The dry port concept: connecting container seaports with the hinterland

The dry port concept is based on a seaport directly connected by rail with inland intermodal terminals where containers can be dealt with in the same way as if they were in a seaport. The main purpose of the article is to extend the theory behind the dry port concept and to define three dry port categories; distant, midrange and close. The findings show that the dry port concept can help identify ways of shifting freight volumes from road to more energy efficient traffic modes that are less harmful to the environment, relieve seaport cities from some congestion and facilitate improved logistics solutions for shippers in the port’s hinterland.     

Synchromodal hinterland freight transport: Model study for the port of Rotterdam

This paper develops a model that enables comparative analysis of intermodal and synchromodal operations from economic, societal, and environmental perspectives. The model captures relevant (day-to-day and within-day) dynamics in freight transport demand and supply, flexible multimodal routing with transfers and transhipments. The capacitated schedule-based assignment algorithm operating specifically at path level allows strategic modelling and evaluation accounting for the freight transport system at operational level. The Rotterdam hinterland container transport case study shows that synchromodal system is likely to improve transport service level, capacity utilization, and modal shift, but not to reduce delivery costs.     

Measuring non-motorized accessibility: issues,alternatives, and execution

While the transportation planning literature contains many examples of the calculation of measures of accessibility for urban areas, these measures are largely restricted to motorized modes and to a handful of destination activities. This paper explores the issues related to the development of accessibility measures for non-motorized modes, namely bicycling and walking. We note that difficulties in calculating accessibility measures arise primarily from problems with data quality, the zonal structure of transportation planning models, and the adequacy of models and travel networks for describing and predicting travel by non-motorized modes. We present practical strategies for addressing these issues. The application of these methods is illustrated with the calculation of accessibility measures for a small study area in Minneapolis, MN (USA). The paper concludes with some direction for future development of non-motorized accessibility measures and ideas about their applicability to the practice of transportation planning.     

Twenty years of accessibility improvements. The case of the Spanish motorway building programme

This paper presents an exploratory spatial data analysis of accessibility impacts of a large-scale national motorway building programme. Accessibility is calculated for Spanish municipalities from 1980 to 2000 using two indicators: motorway network access and market potential accessibility. The average distance from municipalities to their nearest motorway has been reduced markedly over this period. Market potential accessibility maps show that there have been gains in all locations, but some of the highest gains occurred in some of the more peripheral regions. A review of the theoretical and empirical literature on the economic impacts of transport investments indicates important implications for regional development.     

Measuring traveler involvement in urban public transport services: The case of Kaohsiung

The city of Kaohsiung has been urgently reducing its rates of ownership and usage of privately owned motor vehicles. The most important strategy undertaken thus far has been to build mass rapid transit systems. This study aims to apply the Involvement Theory to construct an inventory to measure level of travelers’ involvement in public transport services. The results indicate that the number of low involvement travelers is the critical factor that determines whether the new public transport system can effectively operate. They also provide authorities with precise marketing strategies targeting different groups in order to allow the new public transport systems to sufficiently meet public needs.     

Building a bridge between port and city: Improving the urban competitiveness of port cities

Historically, ports have been an important location factor for cities, enabling international trade and investment and facilitating urbanization processes. However, the traditionally strong relationship between ports and port cities has gradually weakened due to the emerging negative externalities of ports. Therefore, port-city municipalities need to better understand the relationship between port activities, urban competitiveness, and the attraction of investment. This paper uses the Quadratic Assignment Procedure (QAP) and related regression models to test this relationship as well as identify the determinants of urban competitiveness. The results show that despite the positive relationship between port and urban networks, port cities currently exhibit no significant advantages over non-port cities in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI); in addition, port-city competitiveness depends more on urban characteristics than on port factors. Based on these results, we propose various strategies for port-city developments.     

The impact of foldable containers on container fleet management costs in hinterland transport

This paper analyzes the possibility to save container fleet management costs in repositioning empty containers through the use of foldable containers. We model this entire empty container flow as an integer programming problem with different strategies in empty container flow itinerary. The model is used to carry out numerical experiments that optimize the empty container repositioning in the hinterland, where there are serious empty container repositioning problems caused by extremely imbalanced trades. The study finds that foldable containers can substantially save on repositioning costs compared to the use of standard containers.     

The evolution of a regional container port system: the Pearl River Delta

This study investigates the progress of container port system development in South China, focusing particularly on the interplay between Hong Kong and the other ports in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region. After identifying the downgrading trend of Hong Kong from a transshipment hub port for Asia and for China as a whole to a regional load center and the emergence of other deep-sea direct-service ports, the paper looks into the causes of this structural change of the port system. Four major causes are identified: the cost-base competition, the impact of the unique “one-country two-systems” policy, the impact of globalization and container standardization, and the impact of multi-modal accessibility and connectivity. The paper reveals that the interplay between different governments and between the governments and port operators are the local mechanisms that together as a whole respond to the shippers’ needs and the shipping lines’ pressure. It confirms that the interdependencies and competitive relations between terminals are being played out at a regional level. While the particular situation of the PRD is unique in many regards, the features emerging there, with its dominant hub, its network of feeder ports and its emerging direct-service non-hub terminals, are being replicated elsewhere.     

The impact of the great recession on Irish air travel: An intermodal accessibility analysis

This paper quantifies the changes in accessibility at small area scale arising from the combined effects of dramatic air traffic declines and a greatly expanded motorway network in Ireland during the period of the great recession. The subsequent policy decisions by government are assessed in light of the intermodal accessibility changes identified. The Irish Government engaged in an extensive motorway construction programme throughout the 2000s, greatly increasing the overall length of the inter-urban motorway network. The essential air transport services programme put in place in the 1990s to guarantee a minimum level of air access to disadvantaged regions was significantly reduced at the end of the 2008–2011 period, with only two of the six regional airports continuing to have any form of subsidised public service obligation for the period 2011–2014. In this study, small area datasets are used to measure the net impact of these changes on air transport accessibility in Ireland and the potential spatial inequalities that arise as a result of these changes. An inter-modal accessibility approach is used where the physical characteristics of the road transport network to airports and the network structure characteristics of the air transport system are taken into account to evaluate the levels of air transport accessibility at the small-area district level. Results from the analysis show that the improved surface access to the larger Irish airports (Dublin and Belfast) has enhanced the range of European and global locations directly accessible by air for many communities in Ireland. The net effect of these changes has been to concentrate air traffic at the largest Irish airports.     

The development of the Yangtze River container port system

This paper sheds an empirical light on port development patterns by discussing the structure and the development of the Yangtze River ports system. We argue that the Yangtze River system is going through a regionalization phase, mainly in relation to the port of Shanghai. This process started on the lower Yangtze but is now also moving upstream. The transition towards the port regionalization phase is typically a gradual and market-driven process that mirrors the increased focus of market players on logistics integration. This paper builds on the existing literature on port systems and adapts port development models to river ports. Furthermore, we employ some statistical techniques that are common to the analysis of port systems, and introduce some techniques that have not been used much by transport geographers in ports. This paper will address the dynamics in the Yangtze River ports system by analyzing the level of cargo concentration and the degree of inequality in operations of the container ports. The paper also assesses observed differences in development of ports in different areas along the river (upstream/downstream) and reflects on the role of ownership structures in shaping regional load centre networks.     

Planning for competitive port expansion on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard: the case of the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project

With the expansion of the Panama Canal, port cities along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard are competing to attract the increased trade expected once the project is complete in 2015. Competition includes extensive investment in projects for port expansion, dredging, and multimodal transportation for greater hinterland connectivity, fueled in part by uncoordinated federal port investments without a larger strategic vision for national port and trade infrastructure. One of the competing ports is in Savannah, Georgia, which is the country’s fourth busiest container port. Savannah is about to embark on a $652 million project that will dredge thirty-two miles of the Savannah River from 42 to 47 feet to attract and accommodate Post-Panamax container ships. The paper analyzes the geographic coastal impacts of port competition, and looks at the unique circumstances of the Greater Savannah Metropolitan Region in planning for future growth of its port. The case illustrates the geographic tensions of uncoordinated maritime freight and logistics planning with fragile coastal and riparian ecologies. The dramatic interventions in port excavation also demonstrate how global forces of technological change and port expansions in other parts of the world are reshaping local geographies.     

The effect of service quality and satisfaction on destination attractiveness of sub-Saharan African countries: the case of Ghana

This paper examines the functional forms of service quality (SQ) and satisfaction in relation to destination attractiveness. It focuses on the varying influence of destination characteristics, customer economics, and demographic variables to explore how SQ might be used to improve value positioning and, therefore, potential attractiveness of Ghana as a destination choice for tourists. Using methods triangulation data collection protocol, the paper finds causal links between SQ and selected composites of destination attractiveness (destination attributes, support services, facilities, and people-related factors) in the degree to which they influence customer satisfaction and return-visit intentions. The paper contributes refreshing insights useful for segmentation marketing, tour planning, and product/service development. The implications are far-reaching when considered alongside the fact that Ghana is relatively a new entrant into the organised tourism marketing arena and has the consequent imperative to scale-up structural and human capabilities to compete effectively with the more established global competitors.     

Comparing maritime containers and semi-trailers in the context of hinterland transport by rail

The purpose of this article is to investigate why rail is used to move semi-trailers to and from seaports to lesser extent than it is used to move maritime containers, and which actions can foster an increase of semi-trailer transport by rail. The two types of load units are obviously used in quite different logistics settings. The two transport segments are compared in terms of the transport markets they serve, the competition they face and the operational and technological principles upon which they operate.The empirical setting is the transport of general cargo in load units between Scandinavia, Continental Europe and the UK, although the container segment is analysed as an element of deep-sea liner shipping. Empirical findings are drawn from the case of the Port of Gothenburg and its Scandinavian hinterland. Sustained double-digit annual growth has led to a situation where most of the potential market for the hinterland transport of maritime containers has already been realised. The challenge for further growth is now to capture the semi-trailer segment.Not surprisingly, this analysis shows that rail is more competitive for the hinterland transport of containers than of semi-trailers, but there are still significant opportunities for reaping the benefits of rail transport of semi-trailer transport in the hinterlands of European ports. An increased integration of rail transport and Roll-on/Roll-off shipping will not only require, but also encourage, changes in the overall system design as well as its competitiveness compared to all-road and all-rail services.     

Passenger perceptions of service quality: Korean and Australian case studies

This paper investigates air passengers’ perceptions of 11 factors that may influence their buying behaviour namely, in-flight service, reservation-related service, airport service, reliability, employee service, flight availability, perceived price, passenger satisfaction, perceived value, airline image, and overall service quality. Analysis of variance and an independent sample t-test are applied to data collected from Korean and Australian international air passengers. The results reveal that passenger perceptions are significantly different across airlines, seat classes, and usage frequencies.     

Location, economic potential and daily accessibility: an analysis of the accessibility impact of the high-speed line Madrid–Barcelona–French border

This paper evaluates the accessibility impact of the future Madrid–Barcelona–French border high-speed line. Accessibility impact of the new infrastructure is measured by means of three indicators: weighted average travel times, economic potential and daily accessibility. These indicators respond to different conceptualizations and offer complementary information about the issue accessibility. The results are quite different: very concentrated effects in the daily accessibility indicator, less concentrated in the economic potential one and more dispersal in the location indicator. The sign (polarizing/balancing) of these effects depend on the geographic scale: polarizing effects at the national level and balancing effects at both corridor and European levels are identified. A geographic information system (GIS) was used to carry out this study.     

From a hub port city to a global supply chain management center: a case study of Hong Kong

This paper explores the critical challenges encountered in the transformation process of Hong Kong from a freight transport hub city to a knowledge-based global supply chain management center (GSCMC). The exploration involves an examination of the structural issues of the logistics industry in Hong Kong within the framework of global value chains (GVC). A questionnaire survey and a series of interviews were conducted to reveal the essential problems that the key parties of the Hong Kong logistics industry face if the transition of Hong Kong into a GSCMC is to be successful in all segments of the industry. Through a categorical analysis of logistics segments, the hurdles to the GSCMC as well as the institutional measures are also discussed in this paper.     

The effect of airline service quality on passengers’ behavioural intentions: a Korean case study

This paper seeks to improving our understanding of air passengers’ decision-making processes by testing a conceptual model that considers service expectation, service perception, service value, passenger satisfaction, airline image, and behavioural intentions simultaneously. For this testing, path analysis via maximum likelihood estimator is applied to data collected from Korean international air passengers. Service value, passenger satisfaction, and airline image are each found to have a direct effect on air passengers’ decision-making processes.     

The new narrative of accessibility: its potential contribution to discourses in (transport) geography

A new narrative of accessibility has been incorporated into policy discourses in Great Britain. The paper’s aim is to contribute to the welcome debate in transport geography which concerns itself with accessibility and its potential relation with wider discourses, particularly those of sustainability, globalisation and new mobilities. The paper offers thoughts on the extent to which accessibility may have a role in this debate. It is argued that a fuller conceptualisation of accessibility has the potential to achieve fuller understandings of accessibility-based policy goals and their implications, as well as informing the design of instruments to achieve policy delivery. To this end, notions of ‘universal’ and ‘relative’ rights are summarised and discussed in the accessibility context. A simple notional system is proposed through which the roles in accessibility of these two ‘types’ of rights may be recognised and understood. It is also proposed that a concept of ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ accessibility, paralleling similar ideas of sustainability, can be of value in the design of policy aimed at achieving greater accessibility and hence social inclusion and social dimensions of sustainability. The potential for a fruitful conceptual interaction between an accessibility narrative and discourses of globalisation and new mobilities is explored with a view to stimulating debate.     

Choosing a port: An analysis of containerized imports into the US

Using a unique data set of individual shipments, port characteristics, and actual freight charges, we examined potential factors within management controls that affect the attractiveness of a port for containerized shipments. We hypothesized that the importance placed on each factor varies by the size of the shipper. We find support for our hypotheses that large shippers emphasize the factors affecting speed of delivery more than the freight charges compared to small shippers. These findings have managerial implications because investments in port development would pay off depending on the fit between the type of investment and the customers’ needs.