The transport sector is well known for the crises it has to deal with. They highlight how currently there is no one sole legitimate bearer of a measure or a project, able to co-ordinate and integrate the different strategies of the relevant players. The main problem that the public decision has to deal with is contained in the co-ordination of action. The theoretical framework of our analysis is defined by the sociology of organised action which helps to understand how a decision-making process is implemented, with regards to the different levels of competencies, the strategies of the players at each level and the objectives which have been (or are to be) achieved. Ten case studies has been undertaken as an attempt to understand this (these) process(es) of implementation in different national contexts. They quite all belong to the Trans-European-Networks. In each case, the interplay of the players and their strategies around the implementation of a particular project was analysed. The comparison of these cases allowed to approach the issues and the decision rules involved currently in the TEN implementation. A comeback analysis of two cases, the Oresund fixed link and the Lyon-Turin project, allows to approach the conditions of collective mobilisation through the notion of political enterprise.
All modern cities are battling with urban sprawl and its effects. Montreal is no exception. This paper takes stock of the situation that prevails in Montreal both in terms of the evolution of the mobility conditions, and in terms of the spatial evolution of the urban fabric. Classical indicators are used to describe the recent past and the present situation. As for the future, it is dealt with by means of the topodynamic approach, which is original and based on the Weberian location theory. That leads to reconsidering the traditional theory of the urban form. Finally, in accordance with the theoretical reflections, a conclusion is put forward by which a factor that is likely to have a determining effect on the evolution of urban sprawl remains the regulation through urban toll of the price of mobility inside of the urban territory.
The cost of congestion on a given road at a given time is defined as the difference between the effective utility of the road and the utility that would prevail if the road were utilized optimally. It is the opportunity cost of not having an optimal congestion reduction policy. This cost is estimated on the case of the Paris ring road, the most travelled highway in Europe, for the use of which detailed data is available. A speed-density relationship specific to this road is estimated. It is used to calculate the optimal situation, class of speed (and of density and flow) by class of speed. The required road usage reduction appears relatively constant. Congestion costs are calculated, always class of speed by class of speed. The aggregation of these costs produces a total annual congestion costs of about 0.6 billion francs (about 0.1 billion Euros). This cost represents about 5% of the utility generated by the ring road usage.
New studies on economies of scale in liner shipping arose during the nineties with the observed growth of average size of containerships on East/West trade. Many papers stress that this growth can be explained by the increase in port productivity that reduces the differential cost between smaller and bigger vessels. This paper argues that diseconomies of scale still exist for the biggest vessels in 1997 when considering that port productivity depends on the proportion of vessel’s capacity handled per call rather than the productivity and density of cranes. Therefore, it implies that the justification of technical co-operation (consortia and strategic alliances) between operators through the existence of economies of scale is not so automatic. Finally, the paper stresses that the formation of strategic alliances between operators, which are usually accompanied by a rationalisation of maritime networks (hubs and spokes), can also be analysed as an explaining factor of the observed growth of the average size of containerships.