1,720,973 research outputs found
Simulating the market penetration of cars with alternative fuelpowertrain technologies in Italy
Full text linkThis paper evaluates the market penetration of cars with alternative fuelpowertrain technologies in Italy under various scenarios. Seven cars on sale in 2013 are considered: the Ford Fiesta (diesel), the VW Polo (gasoline), the Fiat Punto Evo (bi-fuel – CNG), the Natural Power Alfa Romeo Mito (bi-fuel – LPG), the Toyota Yaris (hybrid – gasoline), the Peugeot iOn (BEV – owned battery), the Renault Zoe (BEV – leased battery). A Mixed Error Component Logit model is estimated based on data collected via a stated preference choice survey administered in 2013 in various Italian cities. The model's parameters are then used to build a Monte Carlo simulation model which allows evaluating, under different scenarios, the market penetration of the seven cars. The main findings are that (a) the subsidies enacted by the Italian government in favour of the low CO2 emitting cars appear to favour mostly the Ford Fiesta (diesel); (b) a three-fold increase in the BEVs range would not change their market share significantly (about 2%); and (c) only a combination of changes such as the introduction of a subsidy equal to €5000, the decrease of the purchase price for BEVs by €5000, the increase in the battery range, and the increase in the conventional fuel price would significantly increase the BEVs' market share, raising it to about 15%
Hierarchical Bayes Mixed logit modelling for purchase car behaviour
Full text linkThis paper analyses the purchase behaviour for conventional and alternative fuel cars, using Italian stated preference discrete choice data. We propose a flexible Hierarchical Bayesian Mixed Logit (HBML) model that permit us to take into account of possible dependences of the car attribute random parameters on individual characteristics, like age and gender. Moreover, alternative-specific parameters and correlation across alternatives have been easily added to the model. We carried out a survey of the literature on vehicle purchase choice
selecting applications of discrete choice models in which a Bayesian approach was adopted. It reveals that our study seems to be the first application of HBML models to analyse this type of stated choices. Moreover, in order to approximate the joint posterior distribution of both the model parameters and hyper-parameters, in this paper we use the most efficient Hamiltonian Monte Carlo sampler, instead of considering the more traditionally Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods as e.g. Gibbs sampler. The modelling results show the usefulness of the proposed method
Carsharing for tourists
No full texttime, often by the hour. Cars are rented by an organization, such as a commercial business, a public agency or a cooperative.
Historically, carsharing has started in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1948 by a community of people who thought that a car should not be a private but a “common” good to be shared with others and owned by the community, both for moral and economic reasons. Nowadays, even in Switzerland, this “radical” spirit is much weaker and carsharing is a commercial enterprise, run by private or public organizations (the former are more common in North America, the latter in Europe, as one would expect) with the help of sophisticated technological booking and charging systems.
In the UK the term “carsharing” is often known as “car clubs”, whereas the term “carsharing” is also used for carpooling or ride-sharing. However, strictly speaking, the terms “carpooling” or “ride-sharing” refers to the shared use of a private car for a specific journey, in particular for commuting to work, by people who travel together to save on fuel costs. The term “car club” in the U.S. refers instead to a club of car hobbyists. Since, the term carsharing is internationally gradually gaining currency, it will be used throughout the paper.
It is also worth underlining that carsharing is different from traditional car rental service. The difference lies in its historical background and motivations and as well as in its organization. As for the motivations, carsharing is often motivated by social and environmental aims, as it will be discussed below, such as reducing car traffic, improving the modal split, reducing parking space needs, improving environmental quality while preserving flexibility and accessibility
Socio Economic Implication for Individual Responses to Air Pollution policies in EU +27 - Policy Brief n. 3
No full textThe Potential Demand for Carsharing by University Students: An Italian Case Study
No full textThe paper presents a methodology to estimate the potential demand for carsharing from university students. The methodology is based on three surveys: a paper-and-pencil questionnaire; a detailed, face-to-face, computer-assisted interview, and a contingent valuation interview. The data collected are used to operationalize a model that estimates the generalized cost under alternative scenarios, with and without carsharing. A Monte Carlo simulation procedure is used to estimate the probability that a person would use carsharing. The methodology has been tested with the students enrolled at the University of Trieste. The main finding is that, under the prevailing conditions, a quite large number of the sample students (32%) would benefit in terms of generalised cost from the use of carsharing if private car was unavailable. The model is also used to perform scenario analysis
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Urban Freight Distribution: Urban Supply Chains and Transportation Policies
No full textThe chapter moves from the belief that adopting a supply chain approach
is crucial to understand how urban freight distribution works and what will be
the impact of the various potential urban transport policies on supply chain
performance. According to a recent strand of the literature, the chapter aims at
(a) characterizing the urban supply chains; (b) discussing how a urban supply
chain can be modelled, which role do actors play and how the coordination
issue can be handled; (c) showing how transport decisions, in particular
whether to use own-account or third-party transport operators, are dealt within
each urban supply chain and by each actor; and analysing how urban supply
chains are affected by the many proposed freight transport policies. Although
much progress has been made in the field, both with regard to modelling and
empirical analysis, it is concluded that important progress needs to be made
with regard to both the ex-ante and the ex-post evaluation of the private
and social efficiency of the different urban supply chains and on how they are
impacted by local authorities’ transport policies
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
An analysis of the railway access charges regime in the Italian context
No full textAn appropriate access charges regime represents the basis for implementing an open market and for guaranteeing fair competition in the rail sector. In accordance with the recent European and national legislations, the Italian rail infrastructure manager has lately presented a new charges scheme with a better cost orientation and a deeper market segmentation based on the ability to pay. This paper describes and compares the new and the previous regimes, presenting a case study on selected Italian corridors. Interesting insights are added by applying a data envelopment analysis to rank the efficiency of the rail segments considering the different standpoints of three stakeholders: infrastructure manager, rail operators and rail regulator. The results of the case study, beside showing different patterns by applying the two charges schemes, suggest that high-speed services may better respond to the needs of infrastructure manager and rail regulator while the rail operator's perspective ranks better short connections by regional trains (especially under the new regime). This evaluation framework could help policy makers, transport authorities or railway stakeholders to identify where and how benefits could be gained or lost and by whom
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