, distances, transport conditions, service structures, and service quality. Second, we analyze the relative importance of road and maritime transport costs as determinants of trade flows. The data on transport costs are drawn from a new database compiled from primary data sources. The main results of this investigation identify the central variables influencing road and maritime transportation costs: for both modes, transport conditions are strong determinants, whereas efficiency and service quality are more important for maritime transport costs, and geographical distance is more important for road transport. Road and maritime transport costs are important explanatory factors of exports and they seem to deter trade to a greater extent than road or maritime transit time when considered endogenously determined.Transport costs, transport mode, Spanish exports, international trade

Policy Transfer through Research Networks – the Example of Urban Road Pricing

Stadtverkehrspolitik, Verkehrswissenschaft, Politikberatung, Straßenbenutzungsgebühr, EU-Verkehrspolitik, EU-Staaten, Urban transport policy, Transport research, Policy advisory service, Road pricing, Common transport policy, EU countries

The choice between road transport and rolling motorway: a case study

The paper reports on a research project aimed at estimating the potential demand for a rolling motorway service connecting Trieste (Italy) and Chop (Ukraine). More specifically, the study has explored which factors play a role in the choice between the current prevailing mode of transport, that is road transport by trucks, and a rolling motorway service. Based on the estimates derived from a discrete choice model obtained on the basis of stated choice data collected from truck drivers and from transport companies, it is found that the monetary cost, the travel time and the day of the week play an important role. The scenario analysis allows us to conclude that under the current prices and regulations a rolling motorway service operating on a weekday would have no potential demand, whereas some potential demand would have a service operating during the weekend. Substantial demand for a rolling motorway service appears only if the monetary road cost (fuel cost or highway toll) increases considerably. A heavy-vehicle road tax equivalent to the one used for crossing the Alps in Switzerland and Austria would alter the balance in favor of the rolling motorway.Rail transport, modal choice, road transport, rolling motorway.

Quality and Public Transport Service Contracts

Public authorities and transport operators are both involved in the provision of public transport services. There is a contrast between the social goals of the former and the private ones of the latter. Regulation plays an important role especially failing competition. Service contracts are the natural method to set bilateral After a brief description of the most important regulatory procedures, we focus our attention on the quality framework in service contracts. In recent years the inclusion of quality requirements in contracts is becoming common practice, especially when adopting price cap regulation. This paper suggests a criterion for service quality definition, measurement and integration in contracts for the production of socially valuable transport services. Using stated preferences methods and choice-based conjoint analysis to analyse customer preferences we estimate the passengers’ evaluation of different service features and calculate a service quality index. A case study demonstrates the procedure to follow for measuring service quality in local public transport.service quality, stated preferences, service contract.

The technological model of operating area by the combined transport

The contribution deals with design technology service model using the combined transport. It assesses the performance indicators in relation to price and quality of services provided and on this basis decides on the type of the transport. This is the decision-making processes, which should answer the question, whether used directly in road freight transport, direct rail freight transport or combined transport. In this contribution is the combined transport meant as a system between the conventional modes, which are transhipped goods from road vehicles to the rail cars or river boats

The posssibilities of railway transport utilizing as a backbone network of integrated passenger transport systems

The aspects of utilizing of railway transport as a backbone network of integrated passenger transport systems are solved in the contribution. The basic requirements on this railway transport service are specified in the contribution. The main attention is focused on creating of line structure of the integrated transport systems. The location of interchange points is also accented in the contribution. The theoretical presumptions are also illustrated in the way of convenient practical examples

Is there room for shared cars in Italy? Considerations from some recent experiences

Car sharing is increasing its role worldwide as an alternative transport mode, that could contribute to a more sustainable urban mobility by reducing congestion and pollution. The paper focuses on the understanding of which are the main characteristics of this service starting from the literature on this topic both in terms of user profile and impact of the service; in the second part of the paper, the Italian context will be presented starting from the analysis of four Italian experiences with a particular focus on Milan’s car sharing. Summarizing the conclusion, it emerges that to date, the overall impact on transport is still quite low, in part due to a scarce integration and coordination with other transport modes and in part because car is still perceived primarily as a status symbol and a “good” rather than as a “service”. Therefore, car sharing can perform as a significant complementary and sustainable solution to mobility needs only in a context of cultural change and inside a transport policy aimed at changing transport behavior.car sharing; sustainable mobility; transport policy; urban mobility; peer to peer car sharing;