Despite a decline in traditional rail freight markets (especially coal and steel), and loss of market share to other modes, the overall growth in freight in recent years has allowed rail freight to maintain its volume. The Commission has introduced three packages of directives to stimulate further growth in this market (the first should have been implemented in the 15 member states, the second is to be implemented by 2005, and the third is yet to be adopted). This report reviews the background to the packages, and offers a provisional analysis of their effect so far. The quality of service offered to customers of rail freight movement in Europe falls seriously short of standards required in a competitive environment. Liberalisation of the UK market since 1994 has, however, resulted in better performance and a growing market share for rail freight. The Committee has reservations about some parts of the third package of directives, particularly the proposal to require all train drivers to hold an international rail driving licence, and the proposal for compulsory compensation to rail freight customers for poor quality service. The report also examines problems with the Channel Tunnel, the only direct rail link between the UK and mainland Europe.
This CERRE report finds that to effectively reduce congestion and pollution in cities, policies should focus primarily on the rarest resource: space. Mobility as a Service (MaaS) also has a role to play in the transition towards truly sustainable mobility. But this is provided regulation guarantees that new mobility models complement and not substitute for public transport. European cities have been trying to enhance their mobility and transport systems, while reducing congestion, pollution, CO2 emissions, noise and accidents. Local transport policies across countries strive to encourage car drivers to switch to public transport, but with limited success. The authors of the report find that the lack of success of policies to encourage the switch to public transport is often due to the alleged trouble of using other transportation modes compared to the convenience of private cars. “If cities are to effectively reduce congestion and pollution, regulation of access to cities must change dramatically. Until now, the constraints on the use of cars have largely remained low”, explain the authors. “An approach promising individual time savings will not benefit the collective interest. To be efficient, policies should focus primarily on the rarest resource for the community: space. Transport authorities must intervene on the uses of roads, sidewalks and pedestrian zones. It is up to them to define the balance between the different uses of roads”. In addition, public authorities should significantly develop public transport systems that constitute a genuine, practical, fast, reliable, and affordable alternative. The lack of public transport in areas of disperse and low demand due to financial reasons also remains a critical issue to be addressed. The CERRE report also finds that new mobility services (such as shared cars or free-floating e-scooters) provide unprecedented opportunities to reduce the disutility users would face from simply switching from the private car to public or active transport. Mobility as a Service (MaaS) enables users to change their routines, discover the variety of mobility services available and to combine former and new mobility services. Shared mobility providers may complement public transport, especially by supplying first and last mile solutions, and by serving areas where public transport is not financially viable. However, unless ridesharing replaces solo trips by car at a large scale, the impacts on congestion, pollution and CO2 emissions are likely to be neutral at best. Urban mobility public authorities cannot neglect the opportunities brought by new mobility services. Public authorities have to be more ambitious. They have to enlarge their spectrum of mobility services that will, in a financially sustainable way, ease user life and foster alternatives to solo car use. But to effectively deal with new mobility services authorities must develop new skills in the data and platforms areas. Platforms, information services and ticketing are crucial to increase the number of users of urban mobility services. Although digitalisation cannot be considered a magic wand, it plays a critical role in achieving this transition to new mobility services. For MaaS to develop, Mobility data must be gathered under the umbrella of Metropolitan Transport Authorities, who are the only trusted party able to do so. “Policies for the use of roads should discourage the use of individual cars and incentivise ride sharing. As long as individual cars can move freely and on the same roads and use services in the same conditions as shared vehicles, it is unlikely that MaaS and shared mobility will be successful. In addition, public authorities need to modernise and grasps the opportunities that digitisation and data offer for the transition to a truly sustainable mobility”, conclude the authors.
Transport costs have been, and still are, an important component of trade costs, which are one the major determinants of the volume of trade, and thus of gross domestic product (GDP) and GDP growth. Studies show that two of the main determinants of transport costs are regulatory frameworks in transport sectors and transport infrastructure. The productivity and competitiveness of goods and services firms depends largely on access to low-cost and high-quality transport services, and those services have a powerful influence on economic growth. Countries commit themselves to increasing the efficiency of transport services, which can largely be achieved through increased competition and hence through liberalization of transport sectors. Since barriers to trade in transport services are typically regulatory in nature, this book provides a thorough discussion of international, regional, and country specific rules and regulations in those sectors. Concentrating on the EU, and Turkey in particular, it considers rules and regulations in transport sectors. It shows that economic liberalization pursued unilaterally, multilaterally, or regionally has beneficial effects for Turkey, and that the benefits from such liberalization are substantial. Furthermore, the volume shows that transport infrastructure is an important determinant of exports, and hence GDP and GDP growth.
Through policy and intervention national governments in Europe have long held an active interest in railways, an interest that has transferred to the supranational level via the EU commission. This book explores why the EU Commission has been so slow in creating an EU railway policy, pointing the finger at strong resistance by national governments
Numerous countries have attempted to improve the performance of their railways by introducing more competition, but there is fierce debate and no consensus on how this is best achieved. This book reveals how railways were an obvious target for reform because they were often losing traffic and money, and because the government was typically deeply involved as either owner or regulator.
The third edition of this publication provides key data on all main modes of transport in the EU, including air, road, rail and inland waterway transport, as well as covering maritime transport for the first time. It provides information on the transport economy in term of quantities of freight and passengers moved and the vehicles and infrastructure used, and also sets this within the broader context of the economy, energy consumption and pollution, the environment and public health as a factor in our quality of life.
Taking a global approach, this insightful Handbook brings together leading researchers to provide a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art in railway regulation with a particular focus on countries that rely heavily on railways for transportation links. The Handbook also considers the most pressing issues for those working in and with railway systems, and outlines future trends in the development of rail globally.
Nature's Magic presents a bold vision of the evolutionary process from the Big Bang to the 21st century. Synergy of various kinds is not only a ubiquitous aspect of the natural world but it has also been a wellspring of creativity and the 'driver' of the broad evolutionary trend toward increased complexity, in nature and human societies alike. But in contrast with the many theories of emergence or complexity that rely on some underlying force or 'law', the 'Synergism Hypothesis', as Peter Corning calls it, is in essence an economic theory of biological complexity; it is fully consistent with mainstream evolutionary biology. Corning refers to it as Holistic Darwinism. Among the many important insights that are provided by this new paradigm, Corning presents a scenario in which the human species invented itself; synergistic, behavioral and technological innovations were the 'pacemakers' of our biological evolution. Synergy has also been the key to the evolution of complex modern societies, he concludes.
In an embedded case study, the starting and end point is the comprehension of the case as a whole in its real-world context. This book bridges the gap between quantitative and qualitative approaches to complex problems when using this methodology.
