An empirical procedure for enhancing the impact of road investments

The importance of ‘needs based planning’ is increasingly being recognised by road authorities. Such planning entails allocation of resources to explicitly account for the requirements of the community well into the future. Accomplishing what the community requires of a road system, at least at a level desired by them and ensuring regional equity in meeting community requirements, are two issues that are at the fore-front of needs based planning. This paper demonstrates that, in order to achieve these planning objectives it is necessary to adopt a procedure that can identify road investment proposals with the maximum ability to cost-effectively generate what the community perceive as gain in value to them due to road investment. Using data collected for Western Australia, the paper illustrates that generating investment proposals by commonly used approaches—including conventional multi-criteria analysis—cannot satisfactorily address these issues.     

Aspects of Residents' Perceptions of the GMC 400 - Canberra's V8 Supercar Race

The Inaugural GMC 400 Super Car Race was held in Canberra, Australia, on 11 June 2000 within the Parliamentary Precinct of the national capital. Some debate arose in the media about the appropriateness of the event for Canberra in general, and for the zone in particular. While the event was shown on television to all Australians, it is the residents of Canberra who are most affected by the traffic, by the visual impact of the infrastructure, and by other social costs. The residents are also the ones who experience any social benefits such as the excitement and the pride of hosting the event. This paper presents the results of a telephone survey of local residents conducted immediately after the weekend of the race to gauge residents' perceptions of the event and to test for differences in attitudes amongst different groups. Overall, the results of this study recognised that residents experienced some disruption and perceived some negative impacts of the event; however, they also perceived some of the positive impacts such as promotion for the national capital and community pride. The study also revealed that residents' perceptions differed according to several intrinsic variables, including attendance at the event, employment as a result of the event, interest in motorsports, and residential proximity to the race circuit.     

Developing land use and transport PSS: Meaningful information through a dialogue between modelers and planners

One of the key barriers to integration of land use and transport planning is the lack of a “common language” (i.e. tools, instruments, indicators) that can support planners from both domains in developing shared visions and integrated strategies. Many of such tools and indicators have been developed in recent years, but not so many are implemented in practice. In this paper a new, participatory development approach for planning support systems (PSS) is proposed, termed “mediated planning support” (MPS) that addresses bottlenecks blocking this implementation. It is founded on insights from knowledge management, system dynamics and software innovation and is applied in the Greater Region of Amsterdam. This paper discusses the evolution of the PSS, highlighting the most useful elements which can be applied in other land use and transport planning projects. It offers insights for practitioners and researchers interested in land use and transport planning integration and for professionals that are dealing with supporting planning with information and technologies.     

Mobility management outside metropolitan areas: case study evidence from North Rhine-Westphalia

In recent years ‘mobility management’—a means of promoting modal shift and alternatives to the journey—has gained importance in continental Europe. Especially in metropolitan areas this approach is seen as a way of improving the effectiveness of traffic system management measures. This paper outlines some key options and constraints of transferring mobility management to rural regions, drawing on evidence gathered from a research and demonstration project currently underway in rural regions of North Rhine-Westphalia. Basic conditions for implementing mobility management in rural regions as well as preliminary findings are presented.     

Concessionary fares and bus operator reimbursement in Scotland and Wales: No better or no worse off?

Governments in the three constituent countries in Britain—Scotland, Wales and England—have recently introduced much more generous concessionary fares on buses for people of 60 and above, in order to increase “social inclusion” (see Department for Transport (DfT), 2006. Concessionary fares for older and disabled people: regulatory impact assessment. DfT, London. Available from: http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/aboutria/ria/concessionaryfaresforolderan5508.)—i.e., to make it easier for people of limited means to access the activities that they want. To this end, in Wales and Scotland, passholders can now travel anywhere at zero fare, whilst in England, there is a free concession within a more limited area. As the majority of bus services in Britain outside London are operated commercially in a deregulated environment, these operators must be reimbursed for the cost of carrying at least some of the concessionary passengers. The main objective of this paper is to understand how much the concession costs, and whether or not it is a subsidy to operators (public funding that underwrites their costs).The paper draws on research carried out in Wales, for the Welsh Assembly and in Scotland, for the Scottish Executive, to achieve these objectives. It concludes that there are grounds for arguing that these countries’ concession schemes are subsidising operators that there is some limited evidence that the new concessions are promoting social inclusion; but there are still many elderly people for whom the concession is of very limited use since they face barriers to bus use other than cost.     

Children's travel behaviours in Canberra: car-dependent lifestyles in a low-density city

The study focuses on the independent travel opportunities of children in Canberra, a low-density Australian city. The use of a methodology developed in previous research on children's independent mobility in England and Germany facilitated comparisons with these countries. Differences in levels of this mobility were observed between schools in Canberra, England and Germany. Some explanations for these differences are offered. The discussion includes an explanation of how levels of children's independent mobility are affected by the dominance of the motor vehicle in the development of a low-density city.     

Recent maritime research projects on the Lower Loire area

This paper deals with the problems of access to an estuary port, the security of navigation and services such as towage provided for shipping. The port triptych is also considered — the port itself, its foreland and hinterland — showing to what extent the port can be seen as a fundamental feature of the regional economy.     

Changes in land use typology of global airports: An empirical investigation with implications for the aerotropolis concept

Aerotropolis is an urban development concept characterised by the concentration of land uses fostering economic activities around airports. However, limited empirical evidence exists about the formation of aerotropolises and their effects on the productivity of airports. This study addresses the gaps by examining changes in land use patterns around 75 major airports globally, using data extracted from Google Earth for two time periods: 2004 and 2014. A Two-Step cluster analysis technique was applied to identify natural groupings of the airports in terms of their land use patterns for both periods. Changes in cluster membership were observed between the periods to examine the process of aerotropolis formation. A multivariate multiple linear regression (MMLR) model is estimated to identify factors contributing to aerotropolis formation process. Finally, the effects of the aerotropolis formation process on airport productivity is estimated in a two-stage least square (2SLS) regression model. Cluster analysis results show that airport land side development can be classified into three groups: Island airports (surrounded by largely vacant land), Waterfront airports (adjacent to a large body of water), and Built form airports (well-developed residential, commercial and industrial land uses). Overall, built-up areas increased by 2.1% between 2004 and 2014, and only three airports transitioned from Island to Built form – suggesting a weak evidence of the aerotropolis formation process. Developable land surrounding the airports and city population growth rate contributed significantly to this process, which consequently contributed to the productivity of airports. In conclusion, aerotropolises are a promising concept, yet unreal. It needs to be integrated with city plans to direct development, and thereby, to make it a reality.     

A critical review of contemporary Greek shipping policy 1981–1996

It has been argued that Greek shipping policy, during the whole post-war period, had mainly among its objectives the maximisation of the foreign exchange inflow from shipping. This objective has been achieved in the sense that shipping foreign exchange inflow was increasing up to and including 1981. For reasons explained, on board Greek flagged vessels foreign crews were allowed to work during the post-war period, a fact that has resulted — as shown by our research — in a foreign exchange payment of US$406 million per year. Naturally, foreign crews remit their wages to their countries. Fortunately, however, for Greek shipowners it was only in 1983 — under the pressure of the then acute shipping crisis — that Greek Government legislated that foreign crews should be paid in future not according to Greek crew wages but in accordance with the wages prevailing at their countries. Our research has shown that this policy measure benefited Greek shipping with US$321.4 million per year. Our analysis covers also further policy measures which constitute Greek shipping policy during the last 15 years. The cause of this article was to see a rather small economic nation like Greece taking policy measures for a giant (first world position) international offshore sector like its commercial shipping.     

Cruising for parking

Suppose curb parking is free but all the spaces are occupied, and off-street parking is expensive but immediately available. In this case, you can cruise to find a curb space being vacated by a departing motorist, or pay for off-street parking right away. This paper presents a model of how drivers choose whether to cruise or to pay, and it predicts several results: you are more likely to cruise if curb parking is cheap, off-street parking is expensive, fuel is cheap, you want to park for a long time, you are alone in the car, and you place a low value on saving time. The model also predicts that charging the market price for curb parking—at least equal to the price of adjacent off-street parking—will eliminate cruising. Because the government sets curb parking prices, planners and elected officials strongly influence drivers’ decisions to cruise. The failure to charge market rates for curb parking congests traffic, pollutes the air, wastes fuel, and causes accidents. Between 1927 and 2001, studies of cruising in congested downtowns have found that it took between 3.5 and 14 min to find a curb space, and that between 8 and 74 percent of the traffic was cruising for parking.     

Light rail or busway? A comparative evaluation for a corridor in Beijing

Like most developing cities, Beijing's public transport is unable to meet demand, but it also faces growing bicycle use. Alternative public transport improvements in a congested corridor of the city — busway, light rail and elevated rail — were modelled and compared in a simple cost-benefit analysis. Complications arose in attempting bus-bicycle modal split modelling and in making due allowance for crowding in a developing country setting. Only the busway showed a positive net present value, but whether the implied withdrawal of roadspace and consequent restraint on the growing number of motorized vehicles is a virtue or not will depend on wider policy considerations.     

A Case Study on Culture Brokers and Their Role in Tourism Management in the Indigenous Community of Taquile Island in Puno,Peru

This study examines the role of culture brokers in the management of tourism in the indigenous community of Taquile Island. Culture brokers are individuals that have the ability to understand visitors' culture as well as their own. In‐depth interviews were conducted with culture brokers, members of the community and tourists to explore the topic from multiple perspectives. The findings suggest that their strong sense of identity has determined that culture brokers direct the course of action from inside and outside their society, while members of the community contribute from their positions, and this collaborative effort positively influences the tourist experience. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Towards a holistic framework for road safety in Australia

Current road safety programs and thinking in Australia are constructed within a paradigm that tends to accept existing cultural arrangements. Such programs therefore, favour symptomatic solutions and technical and/or physical solutions as a way forward. Fundamental redesign of cultural arrangements is necessary in order to challenge the “culture of speed”. Our research is developing a holistic, social ecological model for reconnecting road safety with communities that value quality of life and slower ways of being. Improving road safety through reduction in the volume and speed of motorised traffic is integrally related to enhancing health and fitness, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and improving neighbourhood planning and community cohesion. In this regard, community-based travel behaviour change initiatives are deserving of much greater attention in the road safety area. As well as these changes at the personal and community scale, policy changes to urban and transport planning that address the broader issues of sustainability in an era of climate change and peak oil can also be linked to improvements in road safety.     

Towards the optimisation of the schedule reliability of aircraft rotations

A cost minimisation model is developed to optimise the scheduling of aircraft rotation by balancing the use of schedule time, which is designed to control flight punctuality, and delay costs. A case study is conducted using schedule and punctuality data from a European airline. Optimisation shows that the operational performance of an aircraft rotation schedule is improved in terms of: schedule regularity, mean delays and expected delays of aircraft rotation. Although the total schedule time of the study rotation is increased by 5%, a system cost saving of some $9.3 million/1000 aircraft rotations is gained after schedule optimisation. Three schedule reliability surrogates—mean delay time of aircraft rotation, expected delay time of aircraft rotation and schedule regularity—are employed to evaluate the reliability of aircraft rotation schedules. It is found that the reliability and robustness of schedule implementation is significantly improved after optimisation.     

Voices from Costa Rica: exploring youth perceptions of tourism and the influence of tourism on identity formation and cultural change

Tourism has become a rapidly growing phenomenon in Costa Rica over the past two decades, with a rate of foreign tourists per capita of 0.46 (one of the highest rates in the Caribbean basin). As tourism increases, it is clear that the impacts will continue to be a major change-agent, especially for small communities in Costa Rica. To explore youth perceptions of the impacts of tourism on their culture and community and to better understand the ways in which tourism influences the formation of cultural identity, this qualitative Photovoice study focuses on youth ages 10–16 living in a Costa Rican community. Through the participants’ photographs and discussion, four themes emerged, including economic impacts resulting from tourism, the preservation and loss of culture and history, the importance of respecting the land, and injustice resulting from tourism development. The youth demonstrated the ways in which their experiences and personal histories related to tourism are intertwined with their sense of identity and pride for their community and culture. The results emphasize the relevance of exploring cultural identity within youth populations and support the assertion that tourism generates significant cultural change, which in turn influences youths' past, present, and future perceptions of their community and culture.     

Public-private technology R&D partnerships: lessons from US partnership for a new generation of vehicles

Government-industry R&D partnerships can play an important role in advancing the public interest. A widely cited example is the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (PNGV). It was launched in 1993 by the Clinton Administration and three US automakers, with the goal of advancing the development of energy efficient vehicles. It has come to be seen as a model, and in many ways it is: it is proceeding according to schedule; it increased the profile of advanced technology opportunities; and it led to better working relationships between the federal government and automakers. It also indirectly led to technology advancement—by inspiring more aggressive investments by European and Japanese automakers that, in turn, through a boomerang effect, inspired US automakers to do likewise. It is a success in the sense that both sets of partners are pleased. But has it served the public interest? Has it led to the best investment of government R&D funds and has it accelerated the commercialization of socially beneficial technologies? The answers to these latter questions are still uncertain.     

Determining passenger potential for a regional airline hub at Canberra International Airport

This study investigates the implications on passenger flows of a regional airline adding a hub to its existing network. The very specific application focuses on a hub addition at Canberra International Airport (Australia) by Hazelton Airlines, although the approach is sufficiently general to implement for other hubs and regional airlines.     

Small community airport choice behavior analysis: A case study of GTR

The issue of airport selection attracts considerable attention. However, most studies focus on using advanced discrete choice models to analyze airport choice behavior in metropolitan areas with several closely located, competing airports. This paper addresses passengers’ choice behavior in selecting between local small community airports and more distant major commercial airport. It looks at factors affecting air travelers’ airport choice behavior in cities with small community air service. Data relating to the Golden Triangle Regional Airport in Mississippi is used in logistic regressions to identify the key factors that influence air travelers’ airport choices. Ticket price, experience with Golden Triangle Regional Airport and flight schedule were found to be the strongest effects.     

Conflict,Power and Tourism on Lombok

This paper analyses how different power relationships between tourism developers and operators and the local Sasak community affected tourism development on the island of Lombok, Indonesia. This study is set against the background of local and national tensions, and how these also have impacted on tourism. Two case studies are presented. The first example describes how tourism developers, operating under a system of privilege in the Soeharto era, attempted to force land acquisition at Rowok, in the south of Lombok. The subsequent protracted legal case has delayed any tourism development in this area. The second example describes a model of co-operative power relationships between the management of the Holiday Inn Resort and the local Sasak community at Mangsit, north of the main Senggigi Beach resort area. Local people are employed in a range of permanent positions, and there is clear evidence of a harmonious relationship between the hotel and the community. During three days of rioting in January 2000, the local community was unwavering in its support of this hotel. It is suggested that the way in which tourism developers and operators link with the local community is an essential indicator for tourism within the context of sustainable development.     

Regional airline services in the liberalized European Union single aviation market

The regional airline sector is one of the most dynamically growing sectors of the European Union's newly liberalized Single Aviation Market. The paper explores the relationships between regional airlines, liberalization and the concurrent globalization of the air transport industry. It seeks to define the roles of regional carriers in this rapidly changing regulatory and business environment, one that is being further transformed by important technological innovations in regional aircraft. The paper then examines the varying nature of the strategies that link the EU's regional carriers and major airlines into increasingly integrated structures. Finally, the discussion examines the changing network operations of the regionals as they seek to define and maintain their roles within the wider—and still very fluid—liberalized and globalized contexts in which they increasingly operate.