Eric Pels, Free University, Department of Spatial Economics
, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Erik T. Verhoef, Free University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Infrastructure pricing and competition between modes in urban transport (assigned to theme
The organisation of urban transport has changed considerably in the past decades. Both roads and public transport were traditionally operated by the (local) authorities. But we have witnessed a wave of privatisation in public transport (in various forms) in many countries over the last decades of the previous century (see e.g. Gómez-Ibáñez and Meyer, 1993). Likewise, private toll roads have long existed in Europe and the Pacific Rim (Gómez-Ibáñez and Meyer, 1993), and privately operated pay-lanes are emerging in the US, and are also being considered for the Randstad area in The Netherlands. This paper develops a model in which infrastructure pricing and the optimal capacity are analysed under both public and private regimes. It compares optimal outputs (number of passengers) and capacities of public and private operators of rail transport. A crucial aspect of the paper is competition between modes: for instance, how are optimal outputs and capacities influenced of the private railway operator influenced by the strategic decisions on the road capacity and tolls for the private (car) alternative ?
 | Conference organized through conf-vienna
(copyright Gunther Maier) |