Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2008. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 41-42). Also available on the World Wide Web.

M.Com. (Transport Economics) / This study deals with the problem of road user cost recovery in a developing country. Two main problems areas have been identified. The first deals with the shortage of funds for financing road infrastructure. Secondly, the responsibility for financing road infrastructure needs to be established. The first objective of the study was to provide a theoretical discussion on the subject of road user cost recovery. The second objective was to establish how much the road users in the Republic of Transkei currently pay for the use of road infrastructure. Thirdly the study wished to establish how much the road 'users should pay, and the final objective was to find methods for u~ilizing existing and new sources for finance. The empirical data for the study was obtained from licence authorities, a border survey, state departments and municipalities in the Republic of Transkei. The literature study revealed that one of the most important decisions to be made in transport policy is the required level of expenditure on road infrastructure. The two techniques that are generally used to determine this level are earmarking of a fixed percentage of the total goverrunent budget for roads and the establishment of a dedicated road fund. The advantages and disadvantages of a road fund are discussed. The approaches that can be used to recover costs from road users may be divided into three categories: - Tax on vehicle usage that varies with the use of road infrastructure. - Methods aimed at vehicle usage which does not vary with the use of road infrastructure. - Methods that are not based on vehicle usage. The Republic of Transkei applies three methods of road user cost recovery, namely fuel tax, licence fees and levies on abnormal loads. These three methods are a combination of all the basic approaches that can be used to recover cost from road users. The N2 national route is identified as the most important road in the Republic of Transkei. The general condition of roads is poor and not enough funds are spent on maintenance. Costs allocated to road users are maintenance costs, capital costs, and administration costs. The existing method of cost recovery from road users is by means of the road fund levy, by licence fees, customs and excise duty and levies on abnormal loads. An evaluation of the existing recovery system in the Republic of Transkei revealed that the system is unfair, total cost is not recovered and there is no dedicated road funding program. In conclusion it is suggested that the following four elements should be added to the existing method of cost recovery from road users levels: - Increase the tax on fuel. - Reviewing of the existing licence fees. . - Implementation of a border toll system. - Levying of a tax on tyres. It is further recommended that a dedicated road fund is started into which all road user levies are paid. The fund should be administrated by either the Department of Works and Energy or the Department of Transport. The fund should be subjected to all the standard accounting and auditing principles.

M.Com. (Transport Economics) / The responsibility for organising the road transport industry in interest groups is that of the private sector. The central government is the only institution in the Republic of South Africa that can control and regulate the road transport industry. It is, however, the joint responsibility of the government and the private sector to ensure that an economically sound and efficient road transport industry is operated in South Africa ...

As transportation is a key component of economic success, it is crucial that the transportation systems in the Lower Mainland accommodate, and shape the projected increases in population. This paper has two main objectives. The first is to explore the factors and variables influencing demand for automobile transportation that are unique to the Lower Mainland of BC. General trends and statistics are explored for peak a.m. period automobile demand. The second part of this paper looks at the policies affecting demand for automobile transportation. Economic theory is introduced to two prominent traffic demand management (TDM) policies: road pricing and high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. Conceptual models are proposed for both policies. In 1993 the GVRD completed the Transport 2021 study. Using data that was generated by the EMME2 model, empirical estimates of consumer surplus changes (resulting from various T DM policies being implemented) are considered under a range of elasticities. Empirical estimates of consumer surplus changes are also calculated for the conceptual models. / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate

This study analyses the factors which influence the volume of truck movement from urban manufacturing sites. The significance of these factors is tested by means of a case study of forty-three wood products plants in Vancouver, British Columbia. Some of the dangers of applying the assumptions of urban passenger travel "analysis to urban goods movement studies are discussed, with emphasis on the problems of aggregation and forecasting. A review of urban goods movement studies to date shows that previous research does not incorporate explanations of the causal mechanism behind variations in truck transport demand, but rather relies on simple within-site variables such as employment size to estimate the volume of trip-making. A marketing model is proposed. It takes the form of least-squares multiple regression equations which add marketing variables to the basic plant-size model. The development of the theory behind the marketing model discusses the expected influence of the manufacturer's physical distribution channel on his trip generation rate. Characteristics of the channel which are expected to be significant are the behaviour of customers for the product with respect to shipment size, transport supply, and their own function in the distribution channel. The effects of marketing variables are tested using data gathered by a personal survey of truck movements over a period of one month from wood products manufacturers. A significant improvement in the explanatory power of the marketing model over the plant-size model was revealed when the proportion of the manufacturer's market which is retail-oriented in taken into account. The same survey data was used to estimate retailers1 trip attraction rates. Size of their supply-market and truck capacity were found to be significant. Lastly, the future conditions which may limit applications of the model. are..discussed. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

This thesis provides an analysis of the drop trailer traffic moving between the B.C. Mainland and Vancouver Island. Drop trailers are semi trailers which are literally dropped at the ferry terminal to be transported across the Strait of Georgia without the accompaniment of the power unit and driver. This specialized service is provided only by the British Columbia Coastal Steamship Service, a subsidiary of CP. Rail. One objective of the thesis is to analyze the economics of shipping via drop trailer as opposed to a live unit, or one that includes the driver and tractor unit such as is provided by the B.C. Ferries. A second objective is to determine the size and importance of the market, and to forecast future requirements. A third objective is to analyze the physical facilities available to determine their capacity and possibilities for expansion. The B.C.C.S.S. facility in downtown Vancouver is under pressure from various groups to relocate to a more suitable location. Thus a final objective is an analysis of the benefits and costs of relocating the B.C.C.S.S. terminal to the north Richmond area. Since the drop trailer industry is very specialized, and captive to the B.C.C.S.S., very little information is published or available concerning it. Thus the author has had to rely primarily on discussions with all the parties involved, namely the B.C.C.S.S., City of Vancouver, and numerous carriers. One of the by-products of the thesis is a body of information and data pertaining to the drop trailer industry, that can be used for future research in related topics. The analysis of the economics of shipping via drop trailer shows a substantial savings potential, even though the actual ferry cost is greater. The savings are generated by the elimination of idle driver and tractor time. This saving was estimated at $49.20 per one way trip. During the past decade the volume of drop trailer traffic has been increasing steadily even though railcar traffic has been on the decline. This increase is causing the B.C.C.S.S. to approach the capacity of the present system. Political and physical pressures have raised the issue of relocating the terminal A benefit-cost analysis of a particular alternative, a partial relocation to the north Richmond area shows there can be substantial benefits for carrier as well as the B.C.C.S.S. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

Revenue Canada, Customs and Excise is given the responsibility for controlling the importation of foreign goods into Canada by provisions of federal legislation. The control is effected by regulations requiring that most imported goods pass through a sufferance warehouse to be presented to Customs, along with approved documentation, for appraisal and assessment of applicable duty and taxes. Sufferance warehouses have been approved for all modes carrying foreign goods into Canada with the manifest mode of transport dictating the sufferance mode. The sufferance warehouse concept originated on the docks where goods arriving by sea were discharged for entry into Canadian markets. This was the natural clearance location , being the first breakbulk point on Canadian soil the clearance function could be-undertaken with minimum disruption to the efficient flow of goods. Rail sufferance warehouses were authorized soon after rail, lines crossed the Canada-United States border. Rather that requiring appraisal and assessment of import charges at frontier border crossings Revenue Canada authorized creation of rail sufferance warehouses, at inland ports where the normal breakbulk function takes place. Similar facilities have been authorized for the air mode at airports across Canada. Until 1952, the transborder motor carrier industry was required to present shipments to Customs at frontier border points. In that year, a national rail strike put pressure on the trucking industry and on Customs, to improve the delivery system for transborder goods. Revenue Canada's response was extension of the inland sufferance warehouse concept to the highway mode.. A series of privately-owned warehouses were authorized on a monopoly basis within each Customs port area, through which all transborder motor carriers were required to clear goods for Customs purposes. The highway sufferance warehouse system has accommodated the needs of Customs, those of the motor carriers and those of consignor/consignees of transborder goods by providing breakbulk facilities for carriers, adherence to the clear ance process which Revenue Canada demands and a minimum of delay time and cost for the consignee and the Canadian taxpayer within a centralized facility. In spite of the success complaints have been heard from motor carrier firms forced to use the facilities operated by the monopoly warehouse-keeper who is often a carrier firm competing for transborder freight traffic. These complaints are of inequities in the treatment of carriers using the warehouse facilities which the unregulated monopoly power of the operator permits. Specifically, carriers complain of unequal provision of services at the warehouses, about excessive rates and charges for space and services and about the effects of these factors on intra and inter modal competition. The thesis examines the transborder motor carrier industry share of the freight market and the clearance process for imported goods. It was found that the trucking industry holds a significant and increasing share of the market-— increasing at the expense of the rail carriers. The clearance procedures were found to be complicated by excessive and confusing documentation requirements and, although some simplification has occurred, changes which would simplify this major cause of clearance delays are advisable. The available information about the highway sufferance warehouse system is presented and is supplemented by the results of the 1976 Highway Sufferance Warehouse Survey undertaken as a part of this study. The thesis examines the specific complaints about the sufferance warehouse system and suggests that they result from a lack of enforcement of the existing regulations governing warehouse operations by Revenue Canada. Both public and private interests are served when competition in the transborder freight market is encouraged and in those instances when public sector inaction discourages competition changes are necessary. The thesis considers the United States system highway clearance system and suggests that the problems in Canada are not serious enough to require adoption of new procedures but could benefit from some 'fine tuning’ measures which would place with Revenue Canada the responsibilty for regulating the monopoly sufferance warehouse system. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate

Master of Engineering

Increasingly, shippers need accurate motor carrier performance information. Carrier selection and performance evaluation programs, carrier certification programs and quality management programs all require accurate performance information. Traditionally, shippers do not have much experience in formally gathering and measuring such information. For those shippers and carriers who do measure performance, no standardized measuring and reporting rules exist within industry. Over the years, the accounting profession has established standardized financial performance information reporting rules based on user needs. The process used by the profession involves input from information users, exposure drafts that summarize information needs, and proposed measuring and reporting rules. Exposure drafts are criticized, modified, and recirculated. This iterative process continues until users accept rules. In an attempt to establish standardized carrier performance measuring and reporting rules, this study completes the first iteration of this process. This study examines the information needs of vehicle assemblers in Canada and the United States. This work is conducted while examining the feasibility of standardized measuring and reporting within this industry segment. From this research, the study suggests industry recommendations and future research needs. This study finds that vehicle assemblers generally have similar performance information needs but go about meeting these needs with different measurements. These information needs exist on two tiers. Popular delivery service attributes are on the first tier, while infrequent freight damage and loss, billing and service availability attributes are on the second tier. Although interest exists among vehicle assemblers to explore standardized carrier performance measures, barriers such as carrier performance evaluation program confidentiality stand in the way.

Increasingly, shippers need accurate motor carrier performance information. Carrier selection and performance evaluation programs, carrier certification programs and quality management programs all require accurate performance information. Traditionally, shippers do not have much experience in formally gathering and measuring such information. For those shippers and carriers who do measure performance, no standardized measuring and reporting rules exist within industry. Over the years, the accounting profession has established standardized financial performance information reporting rules based on user needs. The process used by the profession involves input from information users, exposure drafts that summarize information needs, and proposed measuring and reporting rules. Exposure drafts are criticized, modified, and recirculated. This iterative process continues until users accept rules. In an attempt to establish standardized carrier performance measuring and reporting rules, this study completes the first iteration of this process. This study examines the information needs of vehicle assemblers in Canada and the United States. This work is conducted while examining the feasibility of standardized measuring and reporting within this industry segment. From this research, the study suggests industry recommendations and future research needs. This study finds that vehicle assemblers generally have similar performance information needs but go about meeting these needs with different measurements. These information needs exist on two tiers. Popular delivery service attributes are on the first tier, while infrequent freight damage and loss, billing and service availability attributes are on the second tier. Although interest exists among vehicle assemblers to explore standardized carrier performance measures, barriers such as carrier performance evaluation program confidentiality stand in the way. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate