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This article compares the characteristics of urban freight transport in Rome, Barcelona, and Santander and the logistics measures being implemented in the three cities. The analysis is based on three similar surveys carried out in recent years involving interviews with retailers and transport operators. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the similarities and differences in terms of spatial patterns, current regulations, socioeconomic characteristics, commercial structures, freight demand characteristics, and current distribution patterns followed by different transport and logistics operators. The study shows that there are some different patterns of urban distribution that need to be taken into account when implementing city logistics measures in order to meet desired sustainability goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two major processes have increased the need for cross-border public transportation policies in European metropolitan regions in the recent past: the imperative of a region’s accessibility within the inter-urban competition and the aspired EU-wide regional harmonization and de-bordering process. Governing such multifaceted issues in cross-border regions requires the implementation of suitable and efficient organizational solutions. In the example of the cross-border metropolitan region of Luxembourg, we discuss the contradicting ‘border effects’ of a complex cross-border governance network. Such flexible policy networks are supposed to make the proclaimed economic, socio-cultural, and spatial European integration work on the very local level. We suggest that the governance typology of Liesbet Hooghe and Gary Marks offers a useful guiding heuristics for function-specific governance arrangements in cross-border regional contexts. We utilize a method mix of a quantitative social network analysis and a complementary qualitative survey to illuminate structural notions of the policy network relations to relate our empirical results to the conceptual debate on governance structures in the politically proclaimed de-bordering regions within the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years the government of Ghana and a section of civil society have clashed over whether motorcycle taxis, christened okada, which are fast becoming a major public transport mode, should be encouraged or not. In an apparent submission to public pressure and in pursuance of sustainable urban development, the government eventually enacted landmark legislation banning the use of motorcycles for commercial purposes. Using stakeholders' perspectives, this paper assesses the synergies and tensions between the respective claims and counterclaims. Among the issues raised against okada are traffic congestion, danger to public safety, and worsening environmental impact. Proponents of okada extol the virtues of maneuverability, compatibility with bad roads, and demand- responsiveness. This study does not discount these claims but rather posits that, fundamentally, substantial allocative and technical inefficiencies have generated large public transit deficits and severe highway congestion, thus creating a market niche for okada. Our study highlights three major outcomes. First, it reaffirms the importance of evidence-based policy making as a solution for sustainable development initiatives. Second, it identifies the human security risks associated with a short-term vision and how reactive regulations can prepare the ground for segregation and fragmented access to the urban landscape. Third, it highlights the role of pressure groups and policy makers in shaping and re-defining urban transportation landscapes in an isolated manner. Rather than taking a systematic approach, such groups and policy makers react with little consideration for their clients: the commuters. The findings corroborate our earlier empirical studies, which revealed okada as an unofficial but thriving mobility option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allocating scarce goods constitutes an important task of the administration, as the examples of awarding public contracts, places at university, subsidies, posts in the civil service, concessions for public transport and gambling or licences for the use of telecommunication frequencies demonstrate. The legal framework is increasingly determined by EU law under which a trans-sectoral allocation regime has been emerging, requiring objective, transparent, non-discriminatory and proportionate allocation criteria, a transparent and objective allocation procedure as well as adequate judicial protection. The article elaborates these material and procedural standards as well as their relevance for modelling a new and distinct type of administrative procedure aiming at distributing scarce goods ('Verteilungsverfahren'), a topic the science of administrative law has just begun to explore in a pan-European debate. Such type formation does not only pursue a systematic interest, but also allows critically evaluating and developing sector-specific procedures and thus plays an important role within the science of administrative law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Article examines some of the challenges presented by the transition from 'closed' to open data within the municipal context, using municipal transit data as a case study. The particular lens through which this Article examines these challenges is intellectual property law. In a 'closed data' system, intellectual property law is an important means by which legal control over data is asserted by governments and their agencies. In an 'open data' context, the freedom to use and distribute content is a freedom from IP constraints. The evolution of approaches to open municipal transit data offers some interesting examples of the role played by intellectual property at every stage in the evolution of open municipal transit data, and it highlights not just the relationship between municipalities and their residents, but also the complex relationships between municipalities, residents, and private-sector service providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author argues on the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court on the case Marvin M. Brandt Revocable Trust v. United States related to rail-to-trail initiatives. Topics discussed include dissenting opinion on the case of Brandt Revocable Trust, legal history behind design and construction of railroads, and the laws for maintenance of public transportation.

Competition in local bus services in Ireland has been prohibited for more than 80 years, with the majority of services operated by state-owned monopolies. The Public Transport Regulation Act 2009 seemed to herald a radical departure. It established a new transport regulator and provided that, after an initial five-year period, routes would be opened up to competitive tendering unless an extension of the incumbents' monopoly rights was necessary to guarantee continuity of services. Yet in December 2013 the regulator decided to extend the state bus companies' monopolies on the vast majority of their routes until the end of 2019. This paper argues that there is no economic evidence to support this decision, which is reminiscent of the previous policy approach of protecting the state companies and raises concerns of possible regulatory capture. The paper calls for the phased introduction of competitive tendering of all routes currently operated by the state bus companies as quickly as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Law 9/2013, dated 4 July, has amended the Spanish Law on Land Transports. Essentially, the amendments focus on the rules regarding the requirements for rendering passengers' public transport services and the intermediation in the contracting of passengers and cargo transports. In general, this legal reform aims at adapting our sector's legal framework to European laws issued in the past recent years in the field of transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the shutdown of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area in California and analyzes the law regarding the authority of the government to shut down wireless communication networks. It highlights the First Amendment doctrine which reflects on public safety. It focuses on the problems associated with the shut down of the wireless communication systems and highlights its effect on the First Amendment Doctrine. It further informs that government shutdowns of communication systems require additional protection to maintain balance between individual liberty and public safety.

Law 2/2001 of March 4 on Sustainable Economy (LES) came into force on 6 March. LES is a cross-sector law (i.e., it affects many areas of the Spanish economy), which aims to «encourage and speed up the development of a more competitive and innovative economy» (Preamble of LES). This article describes the innovations introduced by LES in the transport sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the recent days, the Spanish Competition Commission (CNC) has adopted several measures to promote competition in the field of the public tenders in general and, in particular in the field of concessions of passenger transport services by road, including the filing of appeals against certain measures taken by Public Administrations that, in their view, undermine the development of effective competition in the market. The main issues of concern for the CNC in this area relate to the conditions of tenders and the extension of the duration of the concessions, since they temporarily extend legal monopolies in favour of certain operators. The resolution adopted by the CNC in October 2010 has complemented the measures mentioned before, shedding some light on sanctioning powers of the CNC in this field. This article will describe the major initiatives taken by the CNC in the field of public tenders in general and in particular in the field of road passenger transport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The primary objective of this paper is to make a connection between the Singapore story of land transport policy development and the pathway towards sustainable transport planning. Its innovation is to allow a parallel growth in motorization and public transit. The Singapore experience shows how a range of well-coordinated policies including efforts to control the number of cars in both ownership and usage, and at the same time increase the availability and rider-ship of public transit contribute to a sustainable transport system. The Singapore model provides a valuable reference for not only developing an alternative approach towards sustainable transport in countries where motorization is desired but also for understanding the various parameters important to the formulation of management policies. In particular, the paper contends the Singapore experience provides a model for Asian nations and cities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

El artículo presenta un análisis del Reglamento 1370/2007 de la Unión Europea sobre los servicios públicos de transporte por ferrocarril y carretera. Los autores revisan los alcances y novedades del Reglamento con respecto a las regulaciones existentes hasta la fecha, en especial las vigentes en España.

The author discusses the need of change in Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), a reference document used by traffic engineers in the U.S., as of November 2015. Topics discussed include failure of MUTCD in establishing absolute standards for all elements of traffic control devices; undefined target audience of MUTCD, and need of changes in the MUTCD due to increasing regulatory burdens and increasing concerns for tort liability.

Gasoline is one of the largest and most essential elements in the marginal cost of operating an automobile. Since private automobiles use from two to four times as much fuel per passenger mile as most forms of public transport, a tax subsidy arrangement will end to restore an efficient allocation of resources by providing motorists with an economic incentive to switch from private automobiles to public transit. In August 1973 a bill was signed into law which allowed federal excise taxes on motor fuels to be diverted from the Highway Trust Fund to purchase buses and to eventually make capital investments in bus and rail facilities. It seems unlikely that this breach of the Highway Trust Fund will be sufficient to fully ameliorate the economic distortion which exists in most metropolitan transportation systems, where air pollution and traffic congestion are often serious problems and where operating subsidies may be necessary to preserve the consumer surplus associated with existing transit systems. Another bill, which would provide for $800 million in federal subsidies over a two-year period, is also recently passed in the U.S. House of Representatives.

An interview with Sam Schwartz, a member of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and former New York City Traffic Commissioner, is presented. Topics discussed include rapid changes in American cities; role transportation revolution on sole dependence on automobiles; and his views on the role of driverless cars in changing transportation landscape of the country.