Regulated Monopolies in Urban Public Transport Can we Design Proper Regulations and Incentives?

A model of the public transport company in Oslo is used to the design a system of price regulations and subsidies. The objective is to provide incentives for optimum provision of public transport services both for peak and off-peak demand. Optimum is defined in terms of fares, level of service and average capacity per revenue kilometre. The cost of public funds and the fact that car traffic is priced below marginal cost in peak periods are taken care of in the model. The regulator determines the fares, the transit operator receives a subsidy per revenue kilometre, differentiated between basic services and additional services operated only in peak periods. There is also a subsidy per passenger in peak periods due to underpriced car traffic. The results indicate that it should be possible to have regulated monopolies in local public transport that gives a proper supply of services based only on commercial incentives.Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies. Faculty of Economics and Business. The University of Sydne

Designing Incentive Schemes for Public Transport

In 1999 the Hordaland County Council decided that the county should introduce so-called ”quality contracts” for public transport in the county. The main idea of this type of contract is that decisions on the level of service (routes and frequencies) are left to the operators while the fares are subject to regulation by the county. A basic ingredient of such contracts should be a remuneration scheme linked to the level of service. The purpose of the remuneration is to internalise the impacts on consumers’ surplus caused by changes in the level of service. This impact is inadequately captured by the changes in fare revenue. Theory gives some guidance with respect to the principle of proper remuneration. A model was calibrated for each of the three main bus operators in Hordaland and used to estimate the rates of remuneration that would induce the operator to provide an optimum level of service based on maximisation of profit. Modelling indicated that the remuneration schemes should consist for fixed rates per revenue kilometre and vehicle hour of revenue service for basic services and additional peak services respectively. Due to substantial deviation between fare and marginal cost for peak passengers, two operators should also have a remuneration per peak passengers. Modelling also showed that the sum of fare revenue and remuneration per km, hour and peak passenger would imply excessive profits and that the contracts therefor should include the deduction of a fixed amount. This is a novel and promising approach to contracting for public transport services. The heavy reliance on modelling means that the stakeholders must have confidence in the model and the results produced. In year 2000, contracts were implemented in the County of Hordaland based on these principles and results from modelling

Road Investment with Road Pricing - Investment Criteria and the Revenue/Cost Issue

Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies. Business School. The University of Sydney

Application of queuing methodology to analyze congestion : a case study of the Manila International Container Terminal, Philippines

The objective of this paper is to apply queuing methodology in order to analyze congestion at the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) in the Port of Manila, the Philippines. The vessels calling at the MICT have to wait in a queue before receiving services at berths because of congestion. For vessel operators and cargo owners this situation creates waiting time costs and delays in delivery of goods to final customers. One option to decrease waiting time is to expand capacity by increasing the number of berths. Construction of a new berth is a time consuming and costly procedure, which needs to be considered carefully before being implemented. To determine whether the data collected is suitable for queuing methodology, the distribution pattern of ship arrivals has been analyzed. The results reveal that the pattern of ship arrivals follows Poisson’s law of random distribution, which confirms the validity of the proposed queuing methodology. Applying queuing methodology, with the objective of minimizing total cost, including waiting time cost and berth’s construction costs, reveals that the number of berths at MICT is currently adequate. In order to release congestion, port managers must take other actions. Keywords: port capacity, port economy, congestion, queuing theory, container terminalApplication of queuing methodology to analyze congestion : a case study of the Manila International Container Terminal, PhilippinesacceptedVersio

Optimal transportpolitikk med og uten skyggepris på offentlige midler.: -Noen numeriske eksempler

Et begrep som ” optimal transportpolitikk” må referere seg til en veldefinert måfunksjon som skal maksimeres, eventuelt under visse bibetingelser. Hva som skal inngå i en slik målfunksjon kan selvsagt diskuteres. Her skal vi bruke et tradisjonelt økonomisk utgangspunkt som er konsistent med prinsippene for nytte-kostnad analyser

Analysis of hinterland transport strategies when exporting perishable products

Since a good hinterland connection is considered an important factor in port competitiveness, the objective of this paper is to analyse the impact of the development of hinterland transport strategies on the competitiveness of the port by taking the Port of Cape Town, the Republic of South Africa as an example. The development of transport strategies is reflected in terms of a lower cost and higher frequency of inland transport. To investigate the interplay among export products, transport, and access to a port for exporters, we use a linear programming model. The model considers both the choice of transport modes and the impacts of improved inland transport strategies. The model could easily be extended to deal with other modes or transport alternatives. It is assumed that, initially, two modes of transport – trucks and railway − are available for transportation of the export product from the farm to the port. The analysis is extended by including intermodal transportation as a combination of railway and road transport. The results of the analysis show that improving the rail services and offering more frequent rail services from the farm to the port, could lead to a better and more flexible transportation strategy. Keywords: port competitiveness, inland hinterland, dry ports, perishable products, intermodal transport, linear programmingpublishedVersio

Diagnosis and follow-up of treatment of latent tuberculosis; the utility of the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-tube assay in outpatients from a tuberculosis low-endemic country

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) Release Assays (IGRA) are more specific than the tuberculosis skin test (TST) in the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis (TB) infection (LTBI). We present the performance of the QuantiFERON^®-TB Gold In-tube (QFT-TB) assay as diagnostic test and during follow-up of preventive TB therapy in outpatients from a TB low-endemic country.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>481 persons with suspected TB infection were tested with QFT-TB. Thoracic X-ray and sputum samples were performed and a questionnaire concerning risk factors for TB was filled. Three months of isoniazid and rifampicin were given to patients with LTBI and QFT-TB tests were performed after three and 15 months.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The QFT-TB test was positive in 30.8% (148/481) of the total, in 66.9% (111/166) of persons with origin from a TB endemic country, in 71.4% (20/28) previously treated for TB and in 100% (15/15) of those diagnosed with active TB with no inconclusive results. The QFT-TB test was more frequently positive in those with TST ≥ 15 mm (47.5%) compared to TST 11-14 mm (21.3%) and TST 6-10 mm (10.5%), (p < 0.001). Origin from a TB endemic country (OR 6.82, 95% CI 1.73-26.82), recent stay in a TB endemic country (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.09-1.59), duration of TB exposure (OR 1.59, 95% CI 1.14-2.22) and previous TB disease (OR 11.60, 95% CI 2.02-66.73) were all independently associated with a positive QFT-TB test. After preventive therapy, 35/40 (87.5%) and 22/26 (84.6%) were still QFT-TB positive after three and 15 months, respectively. IFN-γ responses were comparable at start (mean 6.13 IU/ml ± SD 3.99) and after three months (mean 5.65 IU/ml ± SD 3.66) and 15 months (mean 5.65 IU/ml ± SD 4.14), (p > 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Only one third of those with suspected TB infection had a positive QFT-TB test. Recent immigration from TB endemic countries and long duration of exposure are risk factors for a positive QFT-TB test and these groups should be targeted through screening. Since most patients remained QFT-TB positive after therapy, the test should not be used to monitor the effect of preventive therapy. Prospective studies are needed in order to determine the usefulness of IGRA tests during therapy.</p

Boligpriser i Oslo: - Effekter av trafikkbelastning og lokalisering

En rekke forhold ved transport og transportrelaterte miljøulemper vil gjenspeiles i prisen på boligeiendommer (se f eks Freeman 1979). En prisforskjell på to fysisk identiske boligeien- dommer med ulik lokalisering, vil f eks mer eller mindre nøyaktig gi uttrykk for hvordan ”markedet” verdsetter ulike kvaliteter knyttet til lokaliseringen. Dette kan blant annet dreie seg om ulik eksponering for miljøulemper eller transportmessige fordeler eller ulemper knyttet til lokaliseringen. Fra enkel grunnmarkedsteori kan man blant annet utlede at grunnprisene vil avta mer eller mindre monotont med avstanden fra et bysentrum som et speilbilde av transportkostnader som øker med avstanden fra sentrum. Når det gjelder trafikkskapte miljøulemper er analyser av prisdannelsen i boligmarkedet en av flere metoder som kan gi informasjon om hvordan folk verdsetter ulike miljøkvaliteter (Killi og Sælensminde, 1991). En annen kvalitet ved boliger som analyser av prisdannelsen på boligeiendommer kan gi informasjon om, er hvordan folk verdsetter det vi med en samlebetegnelse kan kalle tetthet. I et langsiktig perspektiv vil vi kunne redusere transportomfanget ved å planlegge og utvikle kompakte bystrukturer hvor vi tilstreber høy utnyttelse av tilgjengelig sentral byggegrunn blant annet i form av høyt antall boliger pr dekar. En kompakt bystruktur vil gi kortere avstander og bedre markedsgrunnlag for både kollektivtrafikk og gang/sykkel som reisemåter

Treatment of seasonal tickets for public transport in estimation and application of mode/destination choice models

A new model system dealing with trips of length up to 100 km has recently been developed in Norway. A new way of dealing with seasonal passes for public transport is used in the travel-to-work model. The objective was to account for the fact that a respondent that posses a seasonal pass for public transport may behave as if public transport is free on the day they report a travel diary. On the other hand, we can not assume that public transport is free for respondents that used other modes of transport or that public transport is free to alternative destinations. This problem was solved by defining seasonal pass as a separate alternative in the form of a nest that included all modes of travel. The cost of a seasonal pass is a common cost for all modes in the nest and will thus not affect the choice within the nest. The estimation of this specification is compared with the more common approach of assigning an average cost per day based on the cost of a monthly pass and the number of workdays in a month. The comparison indicates that the “average cost per day” approach may produce biased estimates for several parameters. It also turns out that the cost parameter for seasonal pass is higher than the parameter for “out of pocket” cost, probably reflecting that there will be some uncertainty with respect to the actual use of a seasonal pass