F.R. Bruinsma

Coping with unreliability in public transport chains: A case study for Netherlands

Unreliability in public transport means that actual departure and arrival times may deviate from the official timetable. Data on unreliability are usually unimodal. In this article we address unreliability from a multimodal perspective, implying a shift of attention away from the supplier towards the customer. Estimates of unreliability of public transport chains in Netherlands are provided. In addition, customer valuation of unreliability is estimated. We find that the valuation of a certain travel time loss of 1 min is 27 cents, whereas the valuation of a 50% probability of a 2 min delay is 64 cents. This implies a strong attitude of risk aversion towards travel time of passengers. On the basis of these values an evaluation of probability enhancing strategies has been carried out. We conclude that among the most promising means of improving the overall quality of the chains is that travellers use the bicycle as an entrance or exit mode. Other measures which are relatively inexpensive to implement and result in fairly large gains for the average public transport passenger, are an increase in transfer times and a strict constraint on bus drivers to prevent them from departing early.

The accessibility of European cities: theoretical framework and comparison of approaches

A brief overview is given of the different approaches employed to measure the accessibility of cities. In addition, the results of seven studies on the accessibility of cities within Europe are compared. The comparison is focused on two aspects: the rankings of the cities as a result of the different conceptualizations and the type of infrastructure involved; and the equity in accessibility given the conceptualization and the type of infrastructure. When one is interested in a ranking of cities in terms of accessibility the choice of the accessibility concept tends to be less important than the choice of the type(s) of infrastructure to be considered. When one is interested in inequalities in accessibility among cities, operationalization appears to have a much larger impact compared with rankings per se.

Urban agglomerations in European infrastructure networks

Infrastructure networks are often assumed to be important determinants of the economic potential of urban agglomerations. This paper addresses the position of 42 major European cities in three infrastructure networks: road, rail and air. A ranking of cities in terms of a gravity-based accesibility index is produced. Also the effects of planned or possible future developments in these networks are studied. The effects of changes in the air and road network on average accessibility are expected to be rather small; in the rail network the introduction of high-speed links will have considerable impacts on average accessibility. Existing inequalities in accessibility are expected to remain rather constant in the air system. In the rail system, the further introduction of high-speed links will increase existing inequalities by reinforcing the position of the cities in the north-western part of Europe. In the road system, on the other hand, it will be the peripheral countries which will benefit most. Further, we note that an analysis of non-physical border-related barriers to accessibility reveals that attention should not be restricted to improving physical infrastructure networks.

Decision Aid with the MCDA-RES Software: A Wind-Hydro Energy Application for an Island of the Aegean, Greece

Abstract Energy planning refers to providing sufficient power to human societies while at the same time underlies resource, economic environmental, social and technological constraints. The complexity of the task renders multi-criteria decision analysis techniques a useful tool in the decision process. Multi-criteria decision analysis techniques offer a transparent way of elaborating on decision problems, which include many criteria and different decision-makers. This article presents the MCDA-RES multi-criteria decision-analysis software and its application in a case-study regarding a wind-hydro hybrid energy project for an island in Greece where the performance of alternatives on a set of different criteria and the preference of the decision-makers is assessed. The analysis showed that no group consensus could be directly established; still some alternatives performed better than others and a way towards a compromise solution could be revealed.

Multimodal Infrastructure, Transport Networks and the International Relocation of Firms

This paper outlines the relevance of multimodal transport infrastructure for the locational behaviour of multinational firms. Particular attention is given to foot‐loose firms from the viewpoint of desired infrastructural provisions. An empirical analysis is used to highlight the importance of infrastructure networks for long‐range freight transport and for policy strategies aiming at coping with the phenomenon of the multinational firm. The results indicate that financial barriers and institutional inertia impede the desired development of intermodal and terminal infrastructure, whereas multinational firms recently settled in the Netherlands experience much less barriers in infrastructural provisions.

Comparative Study of HUB Airports in Europe: Ticket Prices, Travel Time and Rescheduling Costs

This paper investigates the strategic position of four European airports in the aviation network by means of a generalised cost function. We compare the performance of the hub airports London, Paris, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam. Our analysis entails flights from smaller European airports via these hubs to intercontinental destinations and vice versa. The comparative positions of the cities in the airport network is determined by a generalised cost function in which travel cost, travel time and rescheduling time (as a function of the frequency of the service) are included. Copyright Royal Dutch Geographical Society 2000.

A Comparative Industrial Profile Analysis of urban regions in Western Europe: an application of rough set classification

This paper analyses the locational suitability of industrial sites in five urban regions in Western Europe for five classes of economic activity. In the selected regions a total of 46 industrial sites and office locations were visited and judged on their suitability for each of the five classes of economic activity. Given the small sample size and the qualitative nature of the information collected, conventional statistical tools could not be applied, and rough set analysis was used. This proved to be a useful tool in identifying the major driving forces in the relative competitive position of the European regions. The study shows that the regions are not competitors in all aspects, but have their own individual geographic–economic specialisations.

Infrastructure and Urban Development: The Case of the Amsterdam Orbital Motorway

The first European motorways were realized in countries such as Germany and Italy in the 1920s. In the 1930s these motorways were extended into interregional networks connecting cities at considerable distances. During this period the first orbital motorways were also planned around cities such as Berlin, Munich and London. It took a long time to complete these orbital motorways, and some of them were never completed. As Hall (1990) indicates the major reason for the planning of the European orbital motorways was not just the desire to remove traffic congestion. At that time roads were not yet very congested in Europe. Other motivations for building orbital motorways were the desire to reveal and reinforce the organic spatial structure of cities, and to make monumental artifacts which could serve nationalistic purposes.

Evaluation of cyber-tools in cultural tourism

Nowadays, e-services technology has demonstrated a pervasive character in the modern tourism industry. E-services implemented by the tourism industry, e.g., e-tourism, appeared to produce significant cost reductions and market efficiencies. Since online services are continuously accessible, time and geographic differences do not hinder the interaction between tourism service providers and their customers anymore. By using ICTs, (small) tourism organisations can enlarge their markets or operate in niche markets by serving a specific group of customers. The increased use of ICTs has thus resulted in a significant change in the structure of the tourism industry. The present paper aims to provide an overview of experiences and findings that address the socioeconomic impacts of e-services for the (cultural) tourist industry, on the basis of a systematic impact analysis. We use a SWOT approach to organise a systematic evaluation of various e-services effects, which are specifically differentiated for e-services and e-tourism (including cultural heritage) of socioeconomic importance. The main sources to identify the strengths and weaknesses of e-services are the academic and management literature that describes the experience in practice of various stakeholders.

The impact of railway development on urban dynamics

This book addresses the role of railways in urban development. Our central aim is to inquire into how the renaissance of railways since the end of the 20th century (especially the development of high-speed rail and light rail links) will affect European cities. The analyses are carried out with special attention given to the broader institutional environment of the railway system, including the shift toward privatised railway companies, internationalisation, the occurrence of market and government failures in land markets, and private-public partnerships in the development of railway station areas.