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  • 1.
    Ahlberg, Joakim
    et al.
    Ramböll .
    Ericson, Johan
    WSP.
    Johansson, Oskar
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Ridderstedt, Ivan
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Marginalkostnad för luftfartens infrastruktur2017Report (Other academic)
    Abstract [en]

    The main purpose of this study is to estimate the marginal costs of aviation infrastructure. But since it not exist a uniform definition of what is the cost base of the aviation infrastructure, there is also a discussion of what costs should be included. An additional purpose of the study is to relate the estimated marginal costs to today's pricing and to investigate whether aviation pays its socio-economic costs.

    Estimates of the marginal cost of utilizing (relevant) airport infrastructure and for operating airline infrastructure is being analyzed using cost data from Stockholm Arlanda Airport and the Civil Aviation Authority. The empirical approach used to analyze cost items is a regression analysis, with adjustments for month-specific variations in travel patterns, when the airport section is investigated, and taking into account regional differences for airports when investigating air traffic control in the towers.

    There are some uncertainties in the study, but in the light of this, the results indicate that the average marginal cost of the infrastructure is around SEK 13 per passenger and SEK1,168 per aircraft started. Corresponding estimation for air traffic management is also uncertain, with results indicating a marginal cost of SEK 373 per flight. Furthermore, it appears that the revenue from marginal cost-based charges could not alone finance the state aviation infrastructure.

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  • 2.
    Ahlberg, Joakim
    et al.
    Ramböll .
    Ericson, Johan
    WSP.
    Johansson, Oskar
    Statens väg- och transportforskningsinstitut, Transportekonomi, TEK.
    Ridderstedt, Ivan
    Statens väg- och transportforskningsinstitut, Transportekonomi, TEK.
    Marginalkostnad för luftfartens infrastruktur2017Report (Other academic)
    Abstract [en]

    The main purpose of this study is to estimate the marginal costs of aviation infrastructure. But since it not exist a uniform definition of what is the cost base of the aviation infrastructure, there is also a discussion of what costs should be included. An additional purpose of the study is to relate the estimated marginal costs to today's pricing and to investigate whether aviation pays its socio-economic costs.

    Estimates of the marginal cost of utilizing (relevant) airport infrastructure and for operating airline infrastructure is being analyzed using cost data from Stockholm Arlanda Airport and the Civil Aviation Authority. The empirical approach used to analyze cost items is a regression analysis, with adjustments for month-specific variations in travel patterns, when the airport section is investigated, and taking into account regional differences for airports when investigating air traffic control in the towers.

    There are some uncertainties in the study, but in the light of this, the results indicate that the average marginal cost of the infrastructure is around SEK 13 per passenger and SEK1,168 per aircraft started. Corresponding estimation for air traffic management is also uncertain, with results indicating a marginal cost of SEK 373 per flight. Furthermore, it appears that the revenue from marginal cost-based charges could not alone finance the state aviation infrastructure.

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    FULLTEXT01
  • 3.
    Nilsson, Jan-Eric
    et al.
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Johansson, Oskar
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Nyström, Johan
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Ridderstedt, Ivan
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Wikström, Daniel
    Trafikverket.
    Kostnadsanalyser av upphandlade kontrakt: två studier av investerings- och reinvesteringsprojekt2018Report (Other academic)
    Abstract [en]

    The Swedish Transport Agency’s mission includes continuously improving the productivity of operations. The main purpose of the report is to lay the groundwork for following up and further developing the activities carried out. For this purpose, the results of two studies are reported. The one compares costs in contract with invoiced final cost while the other analyses the cost of contracted maintenance costs.

    Finally, several minimum requirements are identified that must be placed on the information required to carry out systematic follow-up.

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  • 4.
    Nilsson, Jan-Eric
    et al.
    Statens väg- och transportforskningsinstitut, Transportekonomi, TEK.
    Johansson, Oskar
    Statens väg- och transportforskningsinstitut, Transportekonomi, TEK.
    Nyström, Johan
    Statens väg- och transportforskningsinstitut, Transportekonomi, TEK.
    Ridderstedt, Ivan
    Statens väg- och transportforskningsinstitut, Transportekonomi, TEK.
    Wikström, Daniel
    Trafikverket.
    Kostnadsanalyser av upphandlade kontrakt: två studier av investerings- och reinvesteringsprojekt2018Report (Other academic)
    Abstract [en]

    The Swedish Transport Agency’s mission includes continuously improving the productivity of operations. The main purpose of the report is to lay the groundwork for following up and further developing the activities carried out. For this purpose, the results of two studies are reported. The one compares costs in contract with invoiced final cost while the other analyses the cost of contracted maintenance costs.

    Finally, several minimum requirements are identified that must be placed on the information required to carry out systematic follow-up.

    Download full text (pdf)
    FULLTEXT01
  • 5.
    Nilsson, Jan-Eric
    et al.
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Nyström, Johan
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Ridderstedt, Ivan
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Salomonsson, Johan
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Johansson, Oskar
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Kontraktet styr: översikt av kvantitativa produktivitetstudier gällande byggande av transportinfrastruktur2019Report (Other academic)
    Abstract [en]

    The Swedish Transport Administration prioritize planning future projects. This forward-looking perspective is beneficial, but it could gain a lot by incorporating a feedback loop from earlier experience within the organization. Ex post data processing, auditing and project evaluation is labor intensive and often downplayed in organizations. However, productivity follow-ups and the use of that knowledge has potential in the administration.

    The purpose of this memo is to describe international quantitative studies on productivity related to issues of interest for The Swedish Transport Administration. Suggested applications can be applied in the Swedish context, but only if appropriate data is collected.

    The review shows that significant work remains to be done in order to carry out quantitative analyzes without extensive manual processing. However, such work does not have to be extensive or difficult. The primary task is to create links between the various databases that already exist and to ensure that documents from the projects exist in digital form and are saved.

    Such work will enable several analyzes of interest to both The Swedish Transport Administration and the international research community. In the absence of this data, it is not possible to report the productivity development over time to the taxpayers.

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  • 6.
    Nilsson, Jan-Eric
    et al.
    Statens väg- och transportforskningsinstitut, Transportekonomi, TEK.
    Nyström, Johan
    Statens väg- och transportforskningsinstitut, Transportekonomi, TEK.
    Ridderstedt, Ivan
    Statens väg- och transportforskningsinstitut, Transportekonomi, TEK.
    Salomonsson, Johan
    Statens väg- och transportforskningsinstitut, Transportekonomi, TEK.
    Johansson, Oskar
    Statens väg- och transportforskningsinstitut, Transportekonomi, TEK.
    Kontraktet styr: översikt av kvantitativa produktivitetstudier gällande byggande av transportinfrastruktur2019Report (Other academic)
    Abstract [en]

    The Swedish Transport Administration prioritize planning future projects. This forward-looking perspective is beneficial, but it could gain a lot by incorporating a feedback loop from earlier experience within the organization. Ex post data processing, auditing and project evaluation is labor intensive and often downplayed in organizations. However, productivity follow-ups and the use of that knowledge has potential in the administration.

    The purpose of this memo is to describe international quantitative studies on productivity related to issues of interest for The Swedish Transport Administration. Suggested applications can be applied in the Swedish context, but only if appropriate data is collected.

    The review shows that significant work remains to be done in order to carry out quantitative analyzes without extensive manual processing. However, such work does not have to be extensive or difficult. The primary task is to create links between the various databases that already exist and to ensure that documents from the projects exist in digital form and are saved.

    Such work will enable several analyzes of interest to both The Swedish Transport Administration and the international research community. In the absence of this data, it is not possible to report the productivity development over time to the taxpayers.

    Download full text (pdf)
    FULLTEXT01
  • 7.
    Nilsson, Jan-Eric
    et al.
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Ragipi Rushid, Ajsuna
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Ridderstedt, Ivan
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics. VTI.
    Kontrakt för underhållsbeläggningar: analyser av produktivitet, effektivitet och kostnadsförändringar mellan avtal och slutkostnader2021Report (Other academic)
    Abstract [en]

    Every year, the Swedish Transport Administration carries out paving work to maintain an acceptable standard on longer road sections for almost SEK 3 billion. The report summarizes the results of three analyses made of this type of procurement. Both the project cost in the contract between the Swedish Transport Administration and a contractor and the final invoiced cost are treated. The purpose is to identify opportunities to further develop the business's productivity and efficiency. Each percentage point cost savings can free up significant funds to order more maintenance or to transfer to other, more urgent purposes. 

    The first sub-study points to opportunities to streamline the applications of hot coatings. Analysis of the cost of 293 such contracts show that there are strong reasons to consider making the contracts larger than today. The more square meters of asphalt in each contract, the lower the cost per square meter. 

    The second sub-study tries to explain why the final cost is on average 14 percent higher than the cost in the contracts signed, while the third study reports a productivity analysis of the same contracts. Even though several hundred pavement contracts were tendered during the pertinent period, only 91 observations have been available for analysis. The explanation is that it is not possible to link the activities procured with the result of the assignments. This applies to both the costs of the business and the actual amount of work, which may differ from the orders placed. 

    The final review of the report has also identified shortcomings in the matching between contract and final cost, which means that it is not possible to report any policy conclusions. However, the analyses illustrate how follow-ups can be carried out to deepen the understanding of, among other things, cost deviations.

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  • 8.
    Nilsson, Jan-Eric
    et al.
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Ridderstedt, Ivan
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Ragipi Rushid, Ajsuna
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics. VTI.
    Utan spaning, ingen aning: behovet av data för att följa upp effektivitet, produktivitet och innovationer i anläggningssektorn2021Report (Other academic)
    Abstract [en]

    To be able to report the results of the assignment given by the Government, all information about the activities that are procured and carried out must be given a clear identity regardless of where the information is stored. This is a prerequisite for being able to follow projects throughout the creation and implementation chain and for explaining why some projects are carried out according to plan while others encounter significant problems. The recommendation does not mean that new information must be produced. All necessary information is already available in digital form and the additional work means that documents are saved in a uniform way for future follow-ups and analyzes. 

    Despite the difficulties in linking contracts from different databases, extensive manual work has made it possible to carry out some analyzes of costs and cost deviations. The main purpose of this part of the report is to provide examples of how the results of in-depth studies can be of operational benefit for the further development of the business. 

    One of these analyses refers to information on terminated contracts that cost more than SEK 10 million. The point of departure for the analysis is that the difference between final and contract costs for 776 contracts signed between 2010 and 2017 is on average 20 percent for road contracts, while railway contracts increase by an average of 32 percent. Furthermore, maintenance contracts run a lower risk of cost overruns and have a lower average cost increase than investment contracts. Information is not sufficient to identify reasons for these deviations.

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  • 9.
    Ridderstedt, Ivan
    KTH, School of Industrial Engineering and Management (ITM), Industrial Economics and Management (Dept.), Accounting, finance, economics and organization (AFEO). VTI Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute.
    Improving the Efficiency of Public Procurement: Empirical evidence using micro-level contract data2023Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
    Abstract [en]

    Among OECD countries, close to one-third of government expenditure is allocated using public procurement. This implies that the skill of public authorities in handling the procurement format has a significant impact on how much the public sector accomplish in relation to their goals and responsibilities. The aim of this thesis is to provide new insights into how public procurers can achieve more for the money by improving the design of their auctions and contracts. Specifically, the thesis examines how the efficiency can be influenced by the following three aspects: the method of bid evaluation (the award mechanism), whether items are procured separately or grouped into larger contracts, and variations among procurers in the activities and quantities they specify in a given case.

    The thesis includes four essays that analyze detailed contract information from Swedish procurements of road reinvestments and public bus services. For a comprehensive sample of the examined contracts, information has been collected from procurement documents and compiled into rich microdata sets. The use of microdata has enabled detailed reviews of how the procurements have been designed as well as statistical analysis of associations between the procurer’s choices and the outcome. While the essays primarily focus on results and implications regarding their respective research questions, the kappa provides a more general discussion about quantitative microanalysis in the field of procurement. This reflects a complementary aim of the thesis, which is to contribute to well-informed decisions regarding whether and how contracting authorities should facilitate analyses of this kind.

    Two of the essays investigate to what extent and how the Swedish national infrastructure manager Trafikverket can improve its efficiency in procurements of highway pavement replacement. Trafikverket spends approximately EUR 200 million on these works annually. Hence, if better procurement methods could lower the cost by 5% without reducing the quality, about EUR 10 million would be freed up annually for additional road maintenance or other uses. Both essays indicate that even greater efficiency gains can be achieved through improved dissemination of best practices. The results support Trafikverket's policy to bundle similar and adjacent road work but imply that the contracts are generally not large enough to fully benefit from the economies of scale. A conclusion is that it is motivated for Trafikverket to consider the scope for efficient bundling when deciding on the timing of these pavement replacement measures.

    The other two essays examine how the Swedish regional Public Transport Authorities (PTAs) have implemented the scoring rule award mechanism and its efficiency. This alternative to the lowest price and quality-only mechanisms is promoted within the EU procurement directive and is dominant in many countries. However, the literature on how well public agencies implement this policy is scarce and fragmented. One of the essays shows that scoring rules are common in Swedish procurements of public bus services, but also that there are significant differences between the PTAs in whether and how they have applied this award mechanism. Several implementations have unsound and likely unintended properties, in the light of economic theory. The findings suggest that best practices are not spread effectively between the organizations. The second essay on this theme exploits the property that one PTA alternated between lowest price and a performance focused variant of scoring rules and, equally important, could provide data on a relevant and reliable outcome measure. Based on 30 months of observations on monitored punctuality, performance is not found to be better in contracts awarded using scoring rules. The results suggest that the promotion of scoring rules is not accompanied with adequate guidance on when and how to implement it efficiently.

    The kappa highlights how microdata at the contract level enable research that considers both the ‘uniqueness’ of each procurement and random variation. In the analyses of road reinvestments, the detailed data allows us to consider several important characteristics of the contracts and the treated road segments. Similarly, the analysis of bus punctuality considers several aspects of the traffic assignment. In this way, quantitative microanalysis can provide reliable quantifications of how costs and quality are affected by both the procurer's actions, while considering the external conditions. Many of these associations are too complex to be reliably assessed by an individual civil servant, even if it is highly knowledgeable and experienced. However, the thesis emphasizes that even quantitative analysis can yield misleading results if the data material is not good enough, for example, if the sample is too small or relevant aspects are not captured.

    A central argument in the thesis is that the standardized and rigid procurement process creates particularly excellent conditions for collecting useful procurement data. However, the potential for this has largely remained untapped by the public agencies themselves. Instead, these data have primarily been compiled within individual research projects, where even the collection of tendering documents has been a notorious obstacle. In Sweden, Trafikverket's information management and cost control have repeatedly been criticized. However, Trafikverket is far from the ‘worst in class’ in these matters, and the criticism mainly reflects the agency's position as one of Sweden's largest procurers. An overall conclusion of the thesis is that public agencies in general should take a more active role in improving how procurement data are collected and managed. Of particular importance is the establishment of well-structured archiving processes for procurement documents, along with systems to track changes in both costs and content after a contract is awarded. For smaller authorities, it is reasonable that this development is coordinated or driven by a centralized function, whereas Trafikverket is well positioned to take a leading role in finding and disseminating best practices. Ultimately, the responsibility for instructing and overseeing improvements in this area lies with the governing bodies of the public agencies, given that the agencies do not set their own agendas.

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    Summary
  • 10.
    Ridderstedt, Ivan
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics. Redovisning, finansiering, nationalekonomi och organisation, KTH, Sverige.
    Improving the Efficiency of Public Procurement: Empirical evidence using micro-level contract data2023Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
    Abstract [en]

    The aim of this thesis is to provide new insights into how public procurers can achieve more for the money by improving the design of their auctions and contracts. Specifically, the thesis examines how the efficiency can be influenced by the following three aspects: the method of bid evaluation (the award mechanism), whether items are procured separately or grouped into larger contracts, and variations among procurers in the activities and quantities they specify in a given case.

    The thesis includes four essays that analyze detailed contract information from Swedish procurements of road reinvestments and public bus services. For a comprehensive sample of the examined contracts, information has been collected from procurement documents and compiled into rich microdata sets. The use of microdata has enabled detailed reviews of how the procurements have been designed as well as statistical analysis of associations between the procurer’s choices and the outcome. While the essays primarily focus on results and implications regarding their respective research questions, the kappa provides a more general discussion about quantitative microanalysis in the field of procurement. This reflects a complementary aim of the thesis, which is to contribute to well-informed decisions regarding whether and how contracting authorities should facilitate analyses of this kind.

    The kappa highlights how microdata at the contract level enable research that considers both the ‘uniqueness’ of each procurement and random variation. In the analyses of road reinvestments, the detailed data allows us to consider several important characteristics of the contracts and the treated road segments. Similarly, the analysis of bus punctuality considers several aspects of the traffic assignment. In this way, quantitative microanalysis can provide reliable quantifications of how costs and quality are affected by both the procurer's actions, while considering the external conditions. Many of these associations are too complex to be reliably assessed by an individual civil servant, even if it is highly knowledgeable and experienced. However, the thesis emphasizes that even quantitative analysis can yield misleading results if the data material is not good enough, for example, if the sample is too small or relevant aspects are not captured.

    Download full text (pdf)
    FULLTEXT01
  • 11.
    Ridderstedt, Ivan
    KTH, School of Industrial Engineering and Management (ITM), Industrial Economics and Management (Dept.), Accounting, finance, economics and organization (AFEO). Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI), Stockholm, Sweden. .
    The Wild West of Public Procurement: A Review of Award Mechanisms used for Swedish Public Bus ServicesManuscript (preprint) (Other academic)
    Abstract [en]

    Awarding public contracts to the best combination of price and quality has become a standardand promoted policy in the EU. Still, there is little evidence on how well public agenciesimplement this policy, here termed scoring rules. This study reviews how Sweden’s publictransport authorities (PTAs) implemented scoring rules, using a sample of 560 contracts forpublic bus services. The review shows large differences in whether and how different PTAsimplemented scoring rules. Several PTAs used non-monetary scales for their scoring rules andmany quality criteria, linked to the suppliers’ plans and internal processes. This variant is foundto present issues regarding transaction costs, as well as heightened risk of moral hazard andadverse selection. The paper concludes that public procurers need better guidance on when andhow to use scoring rules for achieving a good price-quality trade-off.

  • 12.
    Ridderstedt, Ivan
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics. Redovisning, finansiering, nationalekonomi och organisation, KTH, Sverige.
    The Wild West of Public Procurement: A Review of Award Mechanisms used for Swedish Public Bus ServicesManuscript (preprint) (Other academic)
    Abstract [en]

    Awarding public contracts to the best combination of price and quality has become a standard and promoted policy in the EU. Still, there is little evidence on how well public agencies implement this policy, here termed scoring rules. This study reviews how Sweden’s public transport authorities (PTAs) implemented scoring rules, using a sample of 560 contracts for public bus services. The review shows large differences in whether and how different PTAs implemented scoring rules. Several PTAs used non-monetary scales for their scoring rules and many quality criteria, linked to the suppliers’ plans and internal processes. This variant is found to present issues regarding transaction costs, as well as heightened risk of moral hazard and adverse selection. The paper concludes that public procurers need better guidance on when and how to use scoring rules for achieving a good price-quality trade-off.

  • 13.
    Ridderstedt, Ivan
    et al.
    KTH, School of Industrial Engineering and Management (ITM), Industrial Economics and Management (Dept.), Accounting, finance, economics and organization (AFEO). Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI), Stockholm, Sweden.
    Nilsson, Jan Eric
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI), Stockholm, Sweden.
    Economies of scale versus the costs of bundling: Evidence from procurements of highway pavement replacement2023In: Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, ISSN 0965-8564, E-ISSN 1879-2375, Vol. 173, article id 103701Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Although most public procurements involve decisions concerning bundling, only a limited body of empirical research guides policy on this matter. In this paper, we examine the cost effects of bundling in the competitive tendering of highway pavement replacement with hot-mix asphalt. For this we use linear regression on data from a comprehensive sample of such contracts procured by the Swedish infrastructure manager (IM) during the 2012–2015 period. We find that bundling affects the procurer's cost in multiple and partly counteracting ways. Our results show that economies of scale are strong but diminishing and counteracted by the costs of bundling and bundling-related factors. Overall, the findings support the Swedish IM's current bundle design but also suggest that most of the contracts are still inefficiently small. While not perfectly generalizable to other markets, the findings provide some support for the increased promotion and use of the bundling of small-scale road rehabilitation projects in the USA. Two main implications of the results are that bundling policy should emphasize proximity and similarity rather than whether the work is small in scale and that the scope for efficient bundling should be accounted for when optimizing the timing of pavement replacement.

  • 14.
    Ridderstedt, Ivan
    et al.
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics. Department of Industrial Economics and Management, KTH, Sweden.
    Nilsson, Jan-Eric
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Economies of scale versus the costs of bundling: Evidence from procurements of highway pavement replacement2023In: Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, ISSN 0965-8564, E-ISSN 1879-2375, Vol. 173, no July, article id 103701Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Although most public procurements involve decisions concerning bundling, only a limited body of empirical research guides policy on this matter. In this paper, we examine the cost effects of bundling in the competitive tendering of highway pavement replacement with hot-mix asphalt. For this we use linear regression on data from a comprehensive sample of such contracts procured by the Swedish infrastructure manager (IM) during the 2012–2015 period. We find that bundling affects the procurer's cost in multiple and partly counteracting ways. Our results show that economies of scale are strong but diminishing and counteracted by the costs of bundling and bundling-related factors. Overall, the findings support the Swedish IM's current bundle design but also suggest that most of the contracts are still inefficiently small. While not perfectly generalizable to other markets, the findings provide some support for the increased promotion and use of the bundling of small-scale road rehabilitation projects in the USA. Two main implications of the results are that bundling policy should emphasize proximity and similarity rather than whether the work is small in scale and that the scope for efficient bundling should be accounted for when optimizing the timing of pavement replacement.

    Download full text (pdf)
    fulltext
  • 15.
    Ridderstedt, Ivan
    et al.
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Nilsson, Jan-Eric
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Economies of scale versus the costs of bundling in the procurement of highway pavement replacement2022Report (Other academic)
    Abstract [en]

    Although most public procurements involve decisions concerning bundling there is only a limited body of empirical research guiding policy on this matter. In this paper, we examine the cost effects of pure bundling in the competitive tendering of highway pavement replacement with hot-mix asphalt. For this we use linear regression on data from a comprehensive sample of such contracts procured by the Swedish infrastructure manager (IM) during the period 2012–2015. We find that bundling affects the procurer’s cost in multiple and partly counteracting ways. Our results show that economies of scale are strong but diminishing and counteracted by costs of bundling and bundling related factors. Overall, the findings support Swedish IM’s current design of bundles but also suggest that most of the contracts are still inefficiently small. Whilst not perfectly generalizable to other markets, the findings provide some support the increased promotion and use of bundling of small-scaled road rehabilitation projects in the US. Two main implications of the results are that bundling policy should emphasize proximity and similarity rather than whether work is small-scale and that the scope for efficient bundling should be accounted for when optimizing the timing of pavement replacement.

    Download full text (pdf)
    fulltext
  • 16.
    Ridderstedt, Ivan
    et al.
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Pyddoke, Roger
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Evaluating bids on price and quality: the impact on performance in Swedish public bus service2021Report (Other academic)
    Abstract [en]

    The standard public procurement approach has been to award contracts to the lowest bidder meeting the requirements. In the EU, another award mechanism is almost as common and, moreover, is being promoted, i.e. awarding contracts to the best combination of price and quality, though whether this provides better value has rarely been studied. We contribute relevant empirical evidence by analyzing performance in public bus service contracts. In awarding contracts, a Swedish regional public transport authority alternated between favoring the lowest price and evaluating both price and bus operators’ processes for managing and improving bus service. The results of comparing these two approaches suggest that bus operators perform equally well in terms of punctuality regardless of the award mechanism. We conclude that caution is needed when promoting and implementing award mechanisms evaluating both price and quality. Knowledge of whether and how these outperform lowest price mechanisms remain limited in practice.

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  • 17.
    Ridderstedt, Ivan
    et al.
    KTH, School of Industrial Engineering and Management (ITM), Industrial Economics and Management (Dept.), Accounting, finance, economics and organization (AFEO). VTI Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute.
    Pyddoke, Roger
    VTI Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute.
    Evaluating Bids on Price and Quality: The impact on the performance of Swedish public bus services2024In: Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, ISSN 0022-5258, E-ISSN 1754-5951Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Theoretical work on auctions has shown conceptual benefits of awarding contracts to the bidderoffering the best combination of price and quality rather than the lowest bidder.Correspondingly, EU policy on public procurement promotes such multi-criteria bid evaluation,which is already common in Europe. However, very few empirical studies have examined theeffects of this policy. This study analyzes panel data on monitored quality in Swedish publicbus service contracts awarded using either mechanism. We do not find that the studiedimplementations of award mechanisms perform differently and conclude that the superiority ofthe currently promoted mechanism remains uncertain.

  • 18.
    Ridderstedt, Ivan
    et al.
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Pyddoke, Roger
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Evaluating Bids on Price and Quality: The Impact on the Performance of Swedish Public Bus Services2024In: Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, ISSN 0022-5258, E-ISSN 1754-5951, Vol. 58, no 1, p. 72-98Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    Theoretical work on auctions has shown conceptual benefits of awarding contracts to the bidder offering the best combination of price and quality, rather than the lowest bidder. Correspondingly, EU policy on public procurement promotes such multi-criteria bid evaluation, which is already common in Europe. However, very few empirical studies have examined the effects of this policy. This study analyses panel data on monitored quality in Swedish public bus service contracts awarded using either mechanism. We do not find that the studied implementations of award mechanisms perform differently and conclude that the superiority of the currently promoted mechanism remains uncertain.

  • 19.
    Ridderstedt, Ivan
    et al.
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Pyddoke, Roger
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Vilka reser med kollektivtrafik i lands- och glesbygd?: demografi och resmönster2017Report (Other academic)
    Abstract [en]

    The Swedish government has commissioned VTI to study and assess innovative and efficient solutions for public transport in rural areas. To be successful in this task, it is essential with comprehensive knowledge on how the Swedish rural population travels, especially on the demographics and traveling patterns of today’s users of public transportation. This should also be of great interest for policy makers. Political goals linked to accessibility and environmental issues have contributed to an intensified discussion on how to improve public transport in rural areas whilst also considering the ever-present budget constraints. Arguably, improved knowledge on present traveling patterns enhances the possibilities of finding effective and economically sound solutions.

    Previous Swedish studies have described the general travel patterns and the distribution between transport modes, but they have not gone into depth on how public transport is used in rural areas and by whom. Moreover, these studies have usually applied a municipality based definition of rural areas which is likely to cause significant noise in the statistics due to its roughness. There are often several towns and urban areas even within dominantly rural municipalities, and there may be areas of rural character in more densely populated municipalities. Altogether, there is a need for a new study of the national traveling statistics with:

     focus on public transport in rural areas

     greater precision in how statistics from the national travel habit survey is linked to the countryside.

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  • 20.
    Smith, Andrew S. J.
    et al.
    Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom.
    Nilsson, Jan-Eric
    VTI, Stockholm, Sweden.
    Ridderstedt, Ivan
    KTH, School of Industrial Engineering and Management (ITM), Industrial Economics and Management (Dept.), Accounting, finance, economics and organization (AFEO). VTI, Stockholm, Sweden.
    Johansson, Oskar
    VTI, Stockholm, Sweden.
    Efficiency measurement in the tendering of road surface renewal contracts2023In: Journal of Productivity Analysis, ISSN 0895-562X, E-ISSN 1573-0441Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    The problem of slow productivity growth in the road construction (and wider construction) industry is well known. The present paper suggests a means for efficiency analysis in one part of this industry, namely road surface renewal in Sweden, built upon the application of Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) techniques. The paper is novel in that it focuses on project level rather than firm or contractor level performance and takes the perspective of the inefficiency that may result from the way the contracts are specified by the highway agency’s pavement engineers (client side). We compare 233 renewal contracts tendered over a four-year period via the estimation of a cost frontier, with controls for heterogeneity between projects. Our results produce first estimates that expose substantive differences in the relative efficiency performance of different engineers within the Swedish highways procurement organisation (Trafikverket); with indicative savings of around €40 m out of a total road renewals budget in Sweden of €200 m. We also find substantial economies of scale that could, in principle, point to further cost savings if road renewal projects can be packaged up as larger projects. These client-side savings represent potentially important sources of savings in addition to those that can be achieved through the pressure of competitive tendering on the supplier side. The paper therefore illustrates how disaggregate analysis of project level information can readily be used for revealing important information about how best to frame the procurement process and thus deliver productivity and unit cost improvements over time. 

  • 21.
    Smith, Andrew S. J.
    et al.
    Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
    Nilsson, Jan-Eric
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Ridderstedt, Ivan
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics. Department of Industrial Economics and Management, KTH, Sweden .
    Johansson, Oskar
    Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Society, environment and transport, Transport economics.
    Efficiency measurement in the tendering of road surface renewal contracts2023In: Journal of Productivity Analysis, ISSN 0895-562X, E-ISSN 1573-0441, Vol. 60, no 2, p. 189-202Article in journal (Refereed)
    Abstract [en]

    The problem of slow productivity growth in the road construction (and wider construction) industry is well known. The present paper suggests a means for efficiency analysis in one part of this industry, namely road surface renewal in Sweden, built upon the application of Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) techniques. The paper is novel in that it focuses on project level rather than firm or contractor level performance and takes the perspective of the inefficiency that may result from the way the contracts are specified by the highway agency’s pavement engineers (client side). We compare 233 renewal contracts tendered over a four-year period via the estimation of a cost frontier, with controls for heterogeneity between projects. Our results produce first estimates that expose substantive differences in the relative efficiency performance of different engineers within the Swedish highways procurement organisation (Trafikverket); with indicative savings of around €40 m out of a total road renewals budget in Sweden of €200 m. We also find substantial economies of scale that could, in principle, point to further cost savings if road renewal projects can be packaged up as larger projects. These client-side savings represent potentially important sources of savings in addition to those that can be achieved through the pressure of competitive tendering on the supplier side. The paper therefore illustrates how disaggregate analysis of project level information can readily be used for revealing important information about how best to frame the procurement process and thus deliver productivity and unit cost improvements over time. © 2023, The Author(s).

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