M. Beuthe et al., Freight transportation demand elasticities: a geographic multimodal transportation network analysis, TRANSP R E, 37(4), 2001, pp. 253-266
Citations number
20
Categorie Soggetti
Politucal Science & public Administration","Civil Engineering
Journal title
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH PART E-LOGISTICS AND TRANSPORTATION REVIEW
This paper presents direct and cross-elasticity estimates of the demands fo
r three freight transportation modes: rail, road and inland waterways. They
are computed for 10 different categories of goods with a detailed multimod
al network model of Belgian freight transports. The model, which minimises
the generalised cost of transportation tasks defined by O-D matrices, assig
ns traffic flows to the different modes, transport means and routes. Succes
sive simulations with different relative costs permit the computation of sp
ecific are-elasticities. In contrast with the usual methodologies, the pres
ent methodology is not based on a statistical analysis of disaggregate data
on actual modal choices and transport tariffs. This is a particularly usef
ul feature since such data are mostly not: available for freight transports
in Europe. Furthermore, it fully takes into account the detailed character
istics of the network, all available routes and combinations of modes, as w
ell as the specific localisation of activities within the network. Its esti
mates are compared with previously published estimates, and, in particular,
with Abdelwahab's results published (1998) in this journal. (C) 2001 Elsev
ier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.