Transport Reform Research Articles

Orchestration of Markets and Bureaucratic Knowledge Production in the Moscow Transportation Reform

This article examines the role of bureaucracy in the process of reforming Moscow’s transportation system. With reliance on the intellectual history of neoliberalism, the concept of “orchestration,” an institutionalist economics, and an empirical case study, I argue that a market embodies itself in the form of bureaucracy. The agency in the provision of norms and regulations, calculations and forecasts, orders of economic exchange, and knowledge production concentrates in the hands of bureaucrats regardless of their formal attachment to state or private entities. Bureaucrats define fundamental issues of how markets should function; they design and control the system of money redistribution. The case of dismantling Moscow’s trolleybus system provides fruitful data on the agency of bureaucracy in transportation reform under the label of implementing “best practice” scenarios favourable to a neoliberal toolkit.

МЕТОДЫ ПОВЫШЕНИЯ НАДЕЖНОСТИ ГОРОДСКИХ АВТОБУСОВ

The article is devoted to the renewal of the fleet of city passenger buses in the Russian regions within the framework of the adopted state strategies and programs. It considers the problems of national and economic importance associated with improving the reliability of buses and safety of their operation. The purpose of writing the paper is to publish proposals to improve the reliability of urban route buses. The scientific novelty consists in the formation of the list of requirements to the newly created machines on the basis of the analysis of the experimental operation of the city buses in St. Peters-burg, supplied within the framework of the implementation of the transport reform. The methods of buses reliability improvement at the stage of their design by means of application of traditional mathematical apparatus are proposed.

Indoor Environmental Quality Assessment of Train Cabins and Passenger Waiting Areas: A Case Study of Nigeria

The adequacy of the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) in mass transit microenvironments is crucial to the well-being of exposed commuters. By 2050, many developing tropical countries will host even more megacities, which will feature an increase in people mobility and higher occupancy density. The paucity of IEQ studies, the technology gap, and inadequate policy measures to assure safer and sustainable mobility in many developing tropics have reinforced the current study objective. Also, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the IEQ links and risks to health in transport, which, given the climate peculiarities, transport reforms, and huge commuter traffic in Nigeria, inform the study motivation. The indoor air quality (CO2, PM, VOCs, NO2), thermal, acoustic, and visual environments were objectively assessed in train passenger cabins and waiting areas, during 15 trips in the dry and rainy seasons in Nigeria. The results were analyzed by following the IEQ requirements defined in the ISO, CEN, ASHRAE, and SAE standards. The results indicate gaps in the IAQ (inadequate ventilation in 9 trains), defective thermal comfort (9 trains), exceedance in the PM limit (PM10: 47.9–115 μg/m3, PM2.5: 22.5–51.3 μg/m3), noise (Leq range: 64–85 dBA), and low illuminance levels (10 trains), hence the need for IEQ, interventions, stakeholder awareness, and broader IEQ studies on transport cabins in these regions.

ВЛИЯНИЕ ТРАНСПОРТНОЙ РЕФОРМЫ НА ВЫБОР СПОСОБА ПЕРЕМЕЩЕНИЯ ПО ГОРОДУ (НА ПРИМЕРЕ САНКТ-ПЕТЕРБУРГА)

More and more cities in Russia and around the world are following the path of reforming public transportation (PT) system to solve the problem of traffic congestion. Transport reforms imply significant changes in the transportation system, e. g., a change in the economic model of PT organization, changes in the route network configuration, and integration of various PT modes. Significant changes have taken place in the transport system of St. Petersburg under the sign of a transportation reform in 2022. The aim of this study is to analyze changes in the transport behavior of the St. Petersburg residents after the implementation of the transportation reform and compare them with the target indicators. The data for this study were collected in two stages: in March 2022, before the start of changes in the city’s transport system, and in April 2023, a year after the PT reform launch. Based on their analysis and benchmarking, possible further directions in the development of the St. Petersburg system are discussed.

Model for the Evaluation of Urban Transport Policies and Their Interaction with the Housing Market

We analyze several scenarios of transport reforms for the city of Bordeaux (France) using a model that takes into account the interaction between transport and the housing market. We find that road pricing schemes are significantly more effective when they are accompanied by an increase in housing supply in locations where demand increases. This allows households to consider their options for relocation in the medium and long term. Our analysis is based on an aggregate model with a nested decision structure that includes both transport and housing. We provide a full description of the model structure and the calibration steps and make the source code available for those who wish to analyze other cases.

Socio-Political Interaction of Citizens and Authorities in the Context of Transport Innovations (Reform of Kuzbass Cities)

Introduction. Currently there is a tendency of intensity of manifestation of social and political relations in the socio-political interaction of the population and government representatives. Citizens in the conditions of network reactive communications in the information field, are included in the stages of planning and implementation of territorial administration, demonstrate a request for innovative projects, products and practices of interaction in the urban area. The purpose of the study in to study the nature and features of the socio-political interaction of citizens with the authorities in the mode of mastering transport innovations. Materials and Methods. During the check, the method of content analysis was applied. It was possible to obtain separate units of measurement – estimates of the use of financial innovation resources in the cities of Kemerovo and Novokuznetsk. The analysis of news portals and publications of city events, as well as public pages of communities in social networks, revealed active, loyal and passive categories of users of transport services, discovered and associated with the development of social innovations, including strategies for attitudes and behavior towards the movement of residents of the region. Results. The experience of passenger transport reform has shown the presence of contradictory civic assessments and requests for innovation, the population is confidently involved in active and responsible, judging by the statements of many residents, participation in the development and filling of the urban environment with new communication practices. As a result of the research, we have found slightly different strategies for mastering innovations. In Novokuznetsk, the initiators of the innovation chose a more dynamic and transport-oriented strategy. The main corrective and mobilizing stages were carried out directly in a given time lag. In Kemerovo, a strategy (model) of consistent incorporation of transport innovations into the existing scheme of urban communications was applied. There are noticeable differences in the use of instrumental, economic, cultural and social resources within the framework of the introduction of transport innovations. Discussion and Conclusion. According to the results of the research, it was possible to find the following areas that require the attention of researchers and managers: the relevance of network communications in relation to urban problems (“digital policy”); social communications of the urban population and the authorities in the conditions of reactive relations; transport passenger communication of the city (urban agglomeration). The study is of practical comparative interest in organizing innovative urban projects for sociologists, researchers of the territory, administrative and political managers.

Planning for Bus Rapid Transit in an island context. The challenges of implementing BRT in Malta

In 2007 the Government of Malta commissioned a study into the feasibility of a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system to accelerate a modal shift from the ever increasing car ownership and use. The study concluded that the government's efforts to consolidate and improve public transport bus services could be well served by a BRT infrastructure over and above the existing bus network. Since then a public transport reform was implemented in 2011 ending a long held monopoly of bus owners which controlled and operated inadequately the network of services, and introducing competitive tendering. Following many years of decline bus passenger numbers are now growing due to the recent economic development, influx of foreign workers and increased tourism. This study investigates the implementation of a BRT in the main island of Malta by looking at key socio-demographic and infrastructural determinants. It also lists some of the barriers to implementation. The aim of the paper is to provide a preliminary assessment of BRT implementation in an island context and propose research in support of such infrastructures in islands facing similar transport-related challenges as in Malta.

Reforms in Metro Manila's bus transport system hastened by the Covid-19 pandemic: A policy capacity analysis of the EDSA busway

In response to the health and mobility issues caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Philippine government took advantage of opportunities to expedite public transport reforms by converting a portion of Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA), Metro Manila's busiest thoroughfare, into a dedicated busway. This deserves a closer look since historically, solutions catering to EDSA have been bereft with challenges given the overlapping powers of various authorities and multitude of interests that benefit from the status-quo. Through semi-structured interviews with key actors followed by a policy capacity analysis, the authors found that the pandemic provided opportunities for the key institutions to gain political legitimacy and authority that pushed its stakeholders to cooperate. However, this new solution forced them to take on tasks that are outside their regular responsibilities so while they were able to provide measures to make EDSA Busway succeed in the short-term, much work needs to be done to sustain the gains achieved.

Transport reform in St. Petersburg in the context of a smart city development strategy

The paper evaluates the results of the transport reform in St. Petersburg. It has been established that the current trends in the development of the urban economy in the modern world are being implemented in line with a smart city development strategy, and St. Petersburg is no exception in this regard. It was revealed that the main emphasis in planning the transport reform in St. Petersburg was placed on the systemic nature of its implementation. With this in mind, the authors developed and tested a comprehensive model for evaluating the results of the reform, appealing to the methodology of strategic analysis, taking into account information from open sources. The proposed model was tested on the basis of expert assessments and visualized using heat map tools. As a result, the most significant difficulties faced by the city administration during the implementation of the transport reform were identified, and the need for continuous monitoring (including using sociological survey data) of the model parameters to assess the dynamics of public transport reform was argued. The materials of the paper were tested during a series of round tables held by the St. Petersburg State University in 2022, which were devoted to the strategy of smart city development.

Transport reforms and its missing publics: Insights from marshrutka abolishment and transport ‘modernisation’ policies prior to FIFA World Cup 2018 in Volgograd, Russian Federation

Public transport modernisation policies in relation to mega events are increasingly prone to ready-made planning solutions and the application of globally recognised best practices. Locally, the implementation of global transport solutions is usually promoted as a unique window of opportunity, which should finally contribute to the greater good of city societies through smooth traffic flows and better service quality. In contrast to this frictionless narrative, the article refers to the empirical case of transport reforms in Volgograd, Russia, prior to the FIFA World Soccer Championship in 2018 and shows how poorly conceived transport modernisation policies can have a detrimental impact on local citizens. Concretely, it builds on the local attempt to replace a commercial minibus system with an insufficient public–private partnership-based bus network and develops an argument that the public transport reform was doomed to fail as local stakeholders remained excluded from decision making. Deriving from the empirical case, a pragmatist perspective on transport modernisation policies as urban issues of concern is introduced to examine how hegemonic governance tactics are effectively silencing crucial publics at stake, rendering voices of contestation marginalised. Lastly, it will be argued that public transport reforms in Volgograd, although contested and subversively undermined, challenge idealistic notions of public space, while they provide scope for experimental practice based on implicit local knowledge and cooperation in mobile space.

Path selection and mechanism innovation of improving railway energy efficiency – from foreign experience and Chinese practice

PurposeUnder the dual pressure of resources and environment, many countries have focused on the role of railways in promoting low-carbon development of integrated transportation and of even the whole society. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive study on methods to improve railway energy efficiency in other national railways and achievements made by China’s railways in the past practice, and then to propose ways in which in the future China’s railways could rationally select the path of improving energy efficiency regarding the needs of the nation's ever-shifting development and carry out the re-engineering for mechanism innovation in energy conservation and emission reduction process.Design/methodology/approachThis paper first studies other national railways that have tried to promote the improvement of railway energy efficiency by the ways of technology, management and structural reconstruction to reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. Among them, the effect of structural energy conservation and emission reduction has become more prominent. It has become the main energy conservation and emission reduction measure adopted by foreign railway sectors. The practice of energy conservation and emission reduction of railways in various countries has tended to shift from a technical level to a structural one.FindingsKey aspects in improving energy efficiency include re-optimization of energy structure, re-innovation of energy-saving technologies and optimization of transportation organization. Path selection includes continuing to promote electrified railway construction, increasing the use of new and renewable energy sources, and promoting the reform of railway transportation organizations.Originality/valueThis paper provides further challenges and research directions in the proposed area and has referential value for the methodologies, approaches for practice in a Chinese context. To achieve the expected goals, relevant supporting policies and measures need to be formulated, including actively guiding integrated transportation toward railway-oriented development, promoting innovation in energy-saving and emission reduction mechanisms and strengthening policy incentives, focusing on improving the energy efficiency of railways through market behavior. At the same time, it is necessary to pay attention to new phenomena in the railway industry for track and analysis.

Public Transport Reforms in Seoul: Innovations Motivated by Funding Crisis

On July 1, 2004, the Seoul Metropolitan Government introduced a wide range of reforms to its public transport system: it completely reorganized bus services, installed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridors, improved coordination of bus and metro services, and fully integrated the fare structure and ticketing system between routes as well as modes. This article describes the public transport reforms in Seoul and assesses their impacts on safety, speed, costs, passenger levels, and overall customer satisfaction.

Victim Incentives and Criminal Activity: Evidence from Bus Driver Robberies in Chile

Abstract This paper analyzes crime as a function of the interaction between offenders and victims. I study robbery of bus drivers, a crime that remains common in cities throughout the world. Exploiting the timing of a Chilean public transportation reform and detailed administrative data, I show how victims' propensity to resist an attack can alter the level and nature of criminal activity. I also find a large decline in crime after the implementation of a technological innovation that eliminated cash transactions on buses. My results suggest a strong relationship between victim incentives, cash, and crime.

Городские конфликты: стратегии борьбы акторов конфликта

The present research featured the concept of conflict. The authors defined and classified urban conflicts, as well as the strategies chosen by their main actors, i.e. state and municipal authorities, business structures, and urban communities. The article introduces three cases of urban conflicts that happened in the Yaroslavl region in 2020–2021 and were triggered by such events as the transport reform, the "We Decide Together!" public vote, and the new master plan for the historical town of Pereslavl-Zalessky. The analysis focused on the main actors, i.e. their interaction, interests, strategies, patterns of action, key methods, and tools. The authors particularly stressed the importance of protests and digital tools. The analysis revealed two main strategies of urban conflicts: administrative-legal and informational-organizational. The dialogue between the conflict parties proved to be the most effective strategy. The article also contains some recommendations, e.g. collective appeals, information campaigns, etc.

Study Of Transport Reform And Development In The Middle Of The Covid-19 Pandemic In Sidoarjo Regency

Sidoarjo is part of the Gerbangkertosusila which is a Metropolitan area, so facilities and infrastructure are needed that are able to support the needs of the city together with the Covid-19 pandemic, it is necessary to revitalize fundamental public transport. According to a survey conducted using the AHP method, the model Y= 0.158X1 + 0.187X2 + 0.135X3 + 0.156X4 + 0.126X5 + 0.131X6 + 0.066X7 + 0.042X8. The calculation results show that the city of Sidoarjo is ready to be developed. The development carried out is to develop the existing transportation route Purabaya Terminal - Porong Terminal into road-based mass transportation, namely medium buses with a capacity of 30 passengers, which has a circulation time of 1 hour 49.25 minutes/trip, with a load factor of 77%, headway 11.55 minutes , and a fleet that requires 12 units of the fleet, as well as the temporary tariff determined according to the BOK of Rp. 8.334,-. The revitalization of existing transportation is by scraping by rerouting existing transportation to be used as feeders, rejuvenating existing transportation, selling it outside the city, and if it is not roadworthy, old iron scrap is sold using the kiloan method

Surviving “Car-diac Arrest”

The car dominates the imaginary of urban modernity. Such modernity links the car to living the good life, especially for the growing middle class. However, an environmentalist in my research laments that the unprecedented increase in car volume causes the “car-diac arrest” in our cities. A regime of congestion ensues as too many cars clog our cities’ major arteries. Such situation is a daily experience in Metro Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Although only a tiny minority of the Philippine population owns a car, the lives of millions of Filipinos are impacted by the collective loss of mobility. Through interviews with transport reform advocates and participant observation around Metro Manila, I found that the car has become the ultimate private solution to the public problem of the undesirability of cities. The car creates a one-dimensional world in urban mobility, characterised by its intolerance to other modes of transport. Furthermore, as more cars are added to Manila’s roads, state infrastructure projects and policies highly favour car-centric mobility. This is why walking becomes almost impossible, air pollution worsens, and road traffic crashes take many lives each year. But transport reform advocates are taking action for Metro Manila to survive its “car-diac arrest.” Through pushing for policy reforms, road-sharing initiatives, and partnerships with supportive allies in the government and other sectors of society (called “champions”), they enable the flourishing of alternatives. While they do not see themselves as “anti-car”, they campaign for mobility to prioritise moving people and not just cars. Their ongoing initiatives push for the realisation of “dignified commuting” through a safe, efficient and reliable public transport system and for active transport (i.e. walking and cycling) to thrive. Through the co-existence of these diverse modes of transport, they reimagine roads as spaces where many worlds can fit.
 

Can information increase support for transportation reform? Results from an experiment

Can information increase support for transportation reform? Results from an experiment

Research on the strategy of improving the service capacity of district and county governments under the PPP model

The provision of public transport services through the PPP model is unquestionable and common. Since the implementation of the reform, the supply mode of public transport services in various places has become stable, and the clear division of labor between government and enterprises has ensured the stable and effective supply of public transport services. However, in districts and counties where the reform started late, there are still some obvious shortcomings in the process of improving the level of public transport services through the PPP model. The public transport reform in all districts and counties should also be led by the government to achieve moderate competition in the market. The government must work with enterprises to improve urban and rural public transport services. They should also unite with the masses, strengthen information disclosure and mass supervision, and ensure that the reform is in place.

Passenger transport in Israel - current state and related problems

This article studies economics of contemporary passenger transport market in Israel. Three key problem areas have been identified: private cars demand, supply of transport infrastructure and public transport market. Analysis of private cars market has shown that private cars are perceived as the main mode of transportation by today’s Israelis. Due to acute transport congestion issues Israeli government aims to reduce the demand for cars by introducing extremely high taxes on car purchase and maintenance. International comparative analysis has revealed the issue of transport infrastructure deficit in Israel. Relatively low level of motorization in Israel and a stable trend for increase of number of private cars per kilometer of roads are highlighted. Together with transport infrastructure deficit this implies higher likelihood of deterioration of transport congestion issues in the future which will negatively affect Israeli economy. Analysis of public transport markets has revealed some positive effects following the increase in competition in bus transit markets introduced by Israeli public transport reform in 1990s. These include increase in output, quality, and efficiency of bus companies. The reform has also led to revitalization of railroad passenger transport in Israel, making trains a feasible alternative for buses. On the other hand, some potential issues have been outlined, such as relatively low level of railroad-passenger kilometers per capita and relatively highly centralized system of transport planning in Israel. The study concludes with underlining complementarity and interconnectivity between the three areas of Israeli passenger transport, thus stressing the importance of integrated approach to passenger transport economics analysis.

Improving paratransit service: Lessons from transport management companies in Nairobi, Kenya and their transferability

Paratransit is the dominant form of public transport throughout cities of the Global South. Many of these cities recognize the negative characteristics of paratransit services stemming from competition in the market and have attempted to undertake reforms aimed at addressing these negative aspects. Comprehensive replacement of paratransit with bus rapid transit systems is a common reform approach, but the transition from atomized paratransit operators to formalized vehicle operating companies has proven more difficult and time-consuming than anticipated. In addition, high operational costs for BRT systems, especially when compared to paratransit services that impose no direct operational cost to government, are unsustainable burdens on limited budgets. Acknowledging these challenges, the City of Cape Town, South Africa has reevaluated this comprehensive replacement approach and recognized a continued role for paratransit in a hybrid public transport network. There remains the question of alternative approaches for improving paratransit service quality; the case of transport management companies (TMCs) in Nairobi provide an interesting model. The TMC structure improves passenger service quality by employing drivers on a salaried basis, managing operations collectively, and monitoring service delivery while maintaining profitable (subsidy-free) service. Therefore, this model appears to be a viable alternative reform approach for Cape Town and other cities in similar situations. This paper details the TMC structure, benefits for stakeholders, and discusses its potential as an alternative public transport reform path.