How do passengers allocate and evaluate their travel time? Evidence from a survey on the Shanghai–Nanjing high speed rail corridor,China

Although previous studies have demonstrated that travel time is not wasted, only a limited number of studies have conducted an in-depth investigation of how passengers allocate their travel time and what factors will impact their subjective valuation of travel time (SVTT). Investigating such questions will uncover some of the possible economic, social, technological and behavioral reasons that influence SVTT. Using a survey of 822 passengers traveling along the Shanghai-Nanjing high speed rail (HSR) corridor in 2016, this study examines passengers' allocation of their travel time, and explores the determinants of SVTT for business and non-business travelers, respectively. Empirical results indicate that around half of the respondents spend the longest amount of travel time on ICT discretionary activities, but there are some differences across trip purpose. Ordered logit models suggest that SVTT is determined by a range of factors, which are classified into travel time allocation, HSR environment, travel attributes, and socio-demographic characteristics. However, the specific factors associated with SVTT are somewhat different between business and non-business trips. The findings of this study provide a better understanding of the perceived value of travel time in a supportive travel environment and in a typical e-society of a developing country, and offer implications for more comprehensively exploring determinants of SVTT in the future.     

A research on social impacts of the Foça Rock Festival: the validity of the Festival Social Impact Attitude Scale†

The purpose of this study is to examine the validity of the instrument proposed by Delamere, T. A., Wankel, L. M., & Hinch, T. D. [(2001). Development of a scale to measure resident attitudes toward the social impacts of community festivals, Part I: Item generation and purification of the measure. Event Management, 7, 11–24] and to assess the local residents' perceptions of the Foça Rock Festival, which was held in Foça, Turkey. In order to achieve the validity of the instrument, confirmatory factor analysis with LISREL 8.8 was employed, the composite reliability, the estimated percentage of variance extracted by each construct, the discriminant and convergent validity were examined. Results indicated that the local residents' perceptions have two main dimensions with five sub-factors. Furthermore, the results also suggest that these two dimensions (social benefits and social costs) can be measured by 35 items instead of using all 47 items. The collective results indicate that when convergent and discriminant validities are achieved, construct validity is supported. The results also suggest that social benefits dimension is perceived positively by the local residents. On the other hand, other important findings of this study related to the social costs of the festival are the increases in traffic congestion, pedestrian traffic, ecological damage, litter and overcrowding.     

Analyzing the spatial–temporal evolution of a gateway’s hinterland: A case study of Shanghai,China

This paper analyzes the spatial–temporal evolution of the attractiveness of a country’s gateway for its international trade, using Shanghai as an example. The attractiveness is regressed on the transportation facilities and geographical conditions. Seaport development is found to have a major positive impact, followed by inland waterway, highway, and airport development. These positive impacts decrease with the need for highway haulage and with the distance from Shanghai—showing an inverse U-shape distribution. Rail appears to have a U-shape distribution, implying a low application of multimodal transportation. A geographical pattern for the impacts of different transportation modes is delineated.     

Measuring airport quality from the airlines’ viewpoint: an application of data envelopment analysis

The main objective of this paper is to develop a model to determine the relative efficiency and quality of airports. This factor seems to have a strong effect on the airlines’ choice of hubs. Previous studies of airport quality have used subjective passenger data whereas in this study airport quality is defined from the airlines’ viewpoint. Accordingly, we have solicited airlines’ evaluations of a number of European and non-European airports by means of a detailed questionnaire. Statistical analysis of the median score has shown that these evaluations vary considerably relative to quality factors and airports. The key methodology used in this study to determine the relative quality level of the airports is Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), which has been adapted through the use of principle component analysis. Of the set of West-European airports analyzed, Geneva, Milan and Munich received uniformly high, relative efficiency scores. In contrast, Charles de Gaulle, Athens and Manchester consistently appear low in the rankings.     

Anticipation and post-construction impact of a metro extension on residential values: The case of Laval (Canada), 1995–2013

The application of hedonic pricing models has a long history in estimating the externalities associated with urban infrastructure, such as public transportation. However, results accuracy crucially depends on methodological and empirical considerations such as: i) presence of spatial latent component (spatial autocorrelation); ii) temporal breaks related to different periods over which the infrastructure is built; and iii) heterogeneity of the effect along the line and stations. This paper aims to assess the impact of Montréal's metro extension to the suburb city of Laval (announced in 1998 and started operating in 2007). A spatial difference-in-difference (SDID) estimator based on a repeated sales approach is used to isolate the impact of the proximity to the new infrastructure on single-family house prices depending on the implementation phases and the stations. The results suggest that among the three new infrastructures, only one shows a positive impact of proximity after the first operation of the transit service. The study results tend to relativize the sometimes high expectations in terms of economic impacts of such a project, at least for residential properties.     

The multi-scalar complexity of infrastructure planning: evidence from the Dutch–Flemish megacorridor

The interests of infrastructure development, urbanisation and quality of life are becoming increasingly intertwined while at the same time becoming detached from any one administrative area or level of governance. Consequently, infrastructure planning is becoming more a multi-scalar and multi-actor process. It is expected that the leading role of national governments in large-scale spatial planning will gradually evolve towards types of multi-level governance. This paper focuses on the question to what extent this will lead to a corresponding change in national spatial planning. A case study will illustrate how the planning of cross-border rail infrastructure in the megacorridor from the Randstad to Flanders is taking place. Finally, some suggestions for improvement are presented.     

New insights into an old issue – examining the influence of tourism on economic growth: evidence from selected small island developing states

This paper uses relatively new heterogeneous panel autoregressive distributed lag cointegration methods to re-examine the long-run equilibrium and Granger causality relationship between tourism and economic growth for the small island developing states (SIDSs). In addition, the study incorporates energy consumption and foreign direct investment (FDI) as alternative growth determinants, during the period 1995–2014. After allowing for the heterogeneous country effect, a positive and statistically significant long-run equilibrium relationship between tourism, energy consumption, FDI, and gross domestic product, with a moderate convergence rate towards the long-run path is confirmed. The panel Granger causality test as proposed by Dumitrescu and Hurlin [(2012). Testing for Granger non-causality in heterogeneous panels. Economic Modelling, 29(4), 1450–1460.] shows bidirectional causality running from tourism to economic growth, from tourism to energy consumption and from energy consumption to economic growth, and unidirectional causality between FDI and tourism, between economic growth and FDI, and between FDI and energy consumption. Our empirical findings provide support for tourism-induced growth, tourism-induced energy consumption, tourism-induced investment, and the energy consumption-economic growth relationship in the case of SIDSs. Our empirical results resonate with the existing findings with major policy implications for the SIDSs.     

Airport–airline interaction: the impact of low-cost carriers on two European airports

This paper uses case studies to look at the impact of low-cost airlines on two European airports. Low-cost airlines continue to exert an influence in air transport markets and small airports face pressures to compete for their business. The low-cost model motivates airlines to negotiate contracts that significantly reduce aeronautical revenues, leaving airports to compensate by seeking commercial revenues from the increase in passengers. This has consequences for the airports, their passengers and the relationship between the airport and its existing operators. It is found that it is important for airport management to see both passengers and airlines as customers and to understand the resultant revenue streams, before negotiating preferential contracts with low-cost carriers.     

Food quality and the circulation time of commodities: lessons from the British milk trade 1845–1914

The major resurgence of transport geography over the last two decades has provided us with important insights and knowledge on the spatial aspects of transportation under global capitalism. In spite of its substantial progress, however, the sub-disciple has tended to study the movement of goods in abstraction from their physical properties and to conceptualize commodities as fixed and unchanging. Although this assumption is a reasonable one for a great many commodities, it is less so for more perishable goods, especially food. In an attempt to develop this insight further, this article argues that transport geography needs to pay more attention to the relationship between space–time processes and the physical properties of goods in transit. I investigate this relationship through a study of the development and social impacts of the milk trade in Britain c.1845–1914.     

Space–time fixity and flexibility of daily activities and the built environment: A case study of different types of communities in Beijing suburbs

Space–time fixity constraint is an important concept in transport geography, but the influence of the built environment around both people’s residence and activity locations is not clear. Due to the housing reform and rapid suburbanization in China, various types of residential communities and diverse built environments coexist in the suburbs. Comparing how people’s space–time fixity/flexibility varies among different community types and built environments can thus enhance our understanding of the transition process in Chinese cities. This study investigates how space–time fixity/flexibility and their relationships with the built environment vary among different types of residential communities in Beijing suburbs. Activity-travel diary and 7-day GPS tracking data of 709 respondents in Shangdi-Qinghe area of Beijing collected in 2012 were used. We investigate how variations in space–time flexibility are associated with built environment factors and four different community types: danwei communities, commodity housing communities, affordable housing communities and relocated housing communities, controlling for personal, household and activity attributes. The results suggest the influences of the built environments at residential place and activity place are different, and the relationships between space–time fixity and the built environments of different community types are different. Space–time fixity is not so sensitive to the built environment for residents in danwei communities and affordable housing communities. Gender and age differences in space–time fixity are not consistent with what was observed in Western countries. This seems to reflect the influence of unique social, cultural and family norms in China.     

The impact of low-cost carriers on airport choice in the US: A case study of the Washington–Baltimore region

Previous research has shown that low-cost carriers (LCCs) may stimulate traffic at an airport by offering low fares. Using passenger survey data from the Washington–Baltimore region’s three airports, we find that the benefits of LCCs to airports extend beyond the traffic generated directly by the LCCs through their low fares. In addition, we find that the mere presence of an LCC at an airport can attract passengers, even to competing carriers. These “halo effects” from LCC presence increase the significance to airport managers of attracting LCCs in order to generate passenger demand.     

Place,context and activity–travel behavior: Introduction to the special section on geographies of activity–travel behavior

This special issue addresses a number of research gaps in existing literature concerning the geographies of activity–travel behavior. We argue that places shape individuals' engagement in activities and trip making behavior, and in return users of different transport modes value and experience places differently. Furthermore, interactions between place and activity–travel behavior vary in different geographical, social and weather contexts. This introductory paper will develop these arguments and introduce the papers included in this special issue.     

Bridging the Öresund: potential regional dynamics: Integration of Copenhagen (Denmark) and Malmö–Lund (Sweden) A cross-border project on the European metropolitan level

The construction of the fixed link between Denmark and Sweden will increase the accessibility between South Sweden and East Denmark dramatically. The vision is that the fixed link will span economic, administrative, institutional, technical, cultural and other barriers, and that the two separated urban systems (Greater Copenhagen and Malmö–Lund) can be integrated, opening up for new dynamics. The Öresund (Sound) area has the potential to develop into one functional metropolitan region constituted by flows, markets and terminals. The ambition is to lift Copenhagen to a higher position in the European urban hierarchy by this integration, the instrument being the 16 km long fixed link which will open in the year 2000.