Scope for modal shift through fiscal, regulatory and organisational change
Start: August 2007, End: March 2009

Background:

Modal shift from road freight to other modes - primarily rail, but also waterborne transport - is generally viewed as being beneficial to the environment and society, particularly since on average road freight emits greater carbon emissions per tonne kilometre than do rail and waterborne freight. Use of non-road modes may also have other benefits, such as contributing to a reduction in road congestion, and in some cases rail and water can be more efficient and reliable than road. As such, UK and EU policies favour such modal shift and there is an expectation that rail in particular will play a greater role in the future. It is not always evident how individual elements of the transport strategy should be pursued for maximum effect, not least for freight, given the complex issues related to mode choice decision making and, in the context of rail, the many different variables that influence its cost and performance. The environment within which mode choice decisions for freight transport are being taken is therefore changing. The challenges of integrating non-road modes in to domestic and international supply chains that have evolved around the ubiquity of road haulage are significant.

Much of the publicly available quantified information relating to mode is at a very broad level or is inconsistent over time, so as a result does not readily lend itself to time series analysis or the detailed investigation of specific trends. This is a particular issue for rail freight since rail privatisation, where commercial considerations result in difficulties in obtaining detailed statistics about rail operations. The work module therefore complements the work on econometric modelling of mode choice being undertaken in Work Module 4, and a close working relationship between the two work modules is being developed. The research in this module will be in-depth and at a disaggregated level in order to address behavioural issues, gain a better understanding of the decision-making processes affecting mode choice within supply chains, and identify means by which rail's performance can be enhanced. It will build upon previous mode choice research that focused on the potential for growth in rail freight volumes. This identified the importance of supply chain structure on mode choice and demonstrated the importance of behavioural issues affecting mode choice within supply chains.

Objectives

• To identify means by which modal shift (primarily from road to rail transport) can be achieved
• To determine the barriers that currently prevent further modal shift
• To identify how these barriers can be overcome through a range of fiscal, regulatory and organisational changes.