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This paper considers two current challenges in the governance of maritime transport, specifcally container shipping. The frst is the oligopolistic market structure of container shipping, the downsides of which became evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. The second challenge is climate change, both the need to reduce emissions to zero by 2050 and to adapt to efects that are already locked in. The paper reviews the academic and policy literature and unveils a link between these market and environmental challenges which result from a focus on efciency without considering negative efects such as diseconomies of scale and induced trafc, leading to a continued rise in total industry carbon emissions. The review likewise identifes links in how policy-makers react to the two challenges. Regulators could remove anti-trust exemptions from carriers, and policy-makers are being pushed to provide strict decarbonisation targets with a coherent timeline for ending the use of fossil fuels. Recent thinking on ecological economics, degrowth and steady-state economics is introduced as the paradigm shift that could link these two policy evolutions.

Public transportation in the U.S., including in California, was declining before COVID-19, and the pandemic made a bad situation much worse. In this dissertation, I analyze data from the 2009 and 2017 National Household Travel Surveys and from a California survey administered in May 2021 by IPSOS using both discrete choice (cross-nested logit and generalized ordered logit) and quasi-experimental (propensity score matching) tools first to investigate how Transportation Network Companies (TNCs, e.g., Uber and Lyft) impacted transit ridership before COVID-19, before analyzing how COVID-19 affected transit and other modes.In Chapter 2, my results for the U.S. show that individuals/households who use either public transit or TNCs share socio-economic characteristics, reside in similar areas, and differ from individuals/households who use neither public transit nor TNCs. In addition, individuals/households who use both public transit and TNCs tend to be Millennials or belong to Generation Z, with a higher income, more education, no children, and fewer vehicles than drivers. In Chapter 3, I quantify the impact of TNCs on household transit use by comparing travel for households from the 2017 NHTS (who had access to both transit and TNCs) matched with households from the 2009 NHTS (who only had access to transit) using propensity score matching. Overall, I find a 22% drop for weekdays (1.6 fewer daily transit trips by each household) and a 15% decrease for weekends (1.4 fewer daily transit trips by each household). In Chapter 4, I analyze how Californians changed transportation modes due to COVID-19 and explore their intentions to use different modes after COVID-19. I find that driving but especially transit and TNCs could see substantial drops in popularity after the pandemic. Many Hispanics, African Americans, Asians, lower-income people, and people who would like to telecommute more intend to use transit less. Key obstacles to a resurgence of transit after COVID-19 are insufficient reach and frequency, shortcomings that are especially important to younger adults, people with more education, and affluent households ("choice riders"). My findings highlight the danger of public transit entering into outsourcing agreements with TNCs, neglecting captive riders, and exposing choice riders to TNCs.

Because of Covid-19, air cargo operations have become more and more important for the airlines to cope with the loss of the passenger traffic revenues. To guarantee the safety and security for a flight carrying cargo, smooth processes are required throughout the whole air cargo supply chain. One of the most important players in this chain is the ground handling agent at the airport who is responsible for ensuring proper handling and weight control of the cargo before it is loaded on the flight. This thesis was commissioned by Japan Airlines Helsinki branch, and it was linked to the project of the airline changing the cargo ground handling agent from the beginning of 2022. The transfer from the previous ground handling agent to the new one needed to be as smooth as possible to guarantee the continuity of the cargo operations for the import and export cargo. The main goal of this thesis project was to find ways to measure the quality during the early stage of the new contract. The research aimed to measure how the new ground handling agent succeeded in taking over the cargo handling operations, and if the service level was meeting the expectations of the airline. The idea for the thesis came from the writer and the focus was set for the first month of operations. The research was conducted as a case study, and the main method for data collection was observation. In addition, data was collected by using irregularity records and other information available related to daily handling. The theoretical framework was built around the concepts of air cargo handling, ground handling agent, and service quality. The results of this research indicated that the transfer was rather smooth and the new ground handling agent was able to take over the operations in such manner that there was no bigger impact on the daily operations from the airline perspective. The research also provided some focus points for the future by identifying certain service deviations during the first month.

Welcome to Mobility and Development: Innovations, Policies, and Practices, an online periodical launched by the World Bank's Transport Global Practice to disseminate policy-oriented and practice-ready publications affecting the transport sector worldwide. In each issue, we will explore timely topics and key trends in mobility and logistic sector influencing wider development outcomes through original, unpublished articles contributed by both World Bank staff and guest authors. The articles in the periodical aim to engage with wider audiences and internal and external stakeholders, including World Bank senior management, staff from other global practices (GPs), donors, and development partners, academia, and policy makers in low- and middle-income countries. For this inaugural issue, we have chosen to focus on Low-carbon and Resilient Mobility in a Post-COVID-19 (coronavirus) World, a theme that is perhaps unavoidable considering the pandemic and its cross-cutting impacts already reshaping the world - as we also continue efforts to diffuse the mounting threat of climate change.

Cities will be home to 2 billion new residents by 2045, and the pressure to develop land in and around cities is growing. This will pose a great challenge to lower‐income cities since they tend to grow through slums and other informal settlements. Slum residents have inadequate and inequitable access to public services and economic opportunities, and on account of the living conditions in these settlements, they are also more vulnerable to diseases, especially highly communicable ones, such as COVID-19. In 2014, an estimated 880 million urban residents lived in slum conditions, compared with 792 million in 2000 (UN 2019). This number is likely to keep growing unless urban spatial expansion is planned and managed well. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, development institutions will need to support clients in managing urban spatial growth. An integrated approach towards land administration, land use planning, and land development – three major determinants of urban spatial growth – will be key. This evaluation offers IEG’s first systematic assessment of the World Bank’s support to the management of urban spatial growth. It answers the question: To what extent has World Bank engagement been relevant and effective towards supporting its clients in managing urban spatial growth through land administration, land‐use planning, and land development?

As a prime contender to revolutionise the global auto industry, automated vehicles deployment in cities and within the transport ecosystem requires further investigation. This has also become a prime concern because of the current Covid-19 situation. The introduction of automated minibuses could cause major modal shifts towards or away from public transport. Thus, it is crucial to predict potential deployments and determine their implications to avoid repeating an individual-centric mobility model. This paper suggests possible future scenarios of automated minibuses deployment and calculates the environmental impact through externalities caused by these modal shifts (from traditional transport to automated minibuses). Based on scenario planning and externalities calculations, a methodology is presented and applied to a case study of Geneva using data from a mobility census of Geneva in 2015 and insights from a European project, AVENUE. First, the analysis presents marginal external costs for the automated minibuses. Then, it describes 3 scenarios that highlight the integration of the automated minibuses in public transport and their effects on modal shares. The assessment shows that replacing all cars with automated minibuses produces the best savings of externalities. Replacing all buses with automated minibuses leads to higher externalities. The integration of the automated minibuses as part of mobility-as-a-service MaaS is the most feasible and scalable. The study emphasises the role of targeted policies to optimise the benefits of automated minibuses.

This dataset contains the underlying data for the following publication: Lalas, D., Gakis, N., Mirasgedis, S., Georgopoulou, E., Sarafidis, Y., & Doukas, H. (2021). Energy and GHG Emissions Aspects of the COVID Impact in Greece. Energies, 14(7), 1955. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14071955.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has radically impacted public transport ridership and service provision across the country. Since the outbreak of the virus, transit agencies have had to adapt to new and rapidly evolving conditions. Many agencies modified services to reflect lower ridership levels and to ensure the safety of both riders and operators. These changes in service were guided by public health agencies, as well as major transit associations like the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) and International Association of Public Transport (UITP). Other agencies implemented precautionary measures like rear door boarding, temporary fare suspension, and reduced capacity limits to enable the safe continuity of operations. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, transit agencies are having to strike a balance between providing enough transportation options for essential travel and reducing service offerings to match the declining overall demand for mobility services. Using a case study of Grand River Transit (GRT) in the Region of Waterloo, this report will document the impacts of COVID-19 on transit agencies and their responses, with a focus on modifications to services. By analyzing the challenges that transit agencies faced in modifying transit services, this report will offer guidance on the protocols and procedures that should be established for an effective pandemic response. Further, the findings of this report will help to inform discussions and guide decisions on the role and operation of public transit in future pandemic events. 

Year 2020 will mark History, with the emergence of the new Covid-19 virus, and more importantly, the consequent political decisions to apply freedom restriction at such a largescale. Identifying the human behaviours during this extraordinary period represents a unique opportunity to both improve our fundamental knowledge and to improve future management of similar issues. Throughout almost all the duration of the French lockdown (from March 24, 2020 to May 10, 2020), we carried out an online survey on more than 12,000 individuals well distributed over the country. This online survey was performed by using both Lime-Survey and Google Forms services and was addressed to adults living in France. Statistical analyses combined classical inferential approach, mapping, clustering and text mining. The results showed that a significant part of the population moved out just before the lockdown (around 10% of our sample) and we highlighted three different profiles of participants. The results emphasised that the lockdown measures compliance was lower in two cases: (i) an unfavourable living environment (referring to social and economic inequity) associated with a high feeling of fear and a lack of trust towards Governmental measures; or (ii) the feeling that the risk was low due to the fact that others complied with the measures. In case a similar situation should occur again, it is recommended that Governments broadcast clear speeches to improve trust, limit fear and increase cooperative behaviours.

With the flooding and sickness impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, most businesses have seen the need for online or virtual trading and products' delivery to the point of order. Whether through their channels, sub-contracted, or third-party agents, the process of delivering items to the customers has gained significant attention over the years. Therefore, referred to as the last-mile delivery process, and the growth of e-commerce activities has enhanced it. Though it comes with an additional fee, the last-mile logistical system is a convenient and sustainable distribution mode, which provides a competitive advantage to companies. The current study analyses the effect of e-commerce last-mile modes on the environment and the mediating role of sustainable logistics technology. Contextually, this study took in the city of Helsinki and Oulu. The study highlights four critical issues linked to the last-mile logistical modes to incorporate a qualitative research methodology a thematic analytical process. Such as convenience due to fewer traffic jams and fuel savings, cost-cutting for distribution functions minimized queuing problems, improved ecological environment due to suppressed carbon emissions, and improved quality of life of consumers. It is recommended that firms adopt technologies that minimize substantial waste pollution, which can be addressed through the last-mile logistical options.