Key issues for transport beyond 2000 : introductory reports and summary of discussions : 15th International Symposium on Theory and Practice in Transport Economics, Thessaloniki, 7-9 June 2000.

648 Pages·2002·5.73 MB·English

by  OECD

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A clear dichotomy exists between an European economy centred on international trade and the M O
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th INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON THEORY
environmental damage to which this focus gives rise. There is a need for a novel approach based on a P
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AND PRACTICE IN TRANSPORT ECONOMICS
shift away from the goal of ever-faster travel and ever-greater time savings, and the adoption of a S
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different concept of accessibility. Will the 2000s see the emergence of a new way of thinking?
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These and other topical issues were the subject of the ECMT’s 15th International Symposium. Are we
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likely to see a decoupling of economic growth from transport growth? In designing future transport T
systems, will the pendulum swing away from the criterion of efficiency towards greater concern for equity Key issues
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and the environment?
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This book reproduces the 17 introductory reports presented at the Symposium, together with a summary for transport
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of the discussions on the three main topics: scenarios and forecasts; transforming structures and trends
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in technology; peripherality and pan-European integration. It highlights the key ideas to emerge from the beyond 2000
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final Round Table on "Efficiency, Equity and the Environment in Transport: Experience and Prospects", T
reviews the issues facing the transport sector in the coming years and sets out policy recommendations S
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INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
-:HSTCSC=VVX[U]:
EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORT O
ARISTOTLE UNIVERSITY OF THESSALONIKI
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7th - 9th JUNE 2000, THESSALONIKI – GREECE
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(75 2002 02 1 P)
ARISTOTLE UNIVERSITY OF THESSALONIKI ISBN 92-821-1360-4 2002 E
EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORT
15th INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM
ON THEORY AND PRACTICE IN TRANSPORT ECONOMICS
KEY ISSUES FOR TRANSPORT BEYOND 2000
INTRODUCTORY REPORTS AND SUMMARY OF DISCUSSIONS
Thessaloniki, 7-9 June 2000
EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORT (ECMT)
The European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) is an inter-governmental organisation
established by a Protocol signed in Brussels on 17 October 1953. It is a forum in which Ministers
responsible for transport, and more specifically the inland transport sector, can co-operate on policy.
Within this forum, Ministers can openly discuss current problems and agree upon joint approaches aimed
at improving the utilisation and at ensuring the rational development of European transport systems
of international importance.
At present, the ECMT’s role primarily consists of:
– helping to create an integrated transport system throughout the enlarged Europe that is economically
and technically efficient, meets the highest possible safety and environmental standards and
takes full account of the social dimension;
– helping also to build a bridge between the European Union and the rest of the continent at a
political level.
The Council of the Conference comprises the Ministers of Transport of 41 full Member countries:
Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic,
Denmark, Estonia, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Finland, France, FYR Macedonia, Georgia, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova,
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Russian Federation, the Slovak Republic,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. There are six Associate
member countries (Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea and the United States)
and two Observer countries (Armenia and Morocco).
A Committee of Deputies, composed of senior civil servants representing Ministers, prepares
proposals for consideration by the Council of Ministers. The Committee is assisted by working groups,
each of which has a specific mandate.
The issues currently being studied – on which policy decisions by Ministers will be required –
include the development and implementation of a pan-European transport policy; the integration of
Central and Eastern European Countries into the European transport market; specific issues relating to
transport by rail, road and waterway; combined transport; transport and the environment; sustainable
urban travel; the social costs of transport; trends in international transport and infrastructure needs;
transport for people with mobility handicaps; road safety; traffic management; road traffic information and
new communications technologies.
Statistical analyses of trends in traffic and investment are published regularly by the ECMT and
provide a clear indication of the situation, on a trimestrial or annual basis, in the transport sector in
different European countries.
As part of its research activities, the ECMT holds regular Symposia, Seminars and Round Tables on
transport economics issues. Their conclusions serve as a basis for formulating proposals for policy
decisions to be submitted to Ministers.
The ECMT’s Documentation Service has extensive information available concerning the transport
sector. This information is accessible on the ECMT Internet site.
For administrative purposes the ECMT’s Secretariat is attached to the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Publié en français sous le titre :
Quinzième symposium international sur la théorie et la pratique dans l’économie des transports
LES TRANSPORTS DANS LES ANNÉES 2000 : QUESTIONS-CLÉS
Cover:
The Blue Advertising
3 Nikis Avenue 546 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
Further information about the ECMT is available on Internet at the following address:
www.oecd.org/cem
© ECMT 2002 – ECMT Publications are distributed by: OECD Publications Service,
2, rue André Pascal, 75775 PARIS CEDEX 16, France.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
OPENING SESSION.....................................................................................................................................5
INTRODUCTORY REPORTS....................................................................................................................27
Topic 1: Scenarios, forecasts and data collection: Experience and prospects
a) Scenarios, forecasts: Experience and prospects
• Pan-European border crossing transport: D. BJØRNLAND (N)...............................31
• European inland freight transport - scenarios for 2020 and some related
policy implications: G. GIANNOPOULOS (GR)....................................................61
• Construction of a reference scenario for Europe: C. REYNAUD (F)......................93
• Views on forecasts, traffic flows and infrastructure needs in Hungary:
I. HELCZ (H)..........................................................................................................129
b) Data collection: Experience and prospects
• The state of empirical research in the mobility field and future prospects:
W. BRÖG, E. ERL (D)............................................................................................159
• Future transport and travel data needs: a practitioner’s perspective:
T. VAN DER HOORN (NL)...................................................................................181

Topic 2: Transformation of economic and institutional structures and technological trends:
Experience and prospects

a) Economic and institutional transformations
• Decoupling transport intensity from economic growth: H. BAUM (D)................209
• Transformation of the economic and institutional structures of transport
as a result of the further enlargement of the European Union:
Survey - Outlook: J. BURNEWICZ (PL)............................................................235
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b) Intermodality :
• The competitiveness of intermodal freight transport networks in Europe:
M. BEUTHE, B. JOURQUIN, J. CHARLIER (B)..................................................271
c) Public-private partnerships

• A new approach to the management of roads: A vision for the 21st century:
N. BRUZELIUS (S).................................................................................................303
d) Technology
• Technology policies for a better transport system in Europe:
H. VAN ZUYLEN (NL)..........................................................................................333

Topic 3: Peripherality and pan-European integration: Experience and prospects

• Accessibility and regional development. Trans-European networks and
peripheral regions (The case of Greece):
A. ARGYRIS/S. KOSTOPOULOU (GR)...............................................................381
• Community aid for the construction of transport infrastructure in Spain:
Impact and perspectives: J. MENENDEZ (E)........................................................425
• European integration: The situation of EU candidate countries:
M. HERRY (A)........................................................................................................459
• Peripherality and pan-European integration: The case of the CEECs:
W. SUCHORZEWSKI (PL)....................................................................................533
• Peripherality and pan-European integration. The development of transport in
the PHARE countries: P. HILFERINK (NL).........................................................569
• Peripherality and pan-European integration. The case of the Czech Republic:
F. HEP (CZ).............................................................................................................597
SUMMARY OF DISCUSSIONS
H. FOKAS ........................................................................................................................................629
4
OPENING SESSION
Addresses by:
Mr. Jaromir SCHLING
Minister of Transport and Communications, Czech Republic
Chairman of the ECMT Council of Ministers
Mr. Yiannis MANIATIS
Secretary General of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Greece
Mr. Michael SCHMID
Minister of Transport, Innovation and Technology, Austria
Mr. Gerhard AURBACH
Secretary General of the ECMT
Mr. Michalis PAPADOPOULOS
Rector, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Mr. Vasilios PAPAGEORGOPOULOS
Mayor of Thessaloniki
Mr. George PASHALIDIS
Minister of Macedonia and Thrace
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Address by Mr. Jaromir Schling
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am greatly honoured, as Chairman of the ECMT, to open the 15th International Symposium on
the subject of “Key Issues for Transport Beyond the Year 2000”.
As an important human activity, transportation is at present subject to complex conditions.
Society’s growing economic potential and higher living standards are generating increased demands
for transportation and transport infrastructure. Adequate capacity and the technological parameters of
infrastructure are, at the same time, faced with the need to minimise transport’s negative impacts, in
particular the environmental impacts. Furthermore, such contradictory requirements have to be
satisfied while incurring minimal expenditure.
Research and development is one of the main instruments for solving these issues. It is of
fundamental importance for a stable and sustainable economic development and it should therefore be
of general concern that the flow of know-how from basic research to developments applied to new
technologies, competitive products and services, is continuous. R&D has to be supported not only by
private but also by public means, notably in the transport sector.
The fields of research and development, science and technological progress cannot be conceived
of without international co-operation which facilitates the transfer of results and specialisation in
particular issues. In order to support the implementation of its policy recommendations, the ECMT
arranges regular round tables, seminars and symposia dealing with questions of transport economics.
Their conclusions form part of the information system and serve as a background for government
decisions.
From such round tables and seminars important suggestions and ideas arise, which should be
taken into account at transport policy decisionmaking level. They are often included on the ECMT
Council of Ministers’ agendas, as was the case at the last Ministerial meeting in Prague.
Mobility development reflects the economic and social situations of society and its rising living
standards. It places higher demands on the satisfaction of individual needs in the transport sector.
Such development is closely connected with the increase in negative environmental impacts. At the
same time, mobility expressed in travelling time has remained, over the past twenty years, relatively
stable. However, journey distances have increased substantially due to the increase in average
speeds. The new road infrastructure meets the demand for transportation but generates new traffic.
At the same time, half of all journeys by car are shorter than five kilometres. Accordingly, such
journeys could be replaced by travel that is more friendly to the environment - by public transport.
Experience shows that higher travel standards must be offered for the same price. Consequently,
greater interest in public transport may be aroused.
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For cities, especially for their commercial and production functions, freight transport is an
essential element without which they could not exist. It is necessary to find methods of tackling
transport supply which support the revitalisation of business activity in natural city centres. In
connection with the minimisation of the negative environmental impacts of transport, a substantive
contribution is the establishment of logistic centres and their optimum location within the centre of
gravitation of transport. Technological progress in vehicle construction has produced more
environment-friendly, quieter vehicles, which enables night-time supplies to business centres. A
detailed analysis of specific issues in the field is hindered by a general absence of trustworthy data on
freight transport in cities. Such issues should be dealt with at European level.
Another issue is the problem of rail infrastructure user charges. Generally, it can be said that the
form of user charges is connected with the method of railway reform. To achieve a European-wide
harmonization will be very difficult. The system of charging should support the most efficient use of
existing resources. User charges should serve as an instrument for the maintenance and technical
modernisation of railways, which is necessary to ensure their competitiveness with other transport
modes. The purpose of user charges is to rationalise the use of infrastructure, to support it and adapt
it to traffic needs.
Railway infrastructure user charges must be fixed simply, transparently and in a
non-discriminatory way. A low charge for the entry of occasional users should be introduced so that
they are not hindered in their access to the market and small undertakings are not discriminated
against.
The infrastructure manager in a certain monopolistic position must be subject to independent
control. Liberalisation must support the entry of new carriers and charges must not favour a
particular undertaking at the expense of others.
It appears that in Europe the harmonization of the whole rail network is impossible but that
progress may be achieved by establishing priorities. The same structure of charges may be
introduced for international freight corridors. This would mean a uniform formula for charges which
would lead to the development of international rail transport. The developing Freight Rail Freeways
are a good example of this.
Regular bus services form an integral part of the public transportation system. Their operation
may be supported as a public interest. The trend is towards service providers using new technologies
(Internet, electronic payment) and the whole complex of transport telematics. Services are centralised
by using a common terminal and provision to carriers of equal access to the terminal. In this area,
government support is sought in the field of taxation, in particular.
The working conditions and regulations relating to professional drivers are also significant
themes touching road transport. Research studies show that the fatigue and overburdening
experienced by drivers are a consequence of non-regulated working time and night-time journeys.
One likely solution is the systematic training of the undertaking’s management staff and of
entrepreneurs, focusing on compliance with working time regulations and working conditions. Rules
need to be laid down and harmonized within the European Union countries, and especially within
future candidate countries. Subsequently, the rules will have to be applied in non-EU member
countries to entreprises which are, however, business partners and transport service providers.
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A need is apparent to harmonize the system of sanctions for not adhering to the working time
regulations and working conditions. Attention also needs to be given to new technologies whose
utilisation would lead to not only higher safety levels but also to the improvement of drivers’ working
conditions.
A substantive problem is the need for national programmes to ensure the stability and continuity
of research in the long term. A national programme is of value for the education and preparation of
young research workers, training of state administration officials and dissemination of research
know-how and results. Such programmes, however, depend on financing from state budgets. In my
view, in order to achieve progress, international relations between researchers and political
decisionmakers must be considered as a priority. The objective should be the liquidation of barriers
between policy and research. It is necessary to create conditions for a direct dialogue between
politicians and researchers and to improve the social use of research results.
I am sure that the presentations and discussion to follow will be an important incentive to further
work at national and especially international level, with the aim of solving urgent questions in the
transport sector. By way of conclusion, I should like to express my thanks to Mr. Christos Verelis,
the Minister of Transport of Greece, to the Mayor of the City of Thessaloniki and to all those who
have helped to organise this Symposium. By this I declare the 15th Symposium open and I wish you
every success with the meeting.
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