Research Projects (July 2022 - June 2023)

Physical Internet for City and Maritime Logistics

The Physical Internet, according to several scholars, is touted as the future of logistics (Hirata et al, 2022).  Around the world, several projects have already been initiated to promote the physical internet (e.g., ALICE https://www.etp-logistics.eu/), but mostly these happen in the Global North.  A quick Google scholar search, using the keywords "physical internet" and "developing country"/"global south", reveals very few retrieved studies.  

This project aims to imagine the development of PI in the Philippines using Delphi method. We engage a broad and diverse set of stakeholders in a multi-stage process. A very recent study (Fahim et al, 2021) is used as a reference to imagine plausible visions for PI in the Philippines. Once we have these visions in place, the next phase is to conduct a PI "readiness" assessment or audit, which evaluates how ready the Philippines is to evolve towards PI: we identify potential pathways, drivers, barriers, success factors, and gaps. 

Collaborating Institutions:

Electrification of public transportation

This research is conducted in support of the "Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act" (Republic Act No. 11697) or EVIDA.  Most of the discussion and research focus on the electrification of private transport (electric cars, electric scooters) and public transport (electric buses), but not much on the transition towards electric jeepney.  Here we investigate the drivers, barriers, and success factors of electric jeepney adoption by transport cooperatives.  Transport cooperatives are the unit of analysis since they represent a potential organizational pathway for the transition.  We also examine how long-term service contracts may influence adoption.  We combine qualitative (survey and interview) with quantitative methods (SEM or path analysis) in proposing a novel theory of adoption. 

Collaborating Institutions:

Property Value Capture for Public Transport Development

We utilize a variety of data sources (official land lease data, housing transaction data, rental data, neighborhood characteristics, tax data, etc) and appraisal methods to evaluate the impact of infrastructure developments on property values, and how such increase in values can be captured for infrastructural development. 

Collaborating Institutions:

Mobilization of private financing for the reform of the informal transport sector in the Philippines

Considered as the most ambitious program of the Philippines, the PUV Modernization Program (PUVMP) requires transport cooperatives to replace their old jeepney with modern units.  This however requires massive financing, and the government only provides very limited subsidies.  This paper examines the impact of service contracting on the financial capacity of transport cooperatives to replace their fleet of old jeepney units.  Using data from transport cooperatives, we investigate the effect of service contracting on enhancing the credit worthiness of transport cooperatives to access financing in terms of loans from banks.  Our work presents a novel mechanism to mobilize financing from private banks for the reform of the informal transport sector.

Publication/s:

Sunio, V., Mateo-Babiano, I., Rivera, J., Mariano, AP. and Fillone, A. Long-term service contracts for the mobilization of private financing for public transport sector reform in the Philippines. World Conference on Transport Research - WCTR 2023, Montreal, Canada 17-21 July 2023 (accepted for presentation)

Collaborating Institutions: