Mapping expert perspectives of the aviation sector

Aviation globally is characterised by significant change and consequently the future of the sector has always been difficult to predict. This study adopts a systemic approach based on findings from exploratory interviews with UK aviation academics to: determine the roles of stakeholders in the air transport system; report the current issues facing the sector; explore how these issues interact and impact on the stakeholders in the system; and speculate on the future implications. Six core stakeholders are identified: airlines, airports, consumers, manufacturers, governing institutions and interest groups. Nine core issues are reported, namely: local environment, climate change, peak oil, the state of the economy, social norms, demographics, disruptive events, national (or international) regulations and capacity. A matrix of interactions and their impacts and implications for managing the aviation system is then presented

Automobile use within selected island states

Transport use in island states shares many of the same characteristics as other developing countries, but with added complications of geographic isolation and lack of capital for many islanders. This paper examines the influence of the automobile in 45 Small Island Developing States (SIDS), as defined by the United Nations, using multiple regression techniques. Under these cross-sectional processes, car-based mobility is tested against factors including gross domestic product, population, vehicle ownership, road length, and urbanisation, data for which is obtained from a range of primary and secondary sources for a sub-set of 38 island states. The analysis shows a strong relationship between increased mobility and increased GDP, while other factors which appear to be important included population density and vehicles per unit road length. The model results are then compared and contrasted with average apparent global mobility figures from a much larger set of countries, and this shows that mobility is significantly lower (almost half) that of comparably wealthy non-SIDS

Mobility, energy, and emissions in Cuba and Florida

In many ways the island nation of Cuba and the State of Florida are remarkably similar; both comprise similar areas and sized populations, and until 45 years ago they were economically linked. Now, despite being physically close, in economic and political terms Cuba and Florida are worlds apart. Overall, while Florida has grown economically stronger over time, economic growth in Cuba has been far more constrained due to external pressures – most notably the economic blockade by the United States and the collapse of the Soviet Block. This paper devises a range of indicators for both territories to explore how mobility, energy use and emissions might be influenced by socio-economic conditions. Specifically, it compares and contrasts how transport policies have developed in an environment with virtually no economic constraints, and a situation where strong constraints were in place

Integration of car sharing (city car clubs) into urban planning and management

Integration of car sharing (city car clubs) into urban planning and managemen

Island transport, car ownership and use: a focus on practices in Cuba, Malta, Mauritius and Singapore

Car ownership is growing in many countries and this growth results in further car use and increasing emissions – a trend diametrically opposed to a reduction of transport energy and longer term sustainability targets, and a problem that is particularly acute in island states across the world. The aim of this paper is to consider how various contextual factors influence the development of transport systems in four island states. Within this, the paper seeks to explore how transport systems have developed in Cuba, Mauritius, Malta and Singapore. The paper finds that a number of contextual factors have combined to result in four rather interesting transport outcomes

Automobile use in small island developing states

Islands are attractive to researchers because they are detached, self-contained entities with obvious boundaries. From a geographers’ perspective, this has long been recognised as a distinct advantage, with islands effectively ‘functioning as small-scale spatial laboratories where theories can be tested and processes observed in the setting of a semi-closed system’ (King, 1993). However, one relatively unexplored island research area concerns the development of transport, and the growth of car-borne mobility worldwide. This paper therefore examines the influence of the car in 45 small island development states – as defined by the United Nations - from 14 different regions using a simple linear multiple least squares regression analysis. Under this cross sectional process, car mobility was tested against factors including gross domestic product, population, vehicle ownership, road length, and urbanisation, data for which was obtained from a range of primary and secondary sources. Overall, the analysis showed a strong relationship between increased mobility and increased GDP, while other factors which appeared to be important included population density and vehicles per road length. Various linear regression methods gave similar but slightly different results and these are explained more fully in the text

Island transport, car ownership and use: a focus on practices in Cuba, Malta, Mauritius and Singapore

Car ownership is growing in many countries and this growth results in further car use and increasing emissions – a trend diametrically opposed to a reduction of transport energy and longer term sustainability targets, and a problem that is particularly acute in island states across the world. The aim of this paper is to consider how various contextual factors influence the development of transport systems in four island states. Within this, the paper seeks to explore how transport systems have developed in Cuba, Mauritius, Malta and Singapore. The paper finds that a number of contextual factors have combined to result in four rather interesting transport outcomes

Examining the political and practical reality of bus-based Real Time Passenger Information

Enhancing the bus experience through improved information provision is a key element of the UK Government’s transport policy as stated in ‘A New Deal for Transport: Better for Everyone’ (DETR, 1998). There are several ways of doing this, but one in particular - Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI) – has often been seen by local authorities as the way forward. RTPI is perceived to reassure passengers waiting for a bus by reducing the uncertainty of when (and even whether) the bus will arrive, thus encouraging patronage and benefiting the public transport operator through increased revenue and the local authority, by promoting social inclusion and achieving a modal shift. RTPI also provides an important tool for operators by allowing them to monitor services and refine their schedules

The effect of economic restrictions on transport practices in Cuba

Like many developing nations, Cuba has undergone - and continues to undergo - a revolution in the way its society lives, works and accesses mobility. However, unlike other developing nations, Cuba is unique in that it has faced enormous pressures for the past forty years due to an economic blockade by its erstwhile dominant trading partner, the United States. Furthermore, this economic pressure was exacerbated in the early 1990s with the political and economic collapse of the Former Soviet Union, and the Eastern European Socialist countries – which had replaced the United States as Cuba’s principal trading partners. These events have led to a transformation in how goods and people are moved, not least because of a huge reduction in the amount of hard currency available to pay for fuel, vehicles and spare parts. This resulted in a number of innovative behavioural and technological outcomes. Cuba thus provides an enhanced example of how physical, economic and social factors influence the development of transport systems. This unusually severe situation contains lessons for other countries seeking to develop more sustainable transport systems. In particular, the case graphically illustrates the link between economic and transport growth. The paper will outline the development of transport practices in Cuba thus far, look at the options available for the future and draw conclusions on what other countries can learn from the Cuban experience

Taxation futures for sustainable mobility

Taxation futures for sustainable mobilit