Integration As A Competitiveness Instrument For Public Transport In Rural Areas

The market of interurban mobility to rural areas is one of the most challenging for Public Transport (PT). In Portugal it has been quite difficult for Public Transportation to establish itself in this market as an effective alternative to the use of private cars. Two of the main reasons for this are the low accessibility of long distance railway services and urban sprawl in many Portuguese regions. Integration facilitates the use of several services of the transport chain and facilitates a more efficient resource allocation on the supply side of the system. By making local distribution possible in connection with long distance services, even in low demand areas, integration may foster a higher patronage of PT and its competitiveness compared to private car. This paper presents the study of five short-range road transport services in connection to the railway network in the Médio Tejo region, including the key elements that are to be considered on their design. The research identified the possible interested agents and made an account of their related costs and benefits. The conclusion is that these services can be commercially interesting and may bring considerable increase in the market share of PT. Keywords: Integration, Multimodal Transport, Public Transport, Interurban Transport, Economic Evaluation.Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies. Faculty of Economics and Business. The University of Sydne

Integration As A Competitiveness Instrument For Public Transport In Rural Areas

The market of interurban mobility to rural areas is one of the most challenging for Public Transport (PT). In Portugal it has been quite difficult for Public Transportation to establish itself in this market as an effective alternative to the use of private cars. Two of the main reasons for this are the low accessibility of long distance railway services and urban sprawl in many Portuguese regions. Integration facilitates the use of several services of the transport chain and facilitates a more efficient resource allocation on the supply side of the system. By making local distribution possible in connection with long distance services, even in low demand areas, integration may foster a higher patronage of PT and its competitiveness compared to private car. This paper presents the study of five short-range road transport services in connection to the railway network in the Médio Tejo region, including the key elements that are to be considered on their design. The research identified the possible interested agents and made an account of their related costs and benefits. The conclusion is that these services can be commercially interesting and may bring considerable increase in the market share of PT. Keywords: Integration, Multimodal Transport, Public Transport, Interurban Transport, Economic Evaluation.Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies. Faculty of Economics and Business. The University of Sydne

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved