Geographic Organization of a City May Predetermine the Funding Models for Public Transportation in Search for Maximizing Utility for All Stakeholders
Moving from one place to another is essential for an individual to obtain food, to work and to explore the surrounding environment. Foot power was the only means of transportation before the arrival of animal powered transportation, and later fossil fuel powered engine-based transport. But, while the technology enabling movement of people has changed and becomes more effective in transporting large numbers of people over longer distances, the essential nature of transport as one of five fundamental needs of an individual in any society remains unchanged. Other needs for an individual to live a safe productive life in a city are housing, education, safety, and health. Hence, the problem boils down to how to move an individual in the quickest and most cost-efficient manner from one point to another via one or more of the different transportation modes available. Depending on the organization and transportation infrastructure in the city, one form of transport may be more efficient than another in moving large numbers of people. For example, in a compact city with high population density, a combination of rail and bus may be expeditious for an individual to travel short distances both within the city center, and between the city and suburbs. On the other hand, where city organization are more spacious and population density low, cars are the dominant mode of transportation. But, while city organization selects the most convenient and efficient mode of transport, how do we fund and operate such a combinatorial transport system at the city level, where moving people to their place of productive enterprise is the key to cost efficient generation of income and realizing the economic potential of the city? One option is the perfect competition model where bus and rail operators procure the buses and train carriages (subject to regulatory constraints for safety, quality of service and cost) and fares determined by competitive market mechanisms such as ridership and comfort. However, this model is hampered by one important externality: i.e., routes cannot be duplicated between companies, but overlaps in coverage for certain segments of the journey is possible. Hence, this introduces the problem of auctioning of routes between companies and is an area where government influences how transportation is organized besides building the rail network and bus stops needed. In an alternative model, the state owns all the infrastructure of public transportation such as buses, train carriages, and the government serve as an agent auctioning specific routes to companies, and fares are set by a non-partisan transport council. Thus, transport companies derive a profit by streamlining their operation and cost models based on a set of regulations on safety, maintenance, comfort, and punctuality of service, which forces the companies to innovate in areas of using the least amount of resources in delivering a high quality and fast transport experience. However, margins for improving cost efficiencies are narrow and convergence in operating efficiencies would likely occur, making it possible that smaller players in transport would coalesce, under economic pressure, into a larger consortium. Additionally, transport companies under this model encounter further difficulties of differentiating the transport experience through unique buses and route planning, the later a key innovation area where a bus company seek, for example, to bring in new routes. Collectively, city organization plays the predominant role in determining the mode of transportation most appropriate for transporting large numbers of city dwellers efficiently but underlying the transportation landscape lay the more intriguing and difficult question of finding the most suitable operating and funding model for public transportation: a fundamental need of any city
Year of publication: |
2022
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Authors: | Ng, Wenfa |
Publisher: |
[S.l.] : SSRN |
Description of contents: | Abstract [papers.ssrn.com] |
Saved in:
Extent: | 1 Online-Ressource (2 p) |
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Type of publication: | Book / Working Paper |
Language: | English |
Notes: | Nach Informationen von SSRN wurde die ursprüngliche Fassung des Dokuments November 2, 2022 erstellt Volltext nicht verfügbar |
Source: | ECONIS - Online Catalogue of the ZBW |
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10014241525
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