This Report develops further the findings of earlier work by the Bureau of Transport and Communications Economics and the Research and Development Agency of the Indonesian Ministry of Communications on transport in northern Australia and eastern Indonesia. It explores the adequacy of tourism and transport infrastructure in eastern Indonesia to a greater depth of detail than was possible in the earlier work. The focus of the report is on international tourism, because of its importance to eastern Indonesia following the onset of the financial crisis.

• Adequacy of Tourism Transport Infrastructure in Eastern Indonesia
  
  report_099.pdf
  (24.33 MB)

Australian cities have been transformed from fairly tightly knit core-and-spoke configurations, to sprawling suburban low-density configurations. This transformation of urban land use has been accompanied and made possible by a rapid improvement and spread of the road system, and an even more rapid expansion in per person car ownership.

• Urban Transport: Looking Ahead
  
  is_014.pdf
  (336.24 KB)

Benefit-cost analysis (BCA) is a valuable and widely used tool. To reduce the odds of misuse, this report probes some important methodological issues, especially as they relate to transport projects. The discussion is relatively non-technical and draws on case studies. The issues examined include claims that transport projects fail to measure certain benefits: employment creation, regional development, logistic adaptations and 'positive externalities'. Also examined are the choice of discount rate, the treatment of taxes, the valuation of travel time, multi-criteria analysis as an alternative to BCA, and the role of national economic models.

• Facts and Furphies in Benefit-Cost Analysis: Transport
  
  report_100.pdf
  (1.33 MB)

This report prepared for the Australian Transport Council reviews international practice in reducing greenhouse emissions in the transport sector against an economic framework.

• Greenhouse Policy Options for Transport
  
  report_105.pdf
  (659.08 KB)

This report presents the results of a BTRE study to update base case (or 'business-as-usual') projections of greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector. The work was undertaken on behalf of the Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO).

The work updates previous Bureau projections of transport sector greenhouse gas emissions published in Bureau of Transport and Communications Economics (BTCE) Report 88 (Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Australian Transport: Long-term projections) and BTCE Report 94 (Transport and Greenhouse: Costs and options for reducing emissions).

• Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Transport: Australian Trends to 2020
  
  report_107.pdf
  (1.29 MB)

BTRE has completed projected greenhouse gas emissions and energy use by the Australian transport sector using two different methods.

• Greenhouse Gas Emissions to 2020: Projected Trends for Australian Transport
  
  is_021.pdf
  (197.59 KB)

This paper presents the results of a Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics (BTRE) study involving a general equilibrium modelling (or 'top-down') approach to deriving projections of greenhouse emissions from the Australian transport sector.

• Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Australian Transport: A Macro Modelling Approach
  
  wp_052.pdf
  (1.44 MB)

This paper looks at differing investment and growth patterns of irrigation dependent regions along the course of the Murray River. It derives estimates of investment in irrigated agriculture and in the associated manufacturing industries in the regions and then identifies the key underlying causes of regional differences.

• Working Paper 58: Investment Trends in the Lower Murray-Darling Basin
  
  wp_058.pdf
  (2.38 MB)

In July 2003 the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, jointly with BTRE and the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics, were asked to investigate the appropriateness of maintaining an objective that biofuels, produced in Australia from renewable resources, contribute at least 350 ML to the total fuel supply by 2010. The joint study was initiated on 5 August 2003 with a final report required to be delivered on 19 December 2003. "Appropriateness" was to be considered in terms of net environmental benefits, net economic benefits, net regional benefits and industry viability. In turn, industry viability was to take into account announced reforms to fuel tax arrangements, including the phase out of effective excise relief.

• Appropriateness of a 350 Million Litre Biofuels Target
  
  cr_001.pdf
  (3.41 MB)

There is an increasing body of evidence that the earth's climate is changing with some of the changes attributable to human activities. Climate change can have direct and indirect impacts on road infrastructure.

• Impact of climate change on road infrastructure
  
  cr_001_climate_change.pdf
  (5.94 MB)