"Transport economics is a branch of economics founded in 1959 by American economist John R. Meyer."
An overview of the sources and uses of funds for transportation investment, including public and private financing, and the evaluation of investment projects using methods such as cost-benefit and multi-criteria analysis.
Transportation economics: This is the study of how transportation systems are financed, how they operate and how to improve them. Understanding the principles of transportation economics forms the foundation of all other topics in transportation investment and finance.
Modes of transportation: Modes of transportation include air, rail, road, shipping, and pipelines. Each mode has its economic, environmental, and social impacts.
Infrastructure: This topic covers the construction and maintenance of infrastructure such as highways, bridges, airports, and seaports. It also includes financing and funding mechanisms used for infrastructure development.
Transportation networks: Understanding network configurations, optimization, and their impact on transportation efficiency and effectiveness.
Transportation planning: Planning techniques used to achieve transportation goals and objectives over short, medium, and long term periods. It covers demand forecasting, route optimization, and accessibility.
Public policy: Policies related to transportation and transportation investments, including issues related to sustainability and environment.
Financing transport projects: Various financing mechanisms, including public-private partnerships, green bonds, and infrastructure investment funds, commonly used to fund transportation infrastructure.
Transport economics: The application of economic principles to the transportation sector, including market structure and analysis of consumer behavior towards transportation.
Regulatory and legal issues: Regulations that govern transport systems and projects, including laws and treaties that regulate competition, trade, and infrastructure development.
Traffic management: Techniques involved in managing the movement of transportation services on the road network, including congestion pricing, intelligent transport systems, and traffic simulations.
Transportation safety: This topic covers the analysis of the economic and social costs associated with transportation accidents, as well as measures taken to mitigate the effects of accidents.
Environmental impacts: The impacts of transport on the environment, including climate change, air, water, and noise pollution, and the measures taken to mitigate those impacts.
Prioritization of transport investments: Methods to identify, assess and prioritize transportation investments in light of competing demands, budget constraints, and local circumstances.
Case studies: Real-world examples of transportation investment projects, their funding, impacts, and outcomes can help deepen understanding of transportation investment and finance issues.
Public Funding: This type of funding comes from public sources like the government, municipal corporations, or in some cases even crowdfunding.
Private Investment: Private investments are made by for-profit organizations, individuals, or private equity firms.
Government-backed loans: The government sometimes provides loans as a way to finance transportation projects, with the goal of encouraging investment in the transportation sector.
Bonds: Bonds are a form of debt that are issued by governments or private companies. They are purchased by investors who are looking for a safe investment with a predictable return.
Tax Increment Financing (TIF): TIF is a financing mechanism that relies on the increased property tax revenues that result from new development projects.
Grants: Grants are non-repayable funds that are usually provided by the government or non-profit organizations to fund transportation projects.
Public-Private Partnerships: A Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is a contractual arrangement between a public agency and a private sector entity.
Toll Revenue Bonds: These bonds finance toll roads, bridges, and tunnels through the payment of tolls.
Tax Credits: Tax credits are offered by governments to incentivize investment in the transportation sector.
Asset-Based Finance: Asset-Based Finance (ABF) is an alternative financing option that allows companies to turn their movable assets into cash.
Equity Capital: Equity capital involves raising capital through the sale of stock in a transportation-related business.
Export Credits: Export credits are a form of financing provided by export credit agencies to support exports of transportation products and services.
Crowdfunding: Crowdfunding platforms allow individuals to invest small amounts of money into a transportation project.
Infrastructure Investment Trusts: Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) are trusts that own and manage infrastructure assets, and distribute the income generated by those assets to investors.
Leasing: Leasing companies provide transportation equipment and vehicles to businesses, which pay for their use through lease payments.
"Transport economics deals with the allocation of resources within the transport sector."
"It has strong links to civil engineering."
"People and goods flow over networks at certain speeds. Demands peak. Advance ticket purchase is often induced by lower fares."
"The networks themselves may or may not be competitive."
"The complications of network effects and choices between dissimilar goods (e.g. car and bus travel)."
"The development of models to estimate the likely choices between the goods involved in transport decisions (discrete choice models)."
"A Nobel Prize for Daniel McFadden."
"Demand can be measured in the number of journeys made or in the total distance traveled across all journeys."
"Supply is considered to be a measure of capacity."
"The price of the good (travel) is measured using the generalised cost of travel, which includes both money and time expenditure."
"The effect of increases in supply (i.e. capacity) are of particular interest in transport economics (see induced demand), as the potential environmental consequences are significant."
"Externalities."
"People and goods flow over networks at certain speeds."
"Advance ticket purchase is often induced by lower fares."
"The networks themselves may or may not be competitive."
"A single trip (the final good, in the consumer's eyes) may require the bundling of services provided by several firms, agencies, and modes."
"The development of models to estimate the likely choices between the goods involved in transport decisions led to the development of an important branch of econometrics."
"Passenger-kilometers."
"Vehicle-kilometers of travel (VKT) for private transport."