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.     

Airline cost changes: To what extent are they passed through to the passenger?

Since the start of the Millennium airline costs have been highly volatile, mainly due to large fluctuations in jet fuel prices. An important question for airlines and regulators is whether airlines are able to pass through cost changes to their prices. Little empirical evidence on the pass-through of costs exists. In this paper, we investigate which pass-through rates are most likely. According to economic theory, the pass-through of costs depends strongly on the type of cost increase (firm-specific or sector-wide) and market conditions (monopoly, oligopoly, perfect competition). In monopolistic markets, the shape of the demand curve also matters (linear, constant elasticity, log, power function). A pass-through rate of 100% is often assumed based on the reasoning that the aviation sector is highly competitive. We analyse market concentration in all airline markets in the world, and generally find a high level of concentration. Additionally, different airlines offer different products based on a variety of factors, including service, flight frequency, legroom, bags allowed on board, flight time and transfer time. Therefore, most aviation markets can be characterised as differentiated oligopolies. As airlines choose their quantities first (flight schedules) and adapt their prices to demand (yield management), we consider the Cournot model the best choice. In such markets, firmspecific cost changes will be passed through by a rate of less than half while sector-wide cost changes are passed through by a rate of more than half. In specific situations, the pass-through rate may be different. Examples are limited airport capacity (congestion), cross-subsidization, and the extent to which there is a level playing field.     

Residential self-selection and travel behaviour: What are the effects of attitudes,reasons for location choice and the built environment?

In studies of the effect of built environment on travel behaviour, residential self-selection is an increasingly important issue. Self-selection implies that households locate in places that provide them with conducive conditions for their preferred way of travelling. In these studies, it is assumed that attitudes toward different travel modes are an important factor in location choice, and that households are unconstrained in choosing their preferred residential location. This paper challenges these assumptions, by distinguishing between the more passive travel attitude and travel considerations as a deliberate reason to locate in a certain place. Based on a survey among 355 recently relocated households in Dutch TOD locations, we find that the association between travel attitude and residential environment is weak, and that the association between travel attitude and travel as a factor in location choice is moderate at best. Multivariate models show that both travel attitude and travel being a reason for location choice influence travel mode use, suggesting that travel attitude is insufficient to fully reflect self-selection processes. In comparison to other travel modes, train travel is most influenced by the fact whether residents deliberately chose to live in an environment conducive to using this mode.     

What the newcomers to transit-oriented development are confronted with? Evidence from Iranian policy and planning

Today, the American model of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) has gained widespread adoption around the world. Together with pioneer cities in the U.S., Japan, Singapore, and other European countries, there are newcomers to TOD, mainly from the cities located in the developing countries with rapid urbanization and motorization trends, with the purpose of benefiting from TOD advantages in response to the apparently unsustainable traffic-caused challenges. Opportunities, challenges and prerequisites needed for TOD planning seem to have been unclear so far for such nations. Hence, the present study, aims to fill this gap through examining an analytical framework for TOD planning in the case of Iran. The recent policies on TOD also have been initiated at both national and local levels in this country. Directed content analysis of 11 call interviews with Iranian urban professionals and government officials demonstrated that, as with global experiences, adversary physical characteristics and policy background of Iranian cities tremendously preclude joint transport land-use initiatives so that the nature of urban (transport) policies and planning as well as the resulting urban form are both car-oriented. As such, there is a great deal of fundamental works that should be accomplished by the newcomers. The results showed the extent to which the conditions for TOD newcomers are similar which could provide a common framework to the future customized analysis of the individual challenges and planning prerequisites.     

Economic measures of tourism yield: what markets to target?

An understanding of the yield potential of different source markets and segments can underpin destination marketing by both public and private sector organisations. The standard yield measure relates to expenditure injected into a destination from different market segments. This measure has several limitations, which are discussed in the paper. With the increasing sophistication of economic models such as computable general equilibrium, models, it is now feasible to develop new and more useful measures of tourism yield, which directly measure the gains to different stakeholders. Several economy‐wide impact measures of yield are developed and contrasted for selected Australian inbound tourism markets. The measures produce conflicting signals for public and private sector tourism marketers and planners. The reward from further research in developing and operationalising yield measures is more informed policy‐making by destination managers in respect of destination marketing and new product development, resulting in greater economic gains from inbound tourism. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Concepts and definitions of corridors: evidence from England’s Midlands

This article reports upon some of the findings of the CORRIDESIGN research funded under the INTERREG IIC programme, focusing in particular upon the UK’s West Midlands to London corridor. This corridor can be seen as a complex area of ‘braided’ infrastructure. It reports upon the spatial dynamics of transportation, economic development, urbanisation and institutional functions of that area. The article explores some historic antecedents of corridor development; discusses the perceptions of key stakeholders in the study area; and outlines the key issues and potential policy-making building blocks that were identified. Finally the article reflects upon what the findings suggest about the concept and definition of transnational corridors between major urban agglomerations in north-west Europe. It develops Myrdal’s concepts of ‘spread’ and ‘backwash’, and of the ‘armature’ as applied to the corridor concept.     

Hearing the authentic voice of stakeholders? Implications for governance of tourism strategy-making

Exploring tourism strategy-making in the light of complexity theory, this research examines the interactions that take place between stakeholders as strategy is developed and codified. It focuses on York, a significant UK tourist destination. Taking a strategy-as-narrative approach, it seeks to identify the plurality of stakeholder voices as the embodiment of the authentic voice of strategy. Key research themes are identified concerning how discourses, as manifestations of socially embedded networks of power, surface in narrative within strategy-making; what power relations govern which come to the fore and which are silenced. A heuristic device explains the power relations at work as the interplay of performative, attributed, and contextual power. The study points to the need for further work to understand how all stakeholders might be enabled to contribute equally to strategy-making, addressing the power differentials between actors through the allocation of appropriate resources.     

What to assess to model the transport impacts of urban growth? A Delphi approach to examine the space–time suitability of transport indicators

Selection of right transport impact indicators of urban growth is challenging because the impacts vary both geographically and temporally. For example, congestion might be a problem in inner-city areas in a short-term but might not be detectable in a regional context event in the long-run. This paper contributes to address this challenge. First, the study systematically selects 23 transport impact indicators through a review of 62 indicators identified from the literature. Second, it evaluates and classifies their suitability in terms of space–time dyads through a two-round of Delphi survey involving 29 international experts. The experts reached a consensus that 12 (52%) indicators are suitable in various space–time dyadic combinations. Only “travel time” was identified as a suitable indicator for all three spatial (local, city, region) and two temporal (short-, long-term) scales. The findings serve as a guide for decision makers, transport modelers and planners to adopt indicators according to their scale of operation, and thus simplify the daunting task of suitable indicator selection process.     

Is there a good governance model for the delivery of contemporary transport policy and practice? An examination of Melbourne and Perth

Land use and transport integration (LUTI) is a contemporary planning policy and practice that supports sustainable transport. Attempts to implement LUTI have raised questions about the appropriate organisational structure and the role of governance to deliver this policy. This paper presents the discussions from two public fora held in 2008 in Melbourne and Perth, Australia. Their purpose was to examine the governance arrangements for land use and transport integration. It is concluded that integration of land use and transport agencies does not mean that land use transport integration will be achieved in practice. Rather than simple organisational re-structuring, a focus on networked governance, together with strong regulation, is conducive to inclusive policy development and the implementation of land use and transport integration policies.     

Cost overruns in road construction—what are their sizes and determinants?

This paper investigates the statistical relationship between actual and estimated costs of road construction using data from Norwegian road construction over the years 1992–1995. Based on this data a regression model is developed. The findings reveal a discrepancy between estimated and actual costs, with a mean cost overrun of 7.9% ranging from −59% to +183%. In absolute terms, cost overruns amounted to a formidable 519 million Norwegian kroners. One particular new finding that has not been shown before in previous studies is that cost overruns appear to be more predominant among smaller projects as compared to larger ones. This observation, for the Norwegian road sector in particular, leads us to assert that the greatest potential for cost savings lies in exerting pressure on smaller projects to control their costs. Other factors found to influence the size of cost overruns include completion time of the projects and the regions where projects are situated. Surprisingly, neither project type nor work force type seems to influence the level of cost overrun. Finally, the paper proposes some policy implications.     

Charging parking by the minute: What to expect from this parking pricing policy?

In the days when parking had to be charged by a person or a mechanical device, it made sense to charge by blocks of time. However, these days, computers are capable of charging by the minute (or second if an operator so chooses), so technically there is no need for block pricing and the pricing strategy can be a policy decision. Operators, in one hand, are unaware of the impact of this measure on parking turnover and may believe that daily income will be affected. Businesses, on the other hand, will want to know if the measure has an effect on whether or not trips motivated by non-social activities will be carried out, given that they are spontaneous and are directly related to a client's perception. Finally, practical implications in terms of client response have not been studied, since smaller charging blocks may be considered as a disincentive to make additions to stay duration; this has repercussions on turnover and consequently on wait time at the entrance. This paper covers the abovementioned topics based on a study carried out in Barcelona (Spain).     

The parameters of the gravity model are changing – how and why?

Friction of distance in spatial interaction grows when the distance increases. This is a well-known fact and almost self-evident on the basis of the gravity model analogy and numerous empirical studies. Because this friction should apparently decrease over time, the change of the distance–decay parameter should be monotonic along time. We present empirical and theoretical evidence that this is only partially true. We also investigate the role of another parameter which is the scale parameter and the factors influencing on it. An empirical and theoretical explanation will be given as to why the changes of that parameter are rather contrary to the changes of the distance parameter.     

What are the sources of regional airport economic effectiveness? The dynamic capabilities perspective with evidence from Poland

The aim of this paper is to examine the sources of regional airport economic effectiveness from the perspective of the Dynamic Capabilities View, a much debated theoretical construct of organization and management discourse in recent years. The category of dynamic capabilities embraces those organizational competencies which enable organizations to modify their routines, operational capabilities and resources with the aiming of adapting to business environmental changes. The research results, conducted on a full sample of Polish regional airports, suggest that there is a difference among regional airports in perceiving the role of particular dynamic capabilities in achieving economic effectiveness. Some dynamic capabilities are more important for small regional airports in comparison with their larger rivals. Research conducted on similar groups suggests that heterogeneity in shaping dynamic capabilities exists within organizations operating in the same sector.     

Volunteer tourism: at the crossroads of commercialisation and service?

Volunteer tourism as a phenomenon and as a market has come a long way since its ideologically driven early days. It is now an established and ever commercialised market that meets the demand for a different travel experience for the more morally conscious traveller, while at the same time it provides opportunities for economic gain for the organisations that act as brokers of such experiences. This interaction raises several ethical issues in terms of serving a mission while making economic gains. In general, there is an acceptable relationship between monetary gain and altruistic service, within the context of enlightened self-interest provided that the beneficiary of economic gains diverts profits into serving their mission. This paper examines the supply for volunteer tourism for evidence of commercialisation and profit-driven behaviour and investigates a relationship between monetary gain and serving a mission by creating public goods.     

How large are tax subsidies to motor-vehicle users in the US?

There has been considerable discussion about the extent to which motor-vehicle use in the US is “subsidized,” making petroleum-based motor vehicle use more attractive than other transportation modes. Estimates of these subsidies vary widely, and in many cases can be criticized on methodological grounds. In this paper we estimate corporate-income-tax, sales-tax, property-tax, and personal-income-tax subsidies related to motor-vehicle use. Whereas previous estimates of sales-tax and corporate-income-tax subsidies have been built piecemeal, tax provision by tax provision, we offer an alternative method, based on the difference between actual tax payments of the motor vehicle industry compared to other industries. We estimate that the total “tax subsidy” to motor-vehicle users in the US may be in the range of $19–64 billion (10⁹) per year, or $0.11–0.37 per gallon ($0.03–0.10 per liter) of motor fuel. However, the amount of the subsidy, and hence the magnitude of its effect, depends greatly on the tax baseline with respect to which the subsidy is estimated. (The property-tax subsidy is particularly uncertain.) We emphasize that without doing a full equilibrium analysis, we cannot say how eliminating these subsidies would affect social welfare.     

Which type of tourism matters to the regional economic growth? The cases of Spain and Italy

Recently, the attention given to the importance of tourism in economic growth has significantly increased. However, research in this area mainly refers to international tourism and to the national level. This paper focuses on the influence of tourism on the economic growth of Spanish and Italian regions. Both international and domestic tourism are analysed and geographical location criteria are considered. Dynamic panel data techniques are applied. The results reveal that both international and domestic tourism have a significant and positive role for regional economic growth in Spain and Italy, although the pattern of these effects differs among different types of region. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

What factors predict the type of person who is willing to fly in an autonomous commercial airplane?

There has been much discussion and research lately highlighting autonomous commercial flight, with most of the focus on engineering design and legal issues. Some prior research has shown that many people are generally not willing to fly in fully autonomous aircraft; however, there is a significant proportion of society that is willing to use these types of airplanes. It is critical for the aviation industry to be able to identify these individuals as they will likely be the early adopters. The current study was designed with the purpose of determining what factors predict the type of person who would be willing to fly in fully autonomous commercial airplanes. We provided a hypothetical scenario to 1042 potential passengers from the United States and asked them to rate their willingness to fly in that situation. We also collected demographic data, along with ratings of various scales to determine what predictors were significant in a regression model. In Stage 1, we built the model from a dataset of 522 participants and determined that the significant factors were familiarity with autonomous flight, fun factor, general wariness of new technology, happiness, fear, age, and educational level. This model accounted for 85.9% of the variance in the data. In Stage 2, we tested the model with 520 participants and found excellent model fit. We discuss the practical and theoretical implications of these findings.     

International Mobility Biographies: A Means to Capture the Institutionalisation of Long-distance Travel?

An important aspect of current international travel and tourism is the degree to which they are becoming embedded as regularised and prescribed parts of the lives of individuals, families, and various organisations. At the individual and family levels, patterns of regularised international mobility often only manifest themselves on a time scale that far exceeds that of the reference periods normally used in long-distance travel surveys. Other methods are thus needed to address these issues. This paper discusses a particular method used in ongoing research into the international mobility of young Swedes. Students in the last year of upper secondary school are asked to formulate their international mobility biographies, i.e. all international trips conducted during their childhood and adolescence. The paper discusses the potential of such a ‘biographical approach’ to gathering information about various forms of the regularisation or institutionalisation of international mobility. The approach suggested is contextualised through a review of relevant biographically oriented concepts and approaches in the fields of mobility and tourism research. Methodological challenges involved in collecting information on travel behaviour retrospectively are then discussed, with reference to initial experience gained from research concerning the international mobility of young Swedes.     

Proximity changes to what and for whom? Investigating sustainable accessibility change in the Gothenburg city region 1990–2014

This paper operationalizes the concept of sustainable accessibility by emphasizing the environmental and social dimensions of sustainability from a spatial perspective. In doing so, we develop a heuristic model that focuses on the crucial dimensions of who gets access to what by using sustainable means of movement. We apply our conceptual approach in an examination of trends in sustainable accessibility for different social groups living in Gothenburg, Sweden between 1990 and 2014. On the basis of welfare-related and time-geographical considerations, we investigate accessibility by proximity for low- and high-income earners, people with small children, and elderly people. We investigate to what extent proximity to fundamental facilities increases or decreases over time, indicating changing conditions for sustainability. The results show that opportunities for living a local life and achieving accessibility via proximity differ socially. Low-income earners and the elderly generally live closer to the facilities important for daily life than do high-income earners and parents of young children. We also show that the opportunities for various social groups to obtain access by proximity change over time. For example, we observe a trend in which over time older people face reduced opportunities to reach daily facilities in their local neighborhoods.