Perspectives On Competition In Transportation

Issues of competition seem to have been neglected for a long time in the transportation sector. But the provision of transport services at competitive prices and quantities may have an important impact on economic development, both from a regional and a global perspective. This volume addresses such issues of competition in transportation. Part I deals with the air transport sector, part II is concerned with the road transport sector, part III takes a look at transportation costs and, in the final part, some visions of competition in transportation are discussed.

This insightful book provides readers with an in-depth discussion of the use of benchmarking in regulation in the European transport sector. It argues that benchmarking is invaluable to regulators, particularly in the transport sector where the pressures of competition in – or for – the market are often absent.

"In a world where most international trade is carried by sea, each port can be seen as a unique chokepoint competing to attract ever more traffic and economic activities. However, ports can also be seen as parts of a wider system, which can be defined as a system of two or more ports located in proximity within a given area. Their fate and governance is jointly influenced when belonging to the same region, country, or transnational space. Investments, shocks, innovations, and delays occurring in one port often affect other ports within a certain spatial range and time lapse. Further understanding of such co-developments in port systems is necessary to go beyond local specificities, through a multidisciplinary and multi-level contribution. Port Systems in Global Competition is an answer to the strong and urgent need for reviewing the relevant theories, concepts, methods, and sources that can be mobilized for the analysis of port systems. With contributions from reputable scholars coming from no less than 11 countries in Europe, Asia, and North America, this book delves into the analysis of port systems from diverse disciplinary angles (geography, regional science, economics, management, engineering, and mathematics/computer sciences), and covering innovative empirical approaches to various port systems in the world. The theoretical and empirical knowledge can support and enhance decision-making in relation with the development of ports, supply chains, and transport networks in general. This book is an ideal companion to academics and upper-level students interested in the analysis of transport and economic systems in general, as well as the effective ways to answer complex issues in transportation and socio-economic development. It will be a valuable resource for those researching or studying transportation and supply chains, maritime and port economics, as well as regional development and human geography"--

This book represents the proceedings of a conference held at Kobe University, that brought together some of the world's leading researchers in the field of transportation planning and policy. It contains a compendium of papers representing state-of-the-art research on topics of competition and regulation and system structure in air and maritime transportation. This book is a valuable resource for researchers and others who can use it as a starting point for advancing the state of knowledge in important topics of transportation systems management. It can also serve as a textbook for an advanced graduate course in transportation, economics, or public policy as applied to maritime transportation and air transportation. As such it is the first text of its kind.

High-speed Rail (HSR) is a technological transportation advance that has raised the interest of policy makers and researchers worldwide. The study of High-speed Rail is a recent phenomenon but has received increasing attention due to the extension of this mode of transportation around the globe. Evaluating High-Speed Rail contains some of the most recent and cutting edge studies on HSR from different disciplines. The book is organized around a variety of key topics related to the evaluation of High Speed Rail projects and experiences. These topics include: the economic appraisal and evaluation of High-Speed Rail projects; the evaluation of indirect and direct effects of High-Speed Rail; its territorial, redistributive and environmental impacts; its contribution or limitation to urban growth; and the management of challenges created by the arrival of High-Speed Rail lines to core cities. It also covers the contribution of High-Speed Rail to tourism and its impact on intermodal competition, with especial consideration to air transportation. Chapters analyse the expected effects of introducing on-track competition and designing public-private contracts to develop new lines. This cutting-edge volume offers rigorous analysis from top researchers in the field with a clear intention to deliver policy implications and provide the latest analysis on the impact of High Speed Rail. This book is suitable for students and academics interested in transportation infrastructure, economic impacts of public investments, mobility, planning and urban affairs, as well as researchers and policy makers in the transportation and infrastructure sector.