bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Overcoming Barriers to Model Use
Authors: Shepherd Simon , Koh Andrew , Balijepalli Chandra , Liu Ronghui , Pfaffenbichler Pauli , Emberger Guenter , Ash Andrew
Published: November 2023

Research has shown that most local authorities do not use models in strategy formulation or scheme design and that others who do are doubtful of their value. This paper reports on a study aimed at enhancing analytical planning tools. Firstly, barriers to modelling of policy instruments were assessed by survey and literature review. From this themes for improving the modelling of demand restraint and public transport instruments were identified as areas of main concern along with ease of use and transparency of approach. Enhancements are reported for a range of existing models including strategic, macroscopic and micro-simulation techniques. Although these are demonstrated for specific software applications the methods are transferable to other models. Finally we consider to what extent the barriers have been addressed.
Capacity Reductions at Incidents Sites on Motorways
Authors: Knoop Victor , Hoogendoorn Serge , Adams Koen
Published: November 2023

Incidents cause a large part of the delays in road networks. This is caused by a decrease of the capacity at the incident site. A detailed knowledge of the queue discharge rate can improve for instance the traffic prediction and thereby improve delay information or routing advice. Therefore, this study determines the queue discharge rate for many incident locations during an incident situation and these are compared with the queue discharge rate at the same location in normal conditions. Ninety incidents meet the requirements to apply the proposed methodology. It is found in case a driving lane is blocked, the queue discharge rate for each available lane is reduced by 50%. In case the driving lanes are open but there is a distraction of an incident at the emergency lane or on the roadway for the opposite direction, the queue discharge rate is reduced by 30%.
The Need for Advanced Public Transport Information Services When Making Transfers
Authors: Molin Eric , Chorus Caspar , Sloten Ruud Van
Published: November 2023

This paper reports on a stated choice experiment examining the determinants of travelers' need and willingness to pay for advanced public transport information services. Specific attention is given to the role of making transfers in the decision to acquire specific types of information. Intercity train travelers are asked to choose among information services that varied in type of information provided by the services, precision of provided dynamic travel time estimates, whether or not the system can provide information unasked for and price. Respondents made these choices conditional on a specified transfer context, denoting whether or not transfers had to be made during the trip, and whether these were transfers to high or low frequency train services. Modeling results indicate that as hypothesized, transferring during the trip, especially towards low frequency connections, induces a larger need for travel information, a higher preference for services that can provide advice relative to other information and a higher willingness to pay for information in general. However, the choice for information services is highly price sensitive, which suggest a low overall willingness to pay.
Dealing with Competing Project Management Values under Uncertainty: the Case of RandstadRail
Authors: Leijten Martijn , Koppenjan Joop , Heuvelhof Ernst Ten , Veeneman Wijnand , Voort Haiko Van Der
Published: November 2023

Due to the uncertainty involved in many complex infrastructure engineering projects, it is not always possible for managers to establish detailed terms of reference at the departure. Although the flexibility of ‘open’ terms of reference is often indispensible, it makes the arrival at a successful outcome much of a gamble. Complex infrastructure construction projects often include the tension that the values and interests of clients and functional managers diverge or even contradict each other. This is especially evident when managing the project management values of time, cost, scope and quality in relation to each other while the results of trade-offs and decisions can not be predicted. Client’s administrators defend objectifiable, instrumental values, while functional managers have an interest in relaxing them in order to realise the project. If these two contradictory sets of interests are not recalibrated, either the values are not met, or trade-offs may be made in an uncontrolled way, which can lead to suboptimisations or even project failure. Using RandstadRail as an example, this paper will show the problems that may occur in such situations and how unmanageability arises. A few lessons are derived to provide entrance to better manageable practice.
Feasibility Risk Assessment of Transport Infrastructure Projects: The CBA-DK Decision Support Model
Authors: Salling Kim Bang , Banister David
Published: November 2023

This paper presents the final version of the CBA-DK decision support model for assessment of transport projects. The model makes use of conventional cost-benefit analysis resulting in aggregated single point estimates and quantitative risk analysis using Monte Carlo simulation resulting in interval results. Two special concerns in this paper is firstly the treatment of feasibility risk assessment adopted for evaluation of transport infrastructure projects, and secondly whether this can provide a more robust decision support model. This means moving away from a single point estimate to an interval result, and the determination of suitable probability distributions. Use is made of the reference class forecasting information, such as that developed in Optimism Bias for adjustments to investment decisions that relate to all modes of transport. The CBA-DK decision support model results in more informed decision support towards decision-makers and stakeholders in terms of accumulated descending graphs. The decision support method developed in this paper aims to provide assistance in the analysis and ultimately the choice of action, while accounting for the uncertainties surrounding any transport appraisal scheme.
Book Review: David Starkie (2008) Aviation Markets: Studies in Competition and Regulatory Reform
Authors: Burghouwt Guillaume
Published: November 2023

Little more than 25 years ago, the airline industry was highly regulated. The industry is now placed within the market economy due to liberalization and privatization initiatives. Still, large parts of worldwide aviation remain subject to negligible competition. “Too often the instinct of the politician and administrator is to intervene, try to manage [..] the market and to generally distrust its working”. In his book, David Starkie provides a critical analysis of such policy initiatives by addressing the interplay of economic policy and aviation markets.
Dealing with Dilemma’s: How Can Experiments Contribute to a More Sustainable Mobility System?
Authors: Bruijne Mark De , Riet Odette Van De , Haan Alexander De , Koppenjan Joop
Published: November 2023

Sustainable mobility has proved to be a perennial challenge to realize. Scholars have argued that experiments could point the way forward towards sustainable mobility (cf. Loorbach, 2007, Markard and Truffer, 2008). In doing so, literature attributes a vital but complex task to those who engage in experiments. However, an important knowledge gap pertains to whether and how experiments contribute to learning about transitions and in what way they should be managed to break-up the more or less inertial mobility governance system. This paper aims to analyze how state-of-the-art literature on the governance of multi-actor systems considers experiments to contribute to transitions and highlight key dilemma’s that professionals engaged in the management of experimental face in the day-to-day management and decision making processes during the experiment. The paper will highlight these dilemmas and choices and illustrate their importance for experiments in the field of transportation and more specifically in the specific context of the Dutch mobility system and the TRANSUMO research program. Identifying these dilemma’s benefits practitioners who are engaged in the management of experiments to more consciously reflect on and include issues of second-order learning in the day-to-day management and decision making during the experiment to reach a more sustainable mobile system.
Book Review: Stephen Ison and Tom Rye (eds.): The Implementation and Effectiveness of Transport Demand Management Measures; an International Perspective
Authors: Heijden Rob Van Der
Published: November 2023

The growing difficulties with managing congestion in road traffic have steadily increased attention for transport management approaches that focus on reducing the need for travelling and switching modes to alternative mobility options. The set of measures available to transport professionals for bringing about such a change in travel behaviour constitutes the domain of Transport Demand Management (TDM). This book deals with TDM, in particular those measures that associate with commuting-induced road congestion. “The book seeks to review the nature of particular TDM measures, their effectiveness and issues relating to implementation and how the barriers to the implementation of the respective measures may be overcome” (p. 2). Especially the special attention for issues of implementation is interesting, since all too often transport planners tend to mainly emphasize effectiveness of interventions in the transport system, while neglecting the difficulties involved with bringing proposed interventions to reality.
Editorial: Recent Developments in Prospect Theory-based Travel Behaviour Research
Authors: Avineri Erel , Chorus Caspar G.
Published: November 2023

Prospect theory, a descriptive approach of modelling individual choice making which has been applied in a range of contexts, has recently attracted the interest of transport academics and professionals and is seen by many as a promising framework for travel behaviour modelling. This special issue follows a seminar on prospect theory and its applications to transport held in Delft at October 2009. It features a selection of carefully reviewed papers that were presented at the seminar. This special issue aims to expose the reader to the recent developments in this field and to some particularly relevant theoretical discussions, potential applications and critical views of prospect theory and its potential applications in the study of travel behaviour.
Strategy for Attending Takeoffs and Landings to Reduce the Aircraft Operating Costs and the Passenger Delays
Authors: García Alfonso Herrera , Quintero Eric Moreno
Published: November 2023

The objective of this research was to establish and evaluate a strategy for attending to the takeoffs and landings at congested airports, in order to reduce aircraft operating costs and passenger delay times. The continuous growth of air transport activity has created congestion at many major airports worldwide. As a consequence, aircraft must often remain in waiting lines before they could be attended onto the runways for takeoff or landing. This in turn increases the aircraft operating costs and passenger discomfort. In the strategy proposed the traditional rule for attending to aircraft, on a first-come-first-served basis, was substituted with a sequence that reduces operating costs and passenger delays. The order of attention given to each aircraft was obtained using a heuristic algorithm that did not require enumeration of all the possible sequences. Consequently, the solution could be obtained in a short time. Results when using this strategy showed that significant reductions of up to 47.6% in operating costs and 73.2% in passenger delays could be achieved. The main contribution of this paper is the establishment of a strategy that makes possible these savings. The amount of benefits achieved depends on the proportion of aircraft wake turbulence classes that operate in a given airport. In general, the largest benefits are obtained when there is a mixture of different classes and when they are in a proportion of 40% small and 60% heavy. By utilizing the strategy proposed herein it is possible to obtain significant benefits for both airlines and passengers.
Discussing Equity and Social Exclusion in Accessibility Evaluations
Authors: Wee Bert Van , Wee Bert Van , Geurs Karst
Published: November 2023

Ex ante evaluations of transport policy options (including infrastructure plans) are generally based on cost-benefit analyses (CBA). Accessibility changes are included in such analyses indirectly, via a utilitarian perspective. But accessibility is broader than is assumed by this perspective and also incorporates equity and related distribution effects as well as social exclusion. This paper aims to give an overview of the relevance of distribution effects and equity, and social exclusion for accessibility, based on the literature. The most important conclusions of our paper is that the two subjects are poorly addressed in transport appraisal in general, and in CBA in particular. Additional ethical theories could add value to the utilitarian perspective, egalitarian theories being a major competitor. Equity analysis is however complex because there are several types of equity, various ways to categorize people for equity analysis, numerous impacts to consider, and various ways of measuring these impacts. And such analysis requires normative judgements, in addition to simply presenting distribution effects. Several options are available to express distribution effects. Important choices to be made if such effects need to be reported relate to the unit of comparison (e.g. the household versus the individual), the indicator to be used, and the value of each unit to be compared (e.g. accessibility) for all units of comparison (e.g. households). We also conclude that CBA is not suitable for evaluating social exclusion policies. Based on this overview we propose an agenda for potential future research in the area of ethics and accessibility.
Regional Spillovers of Transport Infrastructure Investment: A Territorial Cohesion Analysis
Authors: Condeço-Melhorado Ana , Martín Juan Carlos , Gutiérrez Javier
Published: November 2023

Territorial cohesion is a routine part of the job of spatial planners. However, it has not always been measured using a valid and solid methodology. This paper addresses conceptually how regional spillovers of transport investments of the Spanish master plan (‘‘Plan Estratégico de Infraestructuras y Transporte’’ 2005–2020) affect territorial cohesion. Different periods undergo analysis using the ‘‘extraction method’’. We calculate regional spillovers by accessibility gains measured in economic potential units (gravitational method using GDPs for each centroid under analysis). Two different typologies of regional spillovers are given, according to the direction of the effects: upstream and downstream. We conclude that the ‘Plan Estratégico’ favours territorial cohesion of Spain, but the degree of territorial cohesion produced by each region is not uniform. The end of the paper raises a number of suggestions for further research on the interaction of regional spillovers with territorial cohesion.
Guest Editorial: the Many Facets of Port Development
Authors: Ligteringen Han , Vellinga Tiedo
Published: November 2023

In June 2010 a seminar was organised at Delft University of Technology on recent developments in the field of Ports and Waterways. During the seminar 36 papers were presented and discussed, both academic and more practical oriented. It was intended from the outset to publish a selection of the more academic papers in a special issue of EJTIR, which has resulted in this issue, comprising four papers covering very different areas within the field of ports and waterways.
Probabilistic Regulation for Inland Vessels Operating at Sea as an Alternative Hinterland Connection for Coastal Harbours
Authors: Vantorre Marc , Eloot Katrien , Delefortrie Guillaume
Published: November 2023

In 2007, the Belgian Federal Authorities issued a Royal Decree concerning “inland vessels that can also be utilised for non-international sea voyages”, allowing inland vessels to operate in coastal areas between the Belgian coastal harbours and the Belgian inland waterway network via the Western Scheldt. These new regulations have a unique character due to their probabilistic approach: among other requirements, a risk analysis must demonstrate that the probability of adverse events such as bottom slamming, overtaking of water on deck and ingress of water in open cargo holds is limited to an acceptable level. Several inland vessels (tankers, container vessels, car carriers) are nowadays operating according to this Decree in significant wave heights up to 1.90 m. Background is provided into these present regulations, with emphasis on the probabilistic aspects. A description is given of the methodology used for performing the required risk analyses. The effect of important parameters is discussed, both ship related (metacentric height, bilge keels) and wave climate dependent, and an overview of the ongoing research at Flanders Hydraulics Research and Ghent University on estuary container vessels is given.
Barrier Effects of Borders: Implications for BorderCrossing Infrastructures
Authors: Rietveld Piet
Published: November 2023

Borders discourage spatial interaction. The present paper gives a typology of possible backgrounds of such barriers. Five distinct ways of measuring border effects are presented and empirical results are shown for various transport modes: car, bus (public transport), train, plane. Border effects tend to decline in Europe, but they remain substantial, reductions of up to 80% are observed. They lead among others to low supply of border crossing transport links. A social cost benefit analysis of investments in international corridors is given. We find that border effects due to low demand for cross- border transport will lead to low net benefits of such investments. But the common practice that benefits of foreign users are ignored in social cost benefit analysis deserves to be reconsidered. By interpreting an international project as a joint project the benefits of foreign users are no longer overlooked, thus reducing the risk of underinvestment in international links.
Cross-Border Local Mobility between Luxembourg and the Walloon Region: an Overview
Authors: Carpentier Samuel
Published: November 2023

The strong differentials on both sides of the Belgian-Luxembourger border, both in terms of salaries and housing prices, have stimulated for more than two decades the cross-border links between the two countries. Thus, whereas in 2008 nearly 40,000 residents of Belgium crossed the border each day to work in the Grand Duchy, between 2001 and 2007, more than 2,600 residents of Luxembourg went to live in Belgium, though they remained employed in Luxembourg. These cross-border movements, whether involving daily activities, such as journeys to work, or life cycle, such as moving home, are an indication of the influence of the border on spatial and social interactions.
Traffic Forecasts Ignoring Induced Demand: a Shaky Fundament for Cost-Benefit Analyses
Authors: Næss Petter , Nicolaisen Morten Skou , Strand Arvid
Published: November 2023

Although the phenomenon of induced traffic has been theorized for more than 60 years and is now widely accepted among transport researchers, the traffic-generating effects of road capacity expansion are still often neglected in transport modelling. Such omission can lead to serious bias in the assessments of environmental impacts as well as the economic viability of proposed road projects, especially in situations where there is a latent demand for more road capacity. This has been illustrated in the present paper by an assessment of travel time savings, environmental impacts and the economic performance of a proposed road project in Copenhagen with and without short-term induced traffic included in the transport model. The available transport model was not able to include long-term induced traffic resulting from changes in land use and in the level of service of public transport. Even though the model calculations included only a part of the induced traffic, the difference in cost-benefit results compared to the model excluding all induced traffic was substantial. The results show lower travel time savings, more adverse environmental impacts and a considerably lower benefit-cost ratio when induced traffic is partly accounted for than when it is ignored. By exaggerating the economic benefits of road capacity increase and underestimating its negative effects, omission of induced traffic can result in overallocation of public money on road construction and correspondingly less focus on other ways of dealing with congestion and environmental problems in urban areas.
Rural Roads and Development: Evidence from Ethiopia
Authors: Wondemu Kifle A. , Weiss John , Weiss John
Published: November 2023

Previous empirical studies on Ethiopia identified adequate access to rural roads as one of the key determinants of rural income. However, most of these studies ignored the effect of spatial dimension of road infrastructure on rural income. As a result, the productivity of road reported by these studies is likely to be underestimated by the extent that local equilibrium prices adjust to the stock of local road infrastructure. This paper attempts to partially address the problem by specifying the link between rural roads and household income in the context of a spatial equilibrium framework. The results show that road-induced rural income growth is substantially higher than what was reported by previous studies that used the same dataset. Road-induced factor productivity and returns to land and labour are also found to be the main channels by which better road access enhances rural income.
Relevance of Prospect Theory to Transport Choice Modeling: a Rejoinder
Authors: Timmermans Harry
Published: November 2023

I was pleased to see that van de Kaa spelled out my comments on prospect theory and must have spent quite some time tracing back the references and conducting some additional qualitative research. The very purpose of my contribution to the workshop and the paper was to stimulate discussion and it seems to have succeeded in that regard.
A DEA-inspired approach to selecting parking areas for dangerous-goods trucks
Authors: Caro-Vela M.D. , Paralera C. , Contreras I.
Published: November 2023

The transport of dangerous goods by trucks requires special conditions for rest areas. By considering the set of existing service areas, the present work develops a procedure for selecting the subgroup of the most suitable service areas for modification in order to provide a service to dangerous-goods transporters. Under multiple criteria, a new DEA-inspired model is developed that uses the main characteristics of the problem under study with the goal of selecting the best locations. Through the application of this model to Spanish territory with the help of Geographical Information Systems, various solutions are suggested. The final decision on the number of areas to be located depends on corresponding authorities, whose main priority is to satisfy economic criteria.
Island accessibility challenges: Rural transport in the Finnish archipelago
Authors: Makkonen Teemu , Salonen Maria , Kajander Sakari
Published: November 2023

A global trend in declining island populations is causing severe accessibility challenges for rural archipelago residents. Since waterways often provide the only viable connection between islands, the planning of ferry routes and capacities relative to prevailing population patterns is critical. In this paper, we present a case study of Pargas, a rural archipelago region in Southwestern Finland, which in many ways provides a typical example of current depopulation trends in archipelago regions. Owing to high maintenance costs, changing population patterns and transportation needs, the ferry network of Pargas has recently attracted attention in terms of planning and a perceived need to reduce costs. Still, compared to in-land transportation, few academic studies have explored this issue. Using methods adapted from urban and land-based transport studies and diverse datasets, we aim at identifying spatial discrepancies between population patterns and transport options in the peripheral archipelago and at determining how well the ferry network meets the needs of the permanent and seasonal population of the islands. Our results show that although the existing ferry network in general functions relatively well in relation to the population, spatial mismatches between transport opportunities and population patterns in some of the prominent islands are nevertheless evident. Because the economic vitality of the region depends on a well-functioning transportation network, this study offers suggestions for improving transportation services in the study area.
Air passenger traffic and local employment: Evidence from Turkey
Authors: Özcan İsmail Çağrı
Published: November 2023

By providing fast and safe transportation opportunities, air transportation plays an important social and economic role in the development of cities and the nation as a whole. Using Census 2000 data from 31 provinces, this study attempts to figure out the possible effects of air passenger traffic on the local composition of employment in Turkey. Its results suggest that employment in many industries and occupations benefits from the existence of scheduled air passenger traffic. More concretely, we found that a 10% point increase in air passenger traffic per capita would generate 15,013 service-related jobs throughout the 31 provinces analysed.
Editorial: Optimisation methods of road pricing
Authors: Zhang Xiaoning
Published: November 2023

Toll charges are classified into congestion tolls (congestion pricing) and road tolls (private pricing) respectively, according to the purpose of pricing. Congestion pricing is used to mitigate network congestion by shifting traffic flow from peak periods to off-peak periods, from congested routes to less congested routes, or from private cars to public transport. Private toll pricing is used to recoup construction or maintenance costs of road links, when they are built fully or partially on private investment. This special issue reports some recent developments in road pricing. Three papers investigate congestion pricing, and one paper deals with toll adjustment for road franchising. The optimisation models and theoretical findings might be useful and meaningful for future research on road pricing.
Pareto-improving toll adjustment for a buildoperate-transfer toll road project with unknown demand
Authors: Tan Zhijia , Tan Wei
Published: November 2023

The social welfare gain and investment return are two main concerns of a road investment project, and they are usually key components of a Build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract. Therefore, the Pareto efficient outcomes of the two objectives are attractive for both government and private investor. This paper proposes a ex-post toll adjustment procedure called Paretoimproving trial-and-error procedure (PI-TEP), in order to achieve the Pareto efficient outcomes for a BOT toll road project with pre-determined road capacity and unknown demand function. The PI-TEP is novel and Pareto-improving, since the procedure does not require an analytical demand function and can improve social welfare and revenue simultaneously. Furthermore, the PI-TEP is theoretically proved to be efficient in obtaining the Pareto efficient outcomes. And thus, the procedure is practically useful and valuable for both government and private investor in a BOT toll road project.
Lifecycle driven planning of infrastructure: public and private experiences with more integrated approaches for managing project complexity
Authors: Lenferink Sander , Tillema Taede , Arts Jos
Published: November 2023

Currently, many initiatives are under implementation in the Netherlands to integrate the stages of policymaking, plan development, construction, and operations and maintenance in the lifecycle of the infrastructure planning process by more explicitly involving business organizations. However, generally speaking, these integration initiatives stand alone and only connect a maximum of two stages at a time. In this article we explore whether and how contemporary lifecycle integration initiatives could be combined into a more integrated approach to be better able to address infrastructure planning complexities. We provide a framework for dealing with project complexity that distinguishes internal complexity, defined as the interrelatedness between project components, and external complexity, defined as the interaction of the project with its context. After assessing public and private experiences in combining single integration initiatives in complex settings by means of two focus group discussions, we conclude that current initiatives that connect stages in the planning process are suitable for addressing internal complexity. However, external complexity proves to be more difficult to adequately tackle when combining these lifecycle integration initiatives. We therefore recommend applying a more dynamic process management approach that stimulates continuous public-private interaction throughout the stages of the planning lifecycle. This could be facilitated by introducing alliances and cross-functional public-private teams.
Transport modelling in the context of the ‘predict and provide’ paradigm
Authors: Næss Petter , Andersen Jeppe , Nicolaisen Morten Skou , Strand Arvid
Published: November 2023

The central concern of this paper is why the traffic-increasing effect of road capacity expansion (induced traffic) is still frequently ignored when preparing decision-support material for proposed infrastructure investments. Earlier research has pointed at ignorance or technical difficulties as likely reasons. This paper offers an additional explanation. Based on an investigation of the opinions of transport modellers, consultants, transport planners and politicians concerning the usefulness, shortcomings and application of forecasting models in transport planning, this paper suggests that transport model forecasts are used in project evaluations primarily to throw light on where and when to build a proposed road infrastructure, not for assessing whether to build it. Since induced traffic is usually not differing so much between the different ‘build’-alternatives, the errors caused by omitting induced traffic in the models are accepted. This way of framing the decision problem is often associated with what has been termed the ‘predict and provide’ paradigm.
Car drivers’ preferences for ISA policy measures
Authors: Molin Eric , Bos Gertjan Van Den
Published: November 2023

Intelligent Speed Adaptation (ISA), an in-vehicle system that can either warn the driver or directly limit the vehicle’s speed when the speed limit is reached, is generally believed to have a large potential to increase road safety. However, policy makers hesitate to take policy measures that may increase ISA use. Public acceptance of ISA or policy makers’ perception of it is regarded to play an important role in this. This paper aims to increase this insight by reporting car drivers’ preferences for ISA policy measures based on stated choice experiment conducted in the Netherlands. Respondents made choices between various implementation strategies (mandatory ISA and voluntary ISA with financial incentives) given a chosen policy measure. The policy measure describes which drivers group (speed offenders, professional drivers or all drivers) is targeted and which ISA type (warning or limiting) is stimulated. The results point out that car drivers especially prefer that policy makers would impose ISA on speed offenders and to a lesser extent also on professional drivers, while they prefer a voluntary ISA for themselves. Use of voluntary ISA can be stimulated by offering financial incentives, of which purchase subsidy is preferred above annual tax cuts. Furthermore, car drivers prefer warning ISA for themselves and also for professional drivers, while they prefer limiting ISA for speed offenders. In addition, the results indicate that females and the older age group prefer ISA policy measures more than males and young drivers, but overall car drivers’ preferences seem to be rather homogeneous.
Are additional intermodal terminals still desirable? An analysis for Belgium
Authors: Meers Dries , Macharis Cathy
Published: November 2023

Recently, the number of intermodal barge/road and rail/road terminals in Western Europe has boomed, facilitating a growth of more sustainable hinterland freight transport. But currently, the question is raised if additional intermodal terminals are still desirable, if they can operate in an economically viable way and where they should be located in the existing transport network. The goal of this research was to find optimal terminal locations from a terminal operators’ perspective, maximizing the potential transhipment volumes in Belgium, without competing with the already established terminals. The developed methodology was tested for the Belgium infrastructure network, but can be applied to any network. Different locations are selected in a meta-analysis, but local conditions such as land availability and stakeholder approval should be investigated prior to setting up new terminal initiatives. In addition, the analysis shows that the selection of optimal terminal locations is highly influenced by the inclusion of transport time, next to market price, as a selection criterion.
Editorial: Towards energy efficient and sustainable transportation networks
Authors: Aguiléra Vincent , Seidowsky Régine
Published: November 2023

This special issue of the European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research comprises six papers, with a focus on energy efficiency and sustainability in transportation networks. Preliminary versions of those papers were presented during the EWGT 2012 Conference, the 15th meeting of the Euro Working Group on Transportation. The contributions have been selected to reflect the diversity of topics and approaches presented during the conference. They have been substantially extended by their respective authors and carefully reviewed and revised; this special issue contains the final selection of accepted papers. The editors are grateful to the authors and referees for their prompt and careful collaboration during the preparation of this special issue. This editorial first provides a few additional words about the Euro Working Group on Transportation and about the EWGT 2012 Conference, and then presents the selected contributions.
Evaluation of ecodriving performances and teaching method: comparing training and simple advice
Authors: Andrieu Cindie , Saint Pierre Guillaume
Published: November 2023

Eco-driving style is widely known to induce up to 20% fuel consumption reduction, but little is known about differences due to different learning methods. In order to evaluate the potential impacts of future ecological driving assistance system (EDAS) in comparison with usual techniques, a statistical approach is proposed. Two kinds of experiments are analysed in this paper: In the first one, simple advice were given to the participants, while in the second one, full courses with eco-driving experts were used. Performance indicators were derived from five commonly referred golden rules of eco-driving and used as model inputs. Different kind of statistical models are discussed, among which we choose to apply the ordinary logistic regression to assess the effects of each driving advice separately Results show that ecodriving advices are better applied after a course than just providing tips. The approach is then extended to build a generic model that can be used both to characterize and evaluate eco-driving style.
High-speed rail accessibility: a comparative analysis of urban access in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Madrid, and Barcelona
Authors: Zhong Chuyuan , Bel Germà , Warner Mildred E.
Published: November 2023

This paper is intended to set the context for policy discussion on HSR feasibility from the perspective of station accessibility. We compare the proposed Los Angeles – San Francisco HSR corridor to the functioning HSR line between Madrid and Barcelona to assess relative station accessibility based on urban structure. Our methodology assesses socioeconomic and spatial characteristics of mono-centric versus polycentric cities that may affect HSR accessibility. By addressing challenges of unit (urban geography), data series (normalization) and identifying four key components of HSR attractiveness (population, population density, income and employment) we have created a methodology that allows us to assess relative station accessibility in the four compared metropolitan areas. We find urban structure limits the potential accessibility of HSR in the California context, and warn HSR planners they should proceed with caution.
Hysteresis & Urban Rail
Authors: Block-Schachter David , Zhao Jinhua
Published: November 2023

Cities are endowed with and accumulate natural and constructed assets based on their unique histories, which in turn define the choice set of the present. But, common practice is that current behaviour can be described without reference to past circumstances. This work departs from that practice by examining the effects of historical urban rail on current residential location and travel behaviour, from the era of horsecars (1865) and streetcars (1925) to the present in Boston. It uses tract level data to explore the hysteretical effects of past access to rail—the extent to which the urban system retains the impacts of rail even when it no longer exists. Current density and travel behaviour are measurably influenced by past access to rail. These findings are robust to a series of alternate causal, functional, and spatial specifications. The built environment and demographic patterns are found to be the strongest mechanisms for these persistent effects. Past access to rail has shaped the city, and that shape has, in turn, affected travel behaviour. For density and auto ownership there is also a residual measurable effect of past access unexplained by the built environment or demographic patterns. This research shows that past rail access continues to reverberate in current residential location and travel behaviour. These findings of hysteresis add to an understanding of the long-term impacts of rail infrastructure, and suggest that if higher density and lower levels of auto ownership are desirable, policymakers should focus on reuse of areas that were built around rail.
Proactive Evaluation of Traffic Signs Using a Traffic Sign Simulator
Authors: Ceunynck Tim De , Ariën Caroline , Brijs Kris , Brijs Tom , Vlierden Karin Van , Kuppens Johan , Linden Max Van Der , Wets Geert
Published: November 2023

Traffic signs and pavement markings are a crucial aspect of road design since they are essential sources of information for road users to calibrate their driving behavior, evaluate route possibilities and cope with unexpected events. A proactive evaluation of (the quality of) these road design elements will help to improve the safety performance of the roadway. This paper presents the Traffic Sign Simulator, an innovative research tool to study the influence of these elements on road users’ routing decisions, lane choice and visual behavior, to investigate road users’ comprehension of these signs, and to collect suggestions for improvements. Using a driving simulator mock-up, participants navigate through a full HD video from route(s) in which the planned traffic signs have been digitally implemented using specialized software for camera-tracking and 3D video-integration. Participants’ route and lane choice and their visual behavior (using eye tracking) are monitored while driving through the scenario(s). Laptop preand post-tests are applied to collect additional in-depth information concerning the participants’ processing, comprehension and general evaluation of the traffic signs and suggestions for improvement. The paper illustrates the possibilities of the Traffic Sign Simulator with a case study that examined the effectiveness of temporary work zone signalization (i.e., traffic signs, digital information panels and pavement markings) as it was used during the reconstruction works on the Vilvoorde fly-over near Brussels, one of the busiest interchanges in the Belgian motorway network.
Modelling the effects of spatial and temporal correlation of population densities in a railway transportation corridor
Authors: Liu Ding
Published: November 2023

The existence of spatial and temporal correlation of population densities has been identified in many previous studies. This paper investigates the effects of spatial and temporal correlation of population densities on system disutility in a railway transportation corridor. System disutility is defined as the summation of households disutility. It shows that spatial and temporal correlation of population densities has significant effects on the results of population densities and the system performance measured in system disutility, consumer surplus and social welfare of railway system. Two numerical examples are given to illustrate the properties of the proposed model and its application together with some insightful findings.
Towards improved handling of uncertainty in cost-benefit analysis: addressing the ‘price-quality’ and ‘communication’ dilemmas
Authors: Mouter Niek , Holleman Marc , Calvert Simeon , Annema Jan Anne
Published: November 2023

An important limitation of Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) is the inherent uncertainty in estimations of future welfare effects. In this paper, we argue that consideration of the ‘pricequality’ dilemma and the ‘communication’ dilemma is useful to explain and improve the handling of uncertainty in CBA. The ‘price-quality’ dilemma refers to the trade-off between the quality of welfare effect estimations and the costs of providing these estimations. Instruments to produce good quality effect estimates (including uncertainties) can be expensive both in monetary terms and time. We discuss the application of probabilistic traffic models as a promising example of how the ‘price-quality’ dilemma can be solved. The ‘communication’ dilemma refers to the observation that both a poor communication and a too prominent communication of uncertainties can cause problems for decision-makers. We argue that cognitive psychological theory provides useful perspectives to solve this dilemma, by providing a psychological framework which might help to explain why different types of people process CBA information differently. The results of this research may enhance first insights into the questions how the two dilemmas can be solved.
Electrifying light commercial vehicles for city logistics? A total cost of ownership analysis
Authors: Lebeau Philippe , Macharis Cathy , Mierlo Joeri Van , Lebeau Kenneth
Published: November 2023

Different measures are considered by the authorities to tackle the negative impacts of city logistics. Among them, battery electric vehicles are seen as a promising solution, but high purchase cost represents an important barrier to their adoption. However, these vehicles benefit also from low operational costs. This different cost structure between electric and conventional vehicles makes therefore a comprehensive cost analysis necessary for fleet managers who want to assess the real competitiveness of the vehicles. Hence, we developed a total cost of ownership model to assess the competitiveness of quadricycles and light commercial vehicles for freight transport companies. This paper presents the results for 7 battery electric vehicles, 5 diesel vehicles and 3 petrol vehicles. The results of a sensitivity analysis explored also the possible measures that can support their competitiveness. The model shows that battery electric vehicles have a better competitive position than petrol vehicles but they do not compete yet with diesel vehicles. A sensitivity analysis shows however that their total cost of ownership can become lower than diesel vehicles depending on their utilization, future market conditions or government support. Still, electric quadricycles appear to be currently an affordable solution for transport operators to adopt electric vehicles since their total costs of ownership is lower than diesel light commercial vehicles.
A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of park-and-ride facilities
Authors: Zijlstra Toon , Vanoutrive Thomas , Verhetsel Ann
Published: November 2023

In this paper we present a meta-analysis of Park-and-Ride (P+R) facilities. Our goal is to identify the determinants of effective sites and to assess their contribution with respect to various transport policy objectives. An effective facility predominantly attracts target group users, i.e. users who without the P+R would use the car for the entire journey. Our meta-analysis is based on the results of 40 studies and a total of 180 evaluated P+R sites, mainly from European countries. Linear regression analysis is used to estimate the influence of seven explanatory variables. Public transport mode and point of intercept are identified as the most important factors. The share of commuters, weekday or weekend use and the number of parking spaces have a significant, but limited influence on the effectiveness. The statistics from the dataset and the linear regression results are used to calculate the effects on three main policy objectives. Our analysis indicates that P+R facilities with a destination function intercept about 47 cars per 100 parking spaces provided. Public transport use drops slightly and private car kilometres (to reach the P+R) increase. Facilities with an origin function intercept about 21 cars per 100 parking spaces, private car kilometres are slightly reduced and kilometres in public transport use increases. Our results are useful to assess the impact of future P+R interventions and to formulate regional P+R policies.
Applying multicriteria decision analysis to design safe road projects
Authors: Sarrazin Renaud , Smet Yves De
Published: November 2023

Over the past decade, the improvement of road safety had been a major issue in transport strategies in Europe. Simultaneously the concept of sustainable development has become a key element in many strategic and operational policies – including the road sector ones. However, considering the design stage of road infrastructure, there are almost no methodologies that both quantify the road safety performance of the project and consider its economic and environmental nature. This study seeks to develop a preventive evaluation model based on a multicriteria decision analysis. It would allow designers to assess the safety performance and to evaluate some of the economic and environmental impacts of their road projects at the design stage. For this purpose, we have defined a set of 13 criteria which describe the problem. The aim of this paper is to highlight the added value and limits of such an approach. A case study is analysed in order to quantify these arguments. In particular, we apply the PROMETHEE-GAIA method to our problem and we conduct a sensitivity analysis to prove the interest of using a multicriteria decision technique in the context of road designing. A brief presentation of the current and future developments introduces the notion of Pareto frontier and its characterization with a genetic algorithm. Finally, the conclusion and discussion point out the possibilities and impossibilities of this research.