This study describes how consumers and providers of transportation services in a sparsely populated area valuate different transportation characteristics and estimates how these valuations might affect the total goods flows and the flows on individual Origin-Destination links. It also tests Stated-Preference methods as a tool for valuating transportation characteristics. The hypothesis was that transportation consumers in sparsely populated areas are more sensitive to changes in the transportation characteristics cost and frequency than they are to changes in goods safety, time accuracy, and delivery time. The reason for this assumption was that the supply of transport modes and transport operators in these areas is limited in comparison to more urban areas. Acceptable transportation costs, in the sense that transportation is economically feasible, and possibilities to obtain a certain minimum transportation frequency are essential. It might, therefore, be necessary to renounce demands for time accuracy, goods safety, and delivery time. The results indicate that the consumers were most sensitive tp lowered distribution frequency. The probability of accepting a transportation service dropped by .19 when frequency decreased from three times to once per week. Changes in the characteristics delivery time and time accuracy were also significant. Reduced frequency would, from a consumer perspective, also result in the largest impact on the total goods. However, a cost increase of 25 percent and lower goods safety would result in a greater reduction of the total goods flow than would longer delivery time and lower time accuracy. The providers, on the other hand, were very sensitive to increased costs and lower revenues. A drop in quantity from 90 percent to 40 percent vehicle utilization was also significant. However, respondents in the strata 'private trucks' assigned more importance to changes in frequency and quantity. The largest effect on the total goods flow would be caused by a 25 percent cost increase. High demands on time accuracy would affect the goods flow more than would lowered revenue. A significant conclusion is that the Stated-Preference method used is an adequate tool in valuating transportation characteristics. However, great care must be taken in formulating the characteristics and levels used. Also, in addition to the characteristics tested in this study, there may be other characteristics that help explain the probability that consumers and providers in sparsely populated areas will accept a transport / digitalisering@umu
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:umu-54419 |
| Date | January 1994 |
| Creators | Westin, Kerstin |
| Publisher | Umeå universitet, Institutionen för geografi och ekonomisk historia, Umeå : Umeå universitet |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Doctoral thesis, monograph, info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | Geographical Reports, 0349-4683 ; 12 |
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