Cost and Prices in Transport
Enroll to get access to news and materials
In every economic sector, costs and prices determine supply and demand. In the transport sector, the private costs incurred or generated by individuals and companies generally differ from social costs on the cost side, and the cost structure is often characterised by economies of scale. Market-based pricing then leads to inefficiencies in the provision of services (e.g. road capacity, public transport lines) and the satisfaction of demand (number of car trips or flights during peak load periods). For almost all modes of transport, this can justify government intervention in pricing and justify regulation. The aim of the course is the detailed presentation, analysis and discussion of these interrelationships, with a focus on private individual transport, public transport and air transport. Students will be enabled to independently analyse problems specific to transport modes and, building on this, to develop appropriate solutions.
02 Lecture: Economies of scale and economies of scope
03 Lecture: Road pricing
03.1: Pricing flow congestion in the short run
03.2: Pricing flow congestion in the long run
04 Lecture: Energy pricing (optimal fuel taxes)
05 Lecture: Pricing Parking
06 Lecture: Public transport pricing and supply
07 Lecture: Pricing Air Transport
08 Lecture: Ramsey Pricing
Lecture: Thursday 16:40, room FAL 002 (start on-site: week xxx)
Tutorials: Monday 13:00, room POT 251 (start on-site: week xxx)
Number of module: VW-TEc-MA-SPE 22
Name of module: Cost and Prices in Transport
Lecturer: Dr. habil. Stefan Tscharaktschiew
Qualification aim:
Students will be familiar with the relationship between costs and prices in the transport sector and will be able to assess the typical regulation of transport companies in terms of its appropriateness. Students will be able to identify existing (or future) inefficiencies in various areas of the transport sector and develop suitable solutions to eliminate them. The students know the welfare-optimized pricing of transport services (individual transport, local public transport) and the pricing of transport infrastructure facilities. Based on this comprehensive knowledge, students have the ability to act in a socially responsible manner by being able to recognize, develop and communicate approaches to solutions for improving the overall social situation in the transport sector.
Content:
The contents of the module are both analytical and quantitative methods that are required for the analysis of a variety of transport economic and transport policy issues in the areas of individual passenger road transport, local public transport as well as air transport. This will be discussed with relation to current research.
Teaching and learning methods: 2 SWS lecture, 2 SWS practical session, and independent study.
Requirements for participation: The competencies to be acquired in the Methods in Transport Policy module are required.
Usability:
The module is a compulsory elective module of the specialization Transport Policy of the module group Specializations in the Master's program Transportation Economics, of which two out of five have to be chosen. It provides the prerequisite for the module Research Task in Transport Policy. Furthermore, the module is a compulsory elective module in the area of Transportation Economics of the module group Supplements in the Master's program Transportation Economics, of which modules amounting to 30 credit points must be chosen. The module cannot be taken if it has already been selected in the module group Specializations.
Requirements for the award of credits: The credit points are awarded when the module examination is passed. The module examination is a written examination of 120 minutes duration.
Credit points and grades: 5 credit points can be acquired through this module. The module grade corresponds to the grade of the examination performance.
Frequency of module: The module is offered each academic year in the summer semester.
Workload: The total workload is 150 hours.
Duration of the module: The module lasts one semester.