Underground telecommunications and low-voltage electricity networks have several advantages over overhead networks including reliability of supply, safety and improved visual amenity. The economic viability of replacing existing overhead networks with new underground networks depends on the...

As a result of the liberalisation of airline markets; the strong growth of low cost carriers; the high volatility in fuel prices; and the recent global financial crisis, the cost pressure that airlines face is very substantial. In order to survive in these very competitive environments,...

According to neoclassical economic theory, a stated preference elicitation format comprising a single binary choice between the status quo and one alternative is incentive compatible under certain conditions. Formats typically used in choice experiments comprising a sequence of discrete choice...

The French experience in developing policies to reduce car use in metropolitan areas is presented in this paper as an illustration of the lack of recognition of the broader set of criteria on which specific policy frameworks should be judged. One of the major challenges, and often failings of...

Land management in Alpine parks provides multifunctional services to separate groups of users. Choice experiments can be used to derive estimates of value for different management attributes. However, little research has been conducted on how frequently respondents ignore attributes used to...

In the transport sector, many types of contracts exist. Some are very precise, and strive for completeness; others are very [`]light-weight' and are incomplete. Bus and coach contracts, won through competitive tendering or negotiation, are typically incomplete in the sense of an inability to...

This paper presents a qualitative assessment of the risk perceptions held by key Australian stakeholder groups in the context of tollroads operated under the public-private-partnership model. The findings confirm that experience accumulated in recent years has contributed toward the betterment...

This paper reviews a number of themes that have played a crucial role in the debate on alternative contracting regimes for the provision of urban bus services. We have selected four crucial issues to reflect on: (i) contractual regimes (in particular competitive tendering as compared to...

A model to compare three alternative forms of public transport - light rail, heavy rail and bus rapid transit - is developed for an urban network with radial lines emanating from the borders to the city centre. The theoretical framework assumes an operation aimed at minimising the total cost...

Microeconomic optimisation of scheduled public transport operations has traditionally focused on finding optimal values for the frequency of service, capacity of vehicles, number of lines and distance between stops. In addition, however, there exist other elements in the system that present a...