Spatial competition between parking garages and downtown parking policy

This paper looks at optimal parking policy in dense urban districts (“downtown”), where spatial competition between parking garages is a key feature, from the perspective of economic theory. The paper has four parts. The first looks at the “parking garage operator's problem”. The second derives equilibrium in the parking garage market when there is no on-street parking, compares the equilibrium to the social optimum, and examines optimal parking policy in this context. Since parking garage operators have market power, the spatial competition equilibrium is generally inefficient, and parking policy can be used to mitigate the distortion. The third adds on-street parking and considers how its underpricing affects second-best parking policy. The fourth adds mass transit, and considers how economies of scale in mass transit interact with minimum and maximum off-street parking standards.Preliminary draft: Please do not cite or quote without the permission of the author.     

A weighted logit freight mode-choice model

The paper describes the estimation of a weighted discrete choice model applicable for analysing choice of mode and crossing for freight in the Oresund region. The study finds that, by applying a weighted logit approach, it is possible to establish a suitable decoupling of agents and shipments. Moreover, by assessing preferences on the basis of a representative baseline OD matrix it is possible to better reflect the dependence between mode substitution effects and geography/infrastructure. The paper presents demand elasticities with respect to monetary cost and travel time as well as value-of-time estimates for five modes and thirteen commodity groups.     

The decision-making process of and the decisive factors in accommodation choice

This study examines tourists’ decision-making process of and highlights the decisive factors in accommodation choice, employing the discrete choice (multinomial logit and nested logit) models and using the international tourist data of Taiwan. The results of this study may be indicative of the hierarchical nature of tourists’ decision-making process of accommodation choice. In addition, we find that price is a significant factor in accommodation choice, whereas income has only limited explanatory power. The results also indicate that tourists with a longer length of stay tend to choose hotels of lower quality, and, in contrast, elder people prefer better accommodations.     

The origin–destination airport choice for all-cargo aircraft operations in Europe

In this paper, we analyze the origin–destination airport choice for freighter operations of combination and all-cargo carriers in Europe. First, we discuss the choice process of airlines qualitatively. Next, using a stated choice experiment, we show that the presence of forwarders at an airport is the primary factor in explaining airlines’ choices, especially for airlines serving main airports. For airlines primarily serving regional airports, the possibility for night-time flights is most important. Finally, the presence of passenger operations at an airport is not a significant factor and the level of origin–destination demand is of limited importance.     

Commuting patterns of employees in the Information Technology and traditional manufacturing sectors of Bangalore, India

Rapid growth of the Information Technology (IT) sector in Bangalore, India, has transformed the city’s urban-industrial landscape since the liberalization of India's economy in 1991. The city's IT sector is closely integrated with a global system of production and caters largely to a global clientele. Apart from the impact of these developments on urban form, there are indications that they are causing uneven growth patterns and socio-economic polarization, which has resulted in different travel patterns in the work force. This paper compares the commuting patterns of employees in two types of firms, an IT multinational corporation and a traditional public-sector-unit (PSU), using data from a survey. Regression models show that there is a significant increase in travel cost as income rises for a sample of employees of the IT sector, even though travel distance is not influenced by income. The reverse holds true for a sample of employees of the PSU—rising income significantly increases distance though income does not affect travel cost. Behavioral choice models also show that with increasing income IT employees are more likely to choose two-wheelers and cars for commuting while PSU employees are more likely to choose public buses or walk to work. The paper suggests that Bangalore's services-oriented IT economy is magnifying differences in work commuting patterns relative to those in the traditional manufacturing economy. The IT economy is also transforming travel behavior in terms of work travel mode choices among socio-economic groups.     

Determinants and spatial variability of after-school travel by teenagers

This research work targeted teenagers to investigate after-school travel patterns and factors affecting their modal choice characteristics in Okinawa, Japan, where teenagers are not allowed to drive. The analysis is based on the cross-sectional data collected for discrete choice modeling of students’ travel in the prefecture. In this study, high school students’ trips from school to home have been analysed using a multinomial logit model. This has revealed the impact of individual, modal, and spatial variables on the mode choice decisions and return trip patterns. A comparative analysis made of downtown and suburb schools exposed differences in travel patterns induced by spatial factors and some existing constraints in modal choice options.     

基于收益管理理论的铁路客运专线价格策略研究简

在我国高速铁路网快速发展的背景下,有必要对铁路客运网络与旅客出行行为的关系进行深入研究,为路网规划提供参考依据。基于路网规划阶段确定的包含高速铁路与普速铁路的网络布局结构特征,对铁路旅客出行路径的选择倾向进行研究,建立了用于反映铁路旅客出行路径选择倾向的多项Logit模型,提出了相应的铁路旅客出行路径搜索算法,通过算例分析,验证了模型与算法的有效性,并对铁路路网规划工作提出建议。