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The game may be up for fare dodgers across the country when newly warranted officers start issuing fines for the first time.

Legislation that comes into force next week will allow public transport authorities throughout the country to issue $150 fines to passengers who don't carry tickets.

The Land Transport Amendment Act was passed into law in May and allows public transport authorities to fine fare dodgers through officers warranted by police.

James Ireland, spokesperson for Auckland Transport (AT), said Transport Officers were currently operating on the Western and Onehunga lines but had no power to issue tickets to fare dodgers until next week.
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The officers could currently ask to see a passenger's ticket but could only ask them to leave at the next stop.

"As Auckland Transport recruits more staff they will begin to work on other lines as well," Ireland said.

AT also planned on installing more electronic gates at stations so passengers have to buy a ticket or tag on before they got onto the platform, he said.

Once completed, more than 90 per cent of passengers will have to go through an electronic gate, Ireland said.

Fare evasion resulted in $2 to $3 million a year in lost ticket sales, Ireland said.

AT compliance manager Logan Christian said the change would make things "fair for everyone who uses public transport".

"There really is no excuse not to pay your fair share," Christian said.

AT would concentrate on implementing this fine on trains initially before rolling this out to buses and ferries, he said.

"It's about compliance."

The role of transport officer was announced in 2017. It was created in response to increased rail patronage, to boost passenger safety and to better enforce fare payment.

The legislation comes into force on June 18.

- Stuff

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New powers to issue fines on public transport for fare dodgers

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The game may be up for fare dodgers across the country when newly warranted officers start issuing fines for the first time. Legislation that comes into force next week will allow public transport authorities throughout the country to issue $150 fines to passengers who don't carry tickets.

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Interest rate

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Author: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue

Transportation systems, from infrastructures to vehicle operations, have environmental impacts ranging from noise, the emission of pollutants to climate change.

The issue of transportation and the environment is paradoxical since transportation conveys substantial socioeconomic benefits, but at the same time, transportation is impacting environmental systems. From one side, transportation activities support increasing mobility demands for passengers and freight, while on the other, transport activities are associated with environmental impacts. Further, environmental conditions impact transportation systems in terms of operating conditions and infrastructure requirements such as construction and maintenance (see Transportation and Space for a review of these constraints).

The growth of passenger and freight mobility has expanded the role of transportation as a source of emission of pollutants and their multiple impacts on the environment. These impacts fall within three categories:

Direct impacts. The immediate consequence of transport activities on the environment where the cause and effect relationship are generally clear and well understood. For instance, noise and carbon monoxide emissions are known to have direct harmful effects.

Indirect impacts. The secondary (or tertiary) effects of transport activities on environmental systems. They are often of a higher consequence than direct impacts, but the involved relationships are often misunderstood and more challenging to establish. For instance, particulates, which are mostly the outcome of incomplete combustion in an internal combustion engine, are indirectly linked with respiratory and cardiovascular problems since they contribute, among other factors, to such conditions.

Cumulative impacts. The additive, multiplicative or synergetic consequences of transport activities. They consider the varied effects of direct and indirect impacts on an ecosystem, which are often unpredictable. Climate change, with complex causes and consequences, is the cumulative impact of several natural and anthropogenic factors, in which transportation plays a role. The share of transportation in global CO2 emissions is increasing. 22% of global CO2 emissions are attributed to the transport sector, with this share is around 25% for advanced economies such as the United States.

The complexities of the impacts have led to much controversy in environmental policy, the role of transportation, and mitigation strategies. This is made even more complex by the fact that priorities between environmental and economic considerations shift in time, which can have an impact on public policy. The transportation sector is often subsidized, especially through the construction and maintenance of road infrastructure, which tends to be free of access. Sometimes, public stakes in transport modes, terminals, and infrastructure can be at odds with environmental issues. If the owner and the regulator are the same (different branches of the government), then there is a risk that regulations will not be effectively complied to.

Total costs incurred by transportation activities, notably environmental damage, are generally not fully assumed by the users. The lack of consideration of the real costs of transportation could explain several environmental problems. Yet, a complex hierarchy of costs is involved, ranging from internal (mostly operations), compliance (abiding by regulations), contingent (risk of an event such as a spill) to external (assumed by the society). For instance, external costs account on average for more than 30% of the estimated automobile ownership and operating costs. If environmental costs are not included in this appraisal, the usage of the car is consequently subsidized by society, and costs accumulate as environmental pollution. This requires due consideration as the number of vehicles, especially automobiles, is steadily increasing.

The relationships between transport and the environment are multidimensional. Some aspects are unknown, and some new findings may lead to changes in environmental policies. Historically, transportation was associated with very few negative environmental impacts because of the modes used and the low mobility levels. For instance, the construction of large navies composed of sailships was responsible for a level of deforestation in Western Europe and North America from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Urbanization in the 19th century and the reliance on horses created problems concerning the disposal of manure. Further, industrialization and the development of steam engines lead to pollution (e.g. soot) near ports and rail yards. Still, these issues remained marginal and localized.

However, it is only in the 20th century that a comprehensive perspective about the links between transportation and the environment emerged, particularly with the massive diffusion of transportation modes such as the automobile and the airplane. At the same time, manufacturing and marketing concepts such as planned obsolescence incited the design of modes such as the automobile and products (that are transported) that can continuously be replaced. The 1960s and 1970s were crucial decades in the realization of the negative environmental impacts of human activities and the need for regulations.

From an infrastructure perspective, the first comprehensive environmental regulation, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), was set in 1970 and required all federal agencies of the US government to make environmental impact assessments of their actions. Since an agency such as the Department of Transportation is an important provider and manager of transportation infrastructure, this legislation had substantial impacts on how transportation is assessed to be linked with environmental issues. One clear consequence was the growth in the length and the complexity of approving transport infrastructure projects to ensure they meet environmental standards. Opponents of a project could also use the regulatory framework to delay or even cancel its construction and, on occasion, change its design parameters (e.g. size). An unintended consequence was that the complexity of environmental regulations tends to impair innovations and incite current providers to keep existing infrastructure and facilities for the concern to trigger an uncertain environmental review with a new project. In time, this slowed down the development of transport infrastructure and substantially increased their costs.

From an operational perspective, the Clean Air Act of 1970 set clear air quality standards and expectations for both stationary (e.g. a power plant) and mobile (e.g. an automobile) sources of air pollutants. For transportation, it immediately set emissions standards for a list of acknowledged pollutants such as carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds, and nitrogen oxide. The outcome was a rapid decline in air pollutant emissions by the transportation sector through better engine technology. The Clean Water Act of 1977 provided a similar regulatory environment concerning water pollution and the ability to build infrastructures over wetlands.

The 1990s were characterized by a realization of global environmental issues, epitomized by the growing concerns between anthropogenic effects and climate change. Transportation also became an important dimension of the concept of sustainability, which has become a core focus, ranging from vehicle emissions to green supply chain management practices. These developments require a deep understanding of the reciprocal influence between the physical environment and transport infrastructures, and yet this understanding is often lacking. The main factors considered in the physical environment are geographical location, topography, geological structure, climate, hydrology, soil, natural vegetation, and animal life.

The environmental dimensions of transportation are related to the causes, the activities, the outputs, and the results of transport systems. Establishing linkages between environmental dimensions is a difficult undertaking. For instance, to what extent carbon dioxide emissions are linked to land use patterns? Furthermore, transportation is embedded in environmental cycles, notably over the carbon cycle where carbon flows from one element of the biosphere, like the atmosphere, to another like the ecosphere, where it can be accumulated (permanently or temporarily) or passed on. The relationships between transport and the environment are also complicated by two observations:

Level of contribution. Transport activities contribute among other anthropogenic and natural causes, directly, indirectly, and cumulatively to environmental problems. In some cases, they may be a dominant factor, while in others, their role is marginal and challenging to establish.

Scale of impact. Transport activities contribute at different geographical scales to environmental problems, ranging from local (noise and CO emissions) to global (climate change), not forgetting continental / national/regional problems (smog and acid rain).

Establishing environmental policies for transportation thus must take account of the level of contribution and the geographical scale, otherwise, some policies may just move the problems elsewhere and have unintended consequences. A noted example is environmental policies in advanced economies inciting the relocation of some activities with high environmental externalities (e.g. steel making) in developing economies. This transfers the problem from one location to another. Still, such as transfer usually involves new equipment and technologies that are usually having a lower environmental impact. Even if an administrative division (municipality, county, state) has adequate environmental enforcement policies, the geographical scale of an environmental impact (notably air pollutants) goes beyond established jurisdictions. This has become salient in the disposal of waste such as electronic goods that are transferred to developing economies with lower environmental regulations to be disposed of or recycled.

The structure of the transport network, the modes used, and traffic levels are the main factors of the environmental impact of transportation. Networks influence the spatial distribution of emissions (e.g. centralized versus diffuse networks), while modes relate to the nature of the emissions and the traffic to the intensity of these emissions. In addition to these environmental impacts, economic and industrial processes sustaining the transport system must be considered. These include the extraction and production of fuels, vehicles and construction materials, some of which are very energy-intensive (e.g. aluminum), and the disposal of vehicles, parts as well as the provision of infrastructure. They all have a life cycle timing their production, utilization, and disposal. Thus, the evaluation of the link between transport and the environment without the consideration of cycles in the environment and in the product life alike is likely to convey a limited overview of the situation and may even lead to incorrect appraisal, policies and mitigation strategies.

Transportation activities support increasing mobility demands for passengers and freight, notably in urban areas. But transport activities have resulted in growing levels of motorization and congestion. As a result, the transportation sector is becoming increasingly linked to environmental problems.

a. Climate change

The greenhouse effect is a fundamental component of the regulation of the global climate and is a naturally occurring process that involves partially retaining heat in the earth's atmosphere. These include carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and halocarbons, gases that accumulate in the atmosphere long enough to reach a homogeneous composition across the world. Thus, irrespective of the location, their concentration is similar. The quantity of conventional greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere has increased substantially since the industrial revolution and particularly over the last 25 years. The respective impacts of greenhouse gases are further complicated by differences in their atmospheric lifetime (or residence time), which is the time they spend in the atmosphere before decaying or being absorbed by biological or chemical processes. For CO2, it can range between 5 and 200 years, while it is about 12 years for methane and 114 years for N2O. For halocarbons, such as Chlorofluorocarbons, it is at least 45 years.

The activities of the transport industry release several million tons of greenhouse gases each year into the atmosphere, accounting between 25 and 30% of all greenhouse gas emissions. There is an ongoing debate about to what extent these emissions are linked with climate change, but the debate relates more to the extent of these impacts than their nature. Some gases, particularly nitrogen oxide, also participate in depleting the stratospheric ozone (O3) layer, which naturally screens the earth's surface from ultraviolet radiation. The rise in air traffic, in addition to its emissions, has increased the number of contrails, which are mainly ice crystals formed from condensation around planes flying at high altitudes. They can contribute to climate change in a paradoxical fashion as, on the one hand, they can trap heat, and on the other, they are also reflecting solar radiation. In addition to being a contributor to climate change, transportation is also impacted by it, particularly over infrastructure (e.g. more floods due to rising sea levels) and operations (harsher operating conditions).

b. Air quality

Highway vehicles, marine engines, locomotives, and aircraft are the sources of pollution in the form of gas and particulate matter emissions. They affect air quality and cause damage to human health. The most common include lead (Pb), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), silicon tetrafluoride (SF6), benzene and volatile components (BTX), heavy metals (zinc, chrome, copper, and cadmium) and particulate matters (ash, dust). Lead emissions have declined substantially in the last decades as its use as an anti-knock agent for gasoline was banned in most of the world from the 1980s. Only a few countries, such as Myanmar, Iraq, and North Korea are still using leaded fuel. The main factors behind this ban were that tetraethyl lead (the form used as a fuel additive) was associated with neurotoxic effects on human beings and that it impaired catalytic converters.

Toxic air pollutants are associated with cancer, cardiovascular, respiratory, and neurological diseases. Carbon monoxide (CO), when inhaled, reduces the availability of oxygen in the circulatory system and can be extremely harmful and even deadly at specific concentrations. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions from transportation sources reduce lung function, affect the respiratory immune defense system, and increases the risk of respiratory problems. The emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the atmosphere form various acidic compounds that, when mixed in cloud water, creates acid rain. Acid precipitation has detrimental effects on the built environment, reduces agricultural crop yields, and causes forest decline.

Smog is a mixture of solid and liquid fog and smoke particles formed through the accumulation of carbon monoxide, ozone, hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxide, water, particulates, and other chemical pollutants. The reduction of visibility caused by smog has several adverse impacts on the quality of life and the attractiveness of tourist sites. Particulate emissions in the form of dust emanating from vehicle exhaust and non-exhaust sources such as vehicle and road abrasion impact air quality. The physical and chemical properties of particulates are associated with health risks such as respiratory problems, skin irritations, eyes inflammations, blood clotting, and various types of allergies. Smog is often exacerbated by local physical and meteorological conditions, creating periods of high smog concentration and public responses to mitigate them, such as restricting automobile use temporarily.

Air quality issues have been comprehensively addressed in advanced economies, with substantial declines in the emissions of a wide range of pollutants. In developing economies, rapid motorization has shifted the concern to the large cities of China and India among those the most impacted by the deterioration of air quality.

c. Noise

Noise represents the general effect of irregular and chaotic sounds on people as well as animal life. Basically, noise is an undesirable sound. The acoustic measure of the intensity of noise is expressed in decibel (dB) with a scale ranging from 1 dB to 120 dB. Long term exposure to noise levels above 75 decibels severely hampers hearing and affects human physical and psychological well-being. Noise emanating from the movement of transport vehicles and the operations of ports, airports, and railyards affects human health through an increase in the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Ambient noise is a frequent result of road transportation in urban areas, which is the cumulative outcome of all the noise generated by vehicles (ranging from 45 to 65 dB), impairs the quality of life and property values. Falling land values nearby acute noise sources such as airports are often noted since buyers are less willing to bid on properties in areas of elevated noise levels. Many noise regulations impose mitigation if noise reaches a defined level, such as sound walls and other soundproofing techniques.

d. Water quality

Transport activities have an impact on hydrological conditions and water quality. Fuel, chemicals, and other hazardous particulates discarded from aircraft, cars, trucks, and trains or port and airport terminal operations can contaminate hydrographic systems.

Because demand for maritime shipping has increased, marine transport emissions represent the most important segment of water quality impact of the transportation sector. The main effects of marine transport operations on water quality predominantly arise from dredging, waste, ballast waters, and oil spills. Dredging is the process of deepening harbor channels by removing sediments from the bed of a body of water. Dredging is essential to create and maintain sufficient water depth for shipping operations and port accessibility. Dredging activities have a two-fold negative impact on the marine environment. They modify the hydrology by creating turbidity that can affect marine biological diversity. The contaminated sediments and water raised by dredging require spoil disposal sites and decontamination techniques. Waste generated by the operations of vessels at sea or at ports causes environmental problems since they can contain a very high level of bacteria that can be hazardous for public health as well as marine ecosystems when discharged in waters.

Besides, various types of garbage containing metals and plastic are not easily biodegradable. They can persist on the sea surface for long periods of time and can be a severe impediment to maritime navigation in inland waterways and at sea and affecting as well as berthing operations. Ballast waters are required to control a ship's stability and draft and to modify their center of gravity in relation to cargo carried and the variance in weight distribution. Ballast waters acquired in a region may contain invasive aquatic species that, when discharged in another region may thrive in a new marine environment and disrupt the natural marine ecosystem. Invasive species have resulted in significant changes in nearshore ecosystems, especially in coastal lagoons and inlets. Major oil spills from oil cargo vessel accidents are one of the most severe problems of pollution from maritime transport activities.

e. Soil quality

The environmental impact of transportation on soil quality particularly concerns soil erosion and soil contamination. Coastal transport facilities such as ports have significant impacts on soil erosion. Shipping activities are modifying the scale and scope of wave actions leading to damage in confined channels such as river banks. Highway construction or lessening surface grades for port and airport developments have led to an important loss of fertile land. Soil contamination can occur through the use of toxic materials by the transport industry. Fuel and oil spills from motor vehicles are washed on roadsides and enter the soil. Chemicals used for the preservation of wooden railroad ties may enter the soil. Hazardous materials and heavy metals have been found in areas contiguous to railroads, ports, and airports.

f. Biodiversity

Transportation also influences biodiversity. The need for construction materials and the development of land-based transportation has led to deforestation. Many transport routes have required draining land, thus reducing wetland areas and driving-out water plant species. The need to maintain road and rail right-of-way or to stabilize slope along transport facilities has resulted in restricting the growth of certain plants or has produced changes in plants with the introduction of new species. Many animal species are becoming endangered as a result of changes in their natural habitats and reduction of ranges due to the fragmentation of their habitat by transportation infrastructures.

g. Land take

Transportation facilities have an impact on the urban landscape. The development of port and airport infrastructure is a significant feature of the urban and peri-urban built environment. Social and economic cohesion can be severed when new transport facilities such as elevated train and highway structures cut across an existing urban community. Arteries or transport terminals can define urban borders and produce segregation. Major transport facilities can affect the quality of urban life by creating physical barriers, increasing noise levels, generating odors, reducing urban aesthetic,s and affecting the built heritage. The expansion of logistics activities has also been an indirect factor of land take in suburban and periurban areas.

Externalities are an economic concept that refers to the activities of a group that has consequences, positive or negative, intended or unintended, on other groups. These consequences, particularly if they are negative, are not fully assumed by those causing them. Therefore, the impacts are externalized. A common example of a positive externality concerns technology since it obviously benefits the innovative firm but also the whole economy through various productivity improvements or improved convenience. Negative externalities are highly relevant over environmental issues since many of the negative consequences of pollution are assumed by the whole society.

The environmental externalities of transportation include the consideration of physical measures of environmental damage and the evaluation of involved costs for society. The main fallacy underlined by externalities is that the costs attributed to a few sources (e.g. users of cars) must be burdened by many (users and non-users alike). Knowing the sources of environmental externalities is a relatively easy undertaking. At the same time, the evaluation of damage and other costs has not yet reached comparative standards among governmental and non-governmental agencies. The challenge resides over three issues:

Relationships. The nature and extent of the relationships between transport and the environment must be considered. This is particularly complex as most environmental relationships tend to be indirect and cumulative.

Quantification. Relationships must be quantified, and their value to environmental externalities should be appraised. This is highly challenging as only general figures subject to debate can be assessed. Therefore, the quantification of economic, social, and environmental costs subject to much contention. Inaccurate assessments can lead to the exaggeration or underestimation of environmental externalities and improper policies and regulations.

Mitigation. The level and extent of corrective actions that can be taken to alleviate environmental externalities linked to transportation, usually in a manner where those contributing bear the responsibility of their activities. Given the two above points, attempts at regulation, particularly if they involve a comprehensive framework (multinational and multisector), have not reached a significant consensus. Alternatively, a consensus may be reached about the nature of an environmental externality, but not about its mitigation.

The costs of environmental externalities can be considered from economic, social, and environmental dimensions. The basic types of transportation externalities attributed to the environment fall within air pollution, water pollution, noise, and hazardous materials. Establishing and quantifying environmental externalities is a complex undertaking. Quantification is at its preliminary stage, and many have used this argument to differ the application of several environmental policies by lobbying governments. For instance, in the 1970s it took time to accumulate enough evidence to demonstrate the impacts of sulfur emissions, mainly originating from coal power plants, on rain acidification, and implement mitigation strategies (scrubbers, shift to natural gas). In the 1980s the impacts of chlorofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons on atmospheric ozone led to a series of regulations (e.g. Montreal Protocol of 1987) banning their use in the manufacturing of aerosols and refrigerants. Additionally, the wider the geographical scale, the more complex the environmental problem becomes since it involves cross-jurisdictional issues. Recent attempts to reach a consensus about climate change, such as the Paris Agreement of 2016, have underlined the complexity of multilateral environmental agreements over a complex issue that cannot be effectively quantified. Parties simply make general non-binding commitments

The sources/emitters of pollutants rarely bear the consequences of their impacts. This has several implications. First, when specific sources are concerned, like road transportation, users only take account of the direct costs of modal ownership like a car (vehicle, fuel, insurance, etc.). Ownership is often the only entry and utilization cost for several transportation modes. Society generally assumes the role of providing and maintaining infrastructure and other indirect costs like damage to structures and infrastructure, losses in productivity, cleanup, health services, and damage to ecosystems. Second, the geographic separation between sources and recipients is often acute. Acid rains and climate change are prominent examples. On a local level, a community may be affected by noise levels well over its contribution (notably near major highways), while another (e.g. suburbs) may be affected in a very marginal way and still significantly contributes to noise elsewhere during commuting.

There is a tendency towards a shift from direct to indirect consequences for environmental externalities, as of total costs involved. For instance, the absolute levels of air pollutant emissions have considerably dropped in developed economies. The problem of source reduction by vehicles was addressed because it was a straightforward cause of air pollutant emissions. This has tended to displace problems elsewhere and developed new types of externalities. Thus, the relative share of air pollution impacts is lessening, but not the number of vehicles, investment in infrastructure, or noise levels, which have their own externalities. Reductions in the relative importance of one type of externality redirect the focus on other types that were less addressed, but probably as important in the overall impacts of transport over the environment.

Transfers and additions of costs are prevalent attributes of environmental externalities. Trying to lessen economic costs will either lessen or worsen social and environmental costs, depending on the externality. In the context of limited resources, the distribution of economic, social, and environmental costs takes an important role as to what type of damage is acceptable and in what proportions. It is clear from past strategies that several economic costs have been minimized, notably for producers and users, while social and environmental consequences were disregarded. This practice no longer applicable since the society is less willing to bear the costs and consequences of externalities for various reasons (public awareness, quality of life considerations, high health costs, etc.).

Air pollution is the most important source of environmental externalities for transportation, mainly because the atmosphere enables a fast and widespread diffusion of pollutants. Although the nature of air pollutants is clearly identified, the scale and scope of how they influence the biosphere are subject to controversy. On the positive side, emissions of the most harmful air pollutants, such as Carbon Monoxide and Volatile Organic Compounds, have declined despite substantial growth in the number of vehicles, which is indicative of the increasing levels of environmental compliance of vehicles. Carbon Dioxide emissions have increased proportionally with the growth of transportation usage.

As all externalities, costs are very difficult to evaluate because several consequences are not understood, the problems could be at another scale or highly correlated with others, and value (monetary or other) cannot be conclusively attributed. Two major groups of factors are contributing to air pollution, notably in urban areas.

Structural factors are inherently linked to the size and level of consumption of an economy. Factors such as income and education tend to be proportional to emissions.

Behavioral factors are linked to individualism, consumerism, and transportation preferences. Because of convenience and its symbolism, the car is systematically the preferred mode of transportation, even when other modes are available.

From a general perspective, the costs of air pollution associated with transportation can be grouped within economic, social, and environmental costs. Externalities related to water pollution are almost all indirect consequences. It is thus difficult to evaluate and to appraise the specific contribution of transportation over various environmental issues, which explains that problems tend to be addressed on a modal basis.

Noise emissions can be represented as point (a vehicle), line (a highway) and surface (ambient noise generated by a set of streets) sources. Noise pollution is only present as vibrations. For instance, for a road vehicle, vibrations are created through the internal combustion engine, moving parts (transmission), and friction on the surface over which a transport mode operates. The impacts of noise are strictly local, as vibrations are quickly attenuated by the distance and the nature of the landscape (trees, hills, etc.).

A hazardous material is a substance capable of posing an unreasonable risk to health, safety, and property when transported in commerce. Considering the large amounts of freight being shipped through transport systems, hazardous materials have become a concern. Several hazardous materials (hazmat) releases are spectacular events, notably when it involves a supertanker or a train convoy. However, we must consider that maritime transportation only accounts for 0.1% of the total number of hazmat accidents in the United States, although the volume of hazmat released is higher. Other transportation modes are thus important sources of hazmat release in the environment, even if they mostly involve small quantities. Minimal information is available on the nature and consequences of hazmats released during transportation, except for safety regulations. The effects of hazmat release are always punctual but intense. The nature of the effect is related to the type of accident and the hazmat involved. It can range from a small-scale accident where limited quantities of hazmat are spilled, to notable accidents requiring prompt intervention and evacuation of local residents.

Thus, transportation has a wide array of environmental externalities, some of which can be reasonably assessed while others are mostly speculative, but often taken as facts by environmentalist groups. Externalities are also occurring at different geographical scales, and some may even overlap over several scales. The bottom line is that better transport practices, such as fuel-efficient vehicles, that reduce environmental externalities are likely to have positive economic, social, and environmental consequences. While the public sector is incited the address the environmental impacts of transportation through policies and regulations, the private sector deals with compliance and tries to innovate. This iterative process is complex, but the environmental aspects of transportation have been addressed more comprehensively. It remains to be seen about which strategy is the most beneficial as in all environmental matters much subjectivity and often ideology prevails.

Related Topics

Bibliography

Banister, D. and K. Button (eds) (1993) Transport, the Environment, and Sustainable Development. London: Spon Press.

Baumol, W. and W. Oates (1988) The Theory of Environmental Policy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Button, K. (1990) "Environmental Externalities and Transport Policy", Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Vol. 6, No. 2.

Chapman, L. (2007) "Transport and climate change: a review", Journal of Transport Geography 15(5), pp. 354-367.

Hamilton, R.S. and R.M. Harrison (eds) (1991) Highway Pollution, Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Hensher, D.A. and K.J. Button (eds) (2003) Handbook of Transport and the Environment, Handbooks in Transport #4, Amsterdam: Elsevier.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2014) Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change.

Le Vine, S. and M. Lee-Gosselin (2017) "Transportation and Environmental Impacts and Policy", in. S. Hanson and G. Giuliano (eds) The Geography of Urban Transportation, 4th Edition, New York: The Guilford Press, pp. 273-301.

OECD (2010) Globalisation, Transport and the Environment. Paris: OECD.

Ryley, T.J and L. Chapman (eds) (2012) Transport and Climate Change, Bingley: Emerald.

Ryley, T.J. and L. Chapman (2013) "Transport, Climate Change and the Environment", in J-P Rodrigue, T. Notteboom and J. Shaw (eds) The Sage Handbook of Transport Studies, London: Sage.

Tsunokawa, K. and Ch. Hoban (eds) (1997) Roads and the Environment: A Handbook, World Bank Technical Paper No. 376, Washington, DC: World Bank.

World Health Organization (2000) Transport, Environment and Health, WHO Regional Publications, European Series, No. 89.

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4.2 - Transportation and the Environment

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Author: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue Transportation systems, from infrastructures to vehicle operations, have environmental impacts ranging from noise, the emission of pollutants to climate change. The issue of transportation and the environment is paradoxical since transportation conveys substantial socioeconomic benefits, but at the same time, transportation is impacting environmental systems. From one side, transportation activities support increasing mobility demands for passengers and freight, while on the other, transport activities are associated with environmental impacts.

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Extreme weather conditions can affect the Auckland Transport

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Extreme weather conditions can affect the Auckland Transport

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Aucklanders have been warned that the region could experience "extreme" weather conditions on Thursday.

The MetService is forecasting possible wind gusts of 140kmh or more during Thursday afternoon, a significant amount of rainfall is expected and marine conditions are expected to be strong to severe.

Auckland Transport Group Manager AT Metro Operations Brendon Main said on Wednesday that if winds reached those levels public transport would be affected.

"The high winds are likely to mean ferry services will have to be cancelled. There are likely to be vehicle restrictions on the harbour bridge affecting double decker buses with reduced services and rail services will have to be reduced or cancelled," he said.
READ MORE:
* Cyclone Cook set to hammer Pacific, could bring further floods to NZ
* Auckland still in recovery mode from severe flooding in March
* Upgraded state of emergency and worry over Edgecumbe stopbank as new deluge nears
"We are closely monitoring advice from the MetService and working with Auckland Civil Defence but it seems inevitable that there will be service disruptions throughout the afternoon and into the evening."

Auckland Transport said it was also likely that there would be further flooding throughout the region.

"Our advice to public transport users is to follow media reports and look for updates on the AT website, Twitter and Facebook and allow extra time for your commute."

The warning came after rains began hitting the already waterlogged region in earnest.

The Fire Service responded to numerous reports of flooded properties across Auckland after a deluge soaked the city through the middle of the day on Wednesday.

Crews had received call-outs to houses in Silverdale, Red Beach, Browns Bay, Rosedale, Waiake, Totara Vale and Orewa in north Auckland, and Glen Eden and Mt Roskill in west Auckland.

The loading bay of the Countdown supermarket at Three Kings Plaza was also flooding, a Fire Service spokesman said.

The cyclone departed New Caledonia on Tuesday afternoon and was tracking to hit New Zealand on Thursday.

Auckland Civil Defence was warning Great Barrier Island residents to prepare for some of the "most severe weather they've seen in recent times" as they take the first hit of the storm.

Cyclone Cook is expected to bring "extremely high winds" of up to 165kmh-plus, Aaron Davis, the head of emergency management operations for Civil Defence, said.

Current forecasts show the cyclone arriving about midday Thursday, Davis said.

"The rain, combined with severe wind and coastal storm surge, could create extreme impacts for Great Barrier Island. Islanders need to brace themselves."

Davis said now was the time for Great Barriers' community spirit to "kick into gear".

He urged people to spend Wednesday planning for the weather by making sure properties were secured, stock was moved and gutters and drains were cleared.

"If your property may be at risk of flooding or slips, consider ahead of time whether you may need to stay with friends or family for the duration of this storm event," he said.

MetService has predicted between 120-160mm of rain will fall across Auckland from 9am Wednesday to 9pm Thursday.

Maximum rainfall rates are forecast to be about 30-40mm per hour, with thunderstorms possible.

"Worse case scenario, there could be higher rainfall totals than the previous two storms," Niwa meteorologist Ben Noll said.

Noll said it was important to watch the weather forecasts, as the cyclone could track "slightly differently across the country, and Auckland could be spared from the worst of it."

The forecast has sparked warnings from the Auckland Council, Civil Defence and the New Zealand Transport Agency.

Auckland Civil Defence emergency operations manager Aaron Davis said contractors, emergency services and utilities companies were all on standby.

IS YOUR SUBURB FLOOD-PRONE?
* Make sure drains and gutters are cleared
* Report blocked drains, flooding and trees down on public land to the council on 09 301 0101
* Move any items in flood-prone areas somewhere they won't get wet or damaged
* Prepare for the possibility that your road access may be cut off and ensure you have food and provisions on hand in case of isolation
* Check on neighbours and family, especially if they are in at-risk areas or might be affected by flooding or slips.

ADVICE TO GREAT BARRIER ISLANDS RESIDENTS
Consider postponing non-essential travel both on the island and to and from Great Barrier Island
Visit SeaLink for the most up-to-date ferry schedules and information
If flying, check with your airline to see if flights are delayed or cancelled.

ON THE ROADS
Always drive to the weather conditions and never drive through floodwaters
If you get stuck in a flood, get out of your car and move to higher ground immediately, taking great care in the floodwaters
If driving at night, drive slowly, especially through flood-prone areas as you may encounter flooding at short notice
If your property or area may be affected by slips or power outages, prepare for the possibility that your road access may be cut off and ensure you have food and provisions on hand in case of isolation
Never attempt to drive over slips, and treat power lines as live at all times.

- Stuff

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Warning that 'extreme weather' is heading for Auckland

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Aucklanders have been warned that the region could experience "extreme" weather conditions on Thursday. The MetService is forecasting possible wind gusts of 140kmh or more during Thursday afternoon, a significant amount of rainfall is expected and marine conditions are expected to be strong to severe.

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the decrease of Unemployment in New Zealand, which mean people have more work and tend to pay more.

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Unemployment has fallen for the fifth quarter a row, as the economy continues to add almost 1000 jobs a week.

Statistics New Zealand figures showed unemployment fell to 4.4 per cent in the three months to March 31, down from 4.5 per cent at the end of 2017. Unemployment has not been that low since the end of 2008.

The figures showed the number of people employed rose by 15,000 in the first three months of the year.

As well as more people having at least some work, there are signs that fewer people are seeking more hours.
READ MORE: Unemployment drops to 4.5 per cent as NZ adds thousands of jobs
The seasonally adjusted underutilisation rate fell to 11.9 per cent, down from 12.2 percent in the December 2017.

Across New Zealand, Statistics NZ estimates that 340,000 people are in a position to take on more hours and would like to, however this fell by 5000 over the quarter.

Westpac senior economist Michael Gordon said the labour market was becoming tight.

"Firms are finding it increasingly difficult to find new workers, as the pool of available workers has narrowed over time."

However Gordon said wage growth was "missing in action", with the labour cost index climbing by just 0.3 per cent in the quarter, below what economists were expecting.

Annually, the labour cost index climbed by 1.9 per cent, however if the aged-care worker settlement was excluded, the index would have risen by just 1.6 per cent.

"Notably, the share of workers receiving no pay increase at all has been trending higher in the last few years, and is now at its highest since 2010, which was in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis," Gordon said.

- Stuff

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New Zealand unemployment rate falls to the lowest level in nearly a decade

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Unemployment has fallen for the fifth quarter a row, as the economy continues to add almost 1000 jobs a week. Statistics New Zealand figures showed unemployment fell to 4.4 per cent in the three months to March 31, down from 4.5 per cent at the end of 2017.

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Restrict to law , According to Act which related to the use of road or vehicle , Like Land transport Act 1998, for example: people cannot drive without driver licence and under age to get driver licence, or people cannot drive when they consume alcohol, these people might choose to use public transport service , so this give opportunity to AT to get more rider

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Land Transport Act 1998 No 110 (as at 01 October 2017), Public Act Contents - New Zealand Legislation

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the population growth in Auckland region

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Population estimates and projections for Auckland, New Zealand - Figure.NZ

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Year ended June 1998-2043, number of people

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Changing law of minimum wage , which company will increase thier expending

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Minimum wage to increase to $16.50 per hour " Employment New Zealand

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Starting a new job is an exciting and challenging time. It's important for employers to use good hiring processes, and for everyone to follow minimum rights and responsibilities.

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Train delay cause by power cuts

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Auckland commuter trains are running five to 10 minutes late this morning after overnight power cuts which may have been caused by high winds.

Auckland Transport spokesman Mark Hannan said electricity to overhead power lines was cut on the western line and near Penrose overnight.

Power was restored by 5.30am, but the problem has had a knock-on effect.

"All services before then were cancelled, now it's a matter of playing catch-up," he said.

"All services are now operating. There are still slight delays but they are not too bad, and numbers of passengers are a wee bit lower this week anyhow."

Hannan said he did not know why the power cuts occurred but they "may have been weather-related".

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Auckland commuter trains are running five to 10 minutes late this morning after overnight power cuts which may have been caused by high winds. Auckland Transport spokesman Mark Hannan said electricity to overhead power lines was cut on the western line and near Penrose overnight.

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What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Economic Environment Factors?

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Economic environment factors exist on both the macro and micro scales. From government to business to consumer levels, the changing nature of these indicators must be taken into account and the risks assessed. They provide scope to the health of a nation's economy.

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this can be a threat for AT from technology factor 

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this can be a threat for AT from technology factor 

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A passenger train that derailed inside at Britomart station in Auckland has cost KiwiRail $44,000.

The front half of the six-carriage train jumped off the tracks as it was heading into the transport hub on May 9.

Emergency brakes were applied and the train came to a halt just before hitting a protruding section of the concrete tunnel wall.

Thirty-three passengers were on board at the time but no one was injured.
READ MORE:
* Cancellations, delays after train derails at Auckland's Britomart with 33 people on board
* Auckland commuters to face more delays on Friday following train derailment
* Derailed train removed, limited services operating at Auckland's Britomart train station
The station was closed immediately after the incident and was running at a restricted capacity for several days following.

While investigations into the cause of the derailment were still on-going, KiwiRail said they already had a clear picture of the impact it had on the the company.

Chief Operations Officer Todd Moyle said on Wednesday the total cost stood at $44,000.

About $29,000 was in labour costs, and $15,000 on materials used to repair damage to the network.

"The labour costs included re-railing, signal operations, track inspection and security."

He said the cost to KiwiRail would be absorbed into its overall budget, as the company "only insures against major events".

Auckland Transport's James Ireland said the derailment affected that organisation as well.

About 20,000 fewer passengers used trains across the Auckland network that day and the following day, due to the disruptions.

He said the main costs were the loss in revenue as a result, and increased wages as staff worked overtime surrounding the incident.

There were a lot of staff who got out to stations telling people where to go if their usual train had been affected, he said, and a lot of operations staff who worked overtime behind the scenes.

"It's obviously a unique situation for Auckland, and the main thing is that no one was hurt - it was an inconvenience for passengers but we want to make sure people aren't discouraged from using public transport from this one incident.

"We do take this very seriously and there is a lot of follow up that has been done to make sure it doesn't happen again, between us and KiwiRail."

Moyle said KiwiRail was working closely with the Transport Accident Investigation Commission, which was taking the lead on investigations in the cause.

"An incident like this can be the result of a whole lot of factors," he said.

"Passenger train derailments in New Zealand are a rare occurrence - the last one was in 2013 - so we will be looking to learn from this event once a thorough investigation has been completed and the cause has been ascertained."

- Stuff

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Britomart train derailment cost KiwiRail $44,000

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A passenger train that derailed inside at Britomart station in Auckland has cost KiwiRail $44,000. The front half of the six-carriage train jumped off the tracks as it was heading into the transport hub on May 9. Emergency brakes were applied and the train came to a halt just before hitting a protruding section of the concrete tunnel wall.

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the increase price of petrol could threat for AT 

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the increase price of petrol could threat for AT 

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These charts follow the weekly prices for crude oil, New Zealand pump prices for unleaded 91 petrol and automotive diesel, as well as the amount of the retail petrol price that is tax, and the oil company margin.

The data is sourced from the Ministry of Economic Development weekly series for petroleum products.

The crude oil price is based on the Dubai benchmark, as the Dubai market is the most common source of crude oil for New Zealand.

There are 159 litres per barrel.

The New Zealand petrol and diesel retail prices in these charts are based on limited monitoring of service station forecourt prices by the MED. As such, they will not reflect all the variation due to regional pricing differences and discounts available to bulk diesel customers.

As at September 18, 2015 we have updated our chart series to include the average discounts applied to the retail pump price for both petrol and automotive diesel following the inclusion of the information in the raw data provided by MBIE.

The amount of tax on unleaded 91 petrol includes GST, excise tax that goes straight into the Crown bank account, the National Land Transport Management Fund, the ACC levy, the Petroleum or Engine Fuel Monitoring Levy, and the local authorities fuel tax. The ETS charge of about 3c/litre came into effect on October 1, 2010. GST also rose at the same time from 12.5% to 15%, and this increase compounded the ETS rise.

The "oil company component", is the net fuel price after excluding the crude oil price and taxes. It covers the costs of importing, refining, and distribution to the pump. The MED wants you to know that this is a different approach to the one they use to calculate "margin". See their website to find their more intricate definition.

The cost of crude oil we buy on international markets has fluctuated markedly over the past 30 years, even more so in NZ$, but the inflation-adjusted cost ("real" cost) shows we have benefited from a long period of relatively low costs.

Contact us for the data that drives this chart.

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These charts follow the weekly prices for crude oil, New Zealand pump prices for unleaded 91 petrol and automotive diesel, as well as the amount of the retail petrol price that is tax, and the oil company margin. The data is sourced from the Ministry of Economic Development weekly series for petroleum products.

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A city rail link is a project which has been made in Auckland city. A 3.5 Km long train tunnel has been made. It will benefit the people to access the city centre easily. It will also benefits long term projects such as Airport rail and North Shore rail.

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Table 2 Example SWOT Analysis of a Government-Owned Organization - Module 3: Guidelines for Bus Service Improvement: Policy and Options

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Why would you want to evaluate a business product With PEST analysis in the first place?

At the very least, for marketability. A product is nothing if you can't market to the right people. But the survival and success of a product are more than the design and usability.

If outside influences - like political factors or the state of the economy - get in the way, there's nothing you can do. You must abide by these factors because fighting against it is completely futile.

When a new bill is passed, you can't ignore it. You can't impede. Because not following it will get you in legal trouble. And you don't have the power to negate, update, or revoke it. All products are susceptible to four influences: political, economic, social, and technological.

You can use these factors to your advantage. Or you can ignore them and watch your product burn, along with your hard earned cash, reputation, and credibility.

Obviously, you don't want the latter to happen. That's why businesses should follow a simple PEST analysis to evaluate their products.This will ensure the product is ready for market without complications. Because if there is an issue, it's might need more than new packaging or a product overhaul to overcome the financial loss.

How to prepare for a PEST evaluation of business products

Before anything, you must understand what exactly PEST analysis is.

It's a strategic tool to understand the macro environment and influences that affect a product. In this case, the factors create the PEST acronym: Political, Economic, Social, and Technology.

Political Factors

Political factors are what you expect: Government parties, regulations, legislation, and bills. It can greatly affect all products. For example, if you use an ingredient from South America and the government bans all trade from there... well, you only have a few options.

Either swap out the ingredient for a substitute (ultimately changing the entire product), find some (illegal) way around the system - not recommended at all! - or scrap the whole product.

Of course, "change the bill/law" isn't on the options list because it isn't one. As a citizen of the country, you must abide by this law. Going against it would be business suicide.

How do you evaluate a product with political factors?

Make sure the product isn't going to break any laws. For example, make sure the ingredients of a product aren't illegal or unsellable. Or take a look at your marketing; will it impede on anyone's rights? How closely is your product connected to the government? If you create videos slamming current political leaders, could you get into any legal trouble here?

Talking to a lawyer who can ensure all your T's are crossed and I's are dotted may be beneficial.

Economic Factors

Economic factors include everything that can affect the economy - present and future. Tariffs, taxation, interest rates, inflation, and unemployment relations are just a few of these critical influences. Typically, the amount of money you make or lose depends upon the economy. Or at least, it plays a major role.

If you move your business to another country, and now must pay 25 percent tax (as opposed to the 10 percent you were used to), that's going to do some damage to your numbers.

Can you change the tax rate? No. You may be able to capitalize on some business advantages to knock the amount you owe down. But it'll never shift that number lower or higher.
How do you evaluate a product with economic factors?
It may be more important to examine the business rather than the product for this step. You'll need to factor in costs, expenses, and projected profits for a product and what'll mean for the company.

Many companies (should) do market research before launching a product. A comprehensive examination of employment rate, population growth, and shifting trends in the economy are typically all included.

Understanding the full economic picture isn't an option for most businesses take. Because no one likes money surprises that lead to unexpected monetary loss, like noncompliance fees.

Social Factors

Social factors aren't as black and white as the other factors. It typically involves customers, buying behaviors, and various factors included in the economic section of the PEST analysis.

It's really all about understanding your target market. You can't really change people's minds. While you can give them a new option (your product), unless you understand their desire, they won't buy it.
How do you evaluate a product with social factors?
You need to get to know your customers. Creating a buyer persona can help immensely. It's basically a template where you create a character and name them (like John or Sally) and write down info about them. This typically includes:

Age

Occupation

Marital status

The main problem (they have)

How your product solves the problem

What do they do on the weekends or on their days off?

Where do they hang out in person and online?

You can add more, and should if you can. But the point is to get into the head of your customer and figure out why they should buy your product.

Additionally, market research helps here too. Understanding where you're selling, how (online or physical?), who the target demographic is, and what would prevent them from buying (low income? Unemployment rate is high?), can help you evaluate your products for social factors.

Technological Example

Technology is interesting because when it comes to PEST analysis for your product, it's about understanding the barriers. We employ technology every single day and consumers expect to have access to a product (and company) in a variety of ways.

Before, you only had to be on the phone or in-person. Now we can use chatbots, live chat operators, emails, and even texts. Companies who don't use some of these new advancements could fall behind the competition. It could cause their product to be inferior, causing people to jump ship.
How do you evaluate a product with political factors?
Looking at the competition helps. Because chances are, you don't need every single new method of technological communication. It could be expensive if no one ever uses your live chat customer service reps. And the best way to see what could be worth it is by studying what others do and use.

You want the technology you use to be worth it for the business the customer. You want it to compliment the product. There's no point in shipping worldwide if everyone who buys your product resides in the same state, for example.

Make a list of all the technology used or will be used for your product. Ensure they're all necessary, and look into any gaps (study the competition or this bit).

At that point, you'll be finished your PEST evaluation for your business product! Now you need to look over the information you've gathered and see where you can apply changes, if necessary.
Photo by rawpixel.com on Unsplash

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Why would you want to evaluate a business product With PEST analysis in the first place? At the very least, for marketability. A product is nothing if you can't market to the right people. But the survival and success of a product are more than the design and usability.

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Entrepreneurship tends to focus on identifying and fulfilling consumer needs in specific niche markets, but all businesses can be affected by large-scale economic trends. Accounting for trends in the overall economy can help business managers make better decisions. Economic factors that commonly affect businesses include consumer confidence, employment, interest rates and inflation.

Consumer Confidence

Consumer confidence is an economic indicator that measures overall consumer optimism about the state of the economy. Confident consumers tend to be more willing to spend money than consumers with low confidence, which means businesses are more likely to prosper when consumer confidence is high. Periods of high consumer confidence can present opportunities for new businesses to enter the market, while period of low confidence may force companies to cut costs to maintain profits.

Employment

The economy tends to follow a business cycle of economic booms followed by periods of stagnation or decline. During boom periods, jobs tend to be plentiful, since companies need workers to keep up with demand. When unemployment is low, consumer spending tends to be high because most people have income to spend, which is good for businesses and helps drive growth. When unemployment is high, consumer spending tends to be low because unemployed people don't have excess income to spend.

Interest Rates

An interest rate is the amount that a lender charges an individual or business to borrow money. Some small businesses rely on loans from banks or other financial institutions as a source of financing. Higher interest rates result in higher total business expenses for companies with debt. High interest rates can also reduce consumer spending, because high rates make it more expensive for consumers to take out loans to buy things like cars and homes.

Inflation

Inflation is the rate at which prices in the economy are increasing. Inflation causes increases in business expenses such as rent, utilities, and cost of materials used in production. Rising costs are likely to force businesses to raise prices on their own products and services to keep pace with inflation and maintain profits. Inflation can reduce the purchasing power of consumers unless employers increase wages based on the level of inflation.

About the Author

Gregory Hamel has been a writer since September 2008 and has also authored three novels. He has a Bachelor of Arts in economics from St. Olaf College. Hamel maintains a blog focused on massive open online courses and computer programming.

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Entrepreneurship tends to focus on identifying and fulfilling consumer needs in specific niche markets, but all businesses can be affected by large-scale economic trends. Accounting for trends in the overall economy can help business managers make better decisions. Economic factors that commonly affect businesses include consumer confidence, employment, interest rates and inflation.

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Understanding how factors affect business is essential to making smart decisions and guiding your company to greater heights. However, this begins with understanding the role of environmental and external factors, and how they come into place in business.

Environmental Analysis and PEST Analysis

Environmental analysis is the term given to the process of looking at all of the different external factors that affect a business. Like most other parts of business analysis, this is particularly useful for executives in any company who are looking to beat competitors, increase revenue streams, and grow their organization.
Relevant Article: Political Factors Affecting Business
One of the most prominent tools in environmental analysis is PEST analysis , or its derivatives (such as PESTLE analysis!). PEST analysis takes into account four separate factors whose initials create the eponymous acronym 'PEST': Political ones, Economic ones, Social ones, and Technological ones. Although plenty of other variations exist (like PESTLE analysis which includes Legal and Environmental variables) this is where economic factors come into play in business.

Economic Factors in Business

As previously mentioned, economic factors are included in one of the bread-and-butter techniques of all business analysis - PEST analysis. This is because economic factors play a large part in deciding how a company makes its decisions (especially financial ones).
Relevant Article: Social Factors Affecting Business
Economic factors are connected with goods, services, and money. Despite directly affecting businesses, these variables refer to financial state of the economy on a greater level - whether that be local or global. The reason for this is that the state of the economy can decide many of the important details that come up in an operating company, including topics such as consumer demand, taxes and asset value.

Examples of economic factors affecting business include:

Let's look into a few of those examples in more depth, to see how exactly they can affect a business...

Interest rates - Interest rates might appear in a range of different places, imposed by a range of different people. It's obvious that the status quo for interest rates is of great to banking institutions, but it might also affect companies whose strategies rely on taking out large loans.

Exchange rates - Exchange rates are a complicated topic, but they clearly have to apply to those who deal with export or import. Changing exchange rates might affect how much a company has to pay to its international supplier to satisfy them, which can affect profit margins, as well as take a lot of resources to stay on top of.

Recession - An economic recession (of whatever scale) has the potential to change the purchasing attitude of customers, which might force companies to drop their prices or clear smaller volumes.

Another great way to learn to about how economic factors affect business is to look at PEST analyses which include them. For example:

Economic Factors Affecting Anthropologie

Anthropologie targets a wealthy market, so they can afford to take a unique pricing approach which is tailored to that specific economy

The rise in global development and worldwide increase in GDP (Gross Domestic Product) means that their target market is gradually growing

On the other hand, this global development might increase labour and material costs in Less Economically Developed Countries where their products are manufactured (meaning lower profits)

You can find an entire PESTLE analysis of Anthropologie .

Economic Factors Affecting The United Kingdom

The UK boasts one of the highest GDPs in the world, trailing behind only Germany within Europe

The United Kingdom has a constantly increasing amount of Foreign Direct Investment

The area is still feeling the effects of the 2008/2009 economic recession, as well as the Brexit economic setback

In conclusion, economic factors are one of the many environmental, external factors which can affect businesses. Although they relate to the economy on a greater scale, they have a profound effect on the inner-workings of any and every company. Examples include interest rates, exchange rates, and taxes - and can be seen in all organizations, from relatively small fashion chains like Anthropologie to world-leading countries like the UK.

What do you know about how economic factors affect business? Be sure to include it below with any questions or comments you might have.
Image: Who is Danny/Shutterstock.com

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PESTLE Analysis: Economic Factors Affecting Business

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Understanding how factors affect business is essential to making smart decisions and guiding your company to greater heights. However, this begins with understanding the role of environmental and external factors, and how they come into place in business. Environmental analysis is the term given to the process of looking at all of the different external factors that affect a business.

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Auckland’s Northern Busway is New Zealand’s first purpose-built road dedicated to buses and the NZTA is the road controlling authority. At peak travel times, buses can make the journey to and from the central business district about twice as fast as the cars on the motorway alongside it. The 2012 Northern Busway Monitoring Report records the busway carrying 4498 passengers in the morning peak (6:30am–9:30am). That’s the equivalent of taking around 4100 cars off the roads in the morning peak. Patronage has been growing at around 20% per year since the busway was opened, and double decker buses are now being trialled, to increase capacity

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Opportunity- Auckland Region fuel prices going up under a labour led government.

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Opportunity- Auckland Region fuel prices going up under a labour led government.

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So, As the fuel prices will go up then less people will use their private vehicles and will travel by public transport to their work. So, this will eventually benefit the Auckland transport organization.

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Auckland is renowned for its congestion and has some of the worst levels of public transport provision in a western city in the developed world. Eighty-seven per cent of Aucklanders travel to work by car and get stuck daily in traffic.

Just 7 per cent use public transport to get to work. Why is this the case, and why are some buses in Auckland always empty?

Ask anyone on the streets of Auckland, and the response is often that Auckland public transport does not meet their travel needs.

And if public transport fails to serve the large number of commuters travelling during peak hours, how can it benefit shoppers, students and low-income people who travel during non-peak hours?

Historically, the function of public transport has been to provide mobility for people without access to cars. Fifty years ago this meant the great majority of urban dwellers, but by the 2006 Census only 8 per cent of Kiwi households were without cars.

But the future risks of this dependence on cars - increased social and economic costs and environmental impacts - mean cost-effective and less polluting alternatives must be found to efficiently serve the urban transport needs.

There is a real need for good-quality public transport in Auckland.

Australian academic Professor Peter Newman puts the poor performance of public transport in Auckland down to its urban sprawl. One answer is building medium-density housing and offices near train stations and along public transport routes throughout the city - like New Lynn and Tamaki transit-oriented development, providing patronage for public transport.

Another Australian academic, Dr Paul Mees, thinks simplifying public transport routes, increasing frequency and developing a coherent and integrated ticketing system can improve public transport in Auckland. The "partial" success of the Northern Express on the North Shore is a great example of this.

Both have certainly identified factors that have influenced the successes and failures of Auckland public transport. In overcoming these sorts of issues, Perth and Vancouver have built respectable and efficient public transport systems. But isn't the real challenge for Auckland public transport deep rooted in our institutions that are ultimately responsible for developing and managing public transport?

Institutional challenges in Auckland may include, but are not limited to, conflicting priorities at central and local government levels, political ideologies that influence transport strategies and funding systems, limited opportunities for genuine community involvement, lack of co-ordination between different public transport modes and the pro-automobile mindset embedded in societal, professional and institutional culture.

Aucklanders should be satisfied that public transport remains high on the agenda of the Auckland Council and its mayor, Len Brown. They have made theoretical and practical progress on the City Rail Link, refurbishment of train stations, electrification of Auckland rail, introduction of new electric trains in 2014 and the introduction of a new HOP card system. However, making "real progress" in developing a high-quality public transport system for Auckland demands a search for fresh ideas beyond the aspirations of the Auckland Council. These fresh ideas should go beyond exploring new projects and focus on redefining the problems and people's needs for public transport.

In 2013, I will start a project, funded by a Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden Fast-Grant, to develop a new approach that enables in-depth understanding of the nature of institutional challenges for public transport in Auckland.

I am particularly keen to work collaboratively with political parties, central and local government officials, professionals, civil society, activists, researchers and primarily with the diverse and exciting communities of Auckland to create positive change that will assist in developing a first-world public transport system for Auckland; Aucklanders desperately need such a system.

*Dr Imran Muhammad is a senior lecturer at Massey's School of People, Planning and Environment. He was recently awarded a $345,000 Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden Fast-Start grant for a three-year project on the politics of Auckland transport.

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Imran Muhammad: Politics keeping hand-brake on public transport progress

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Auckland is renowned for its congestion and has some of the worst levels of public transport provision in a western city in the developed world. Eighty-seven per cent of Aucklanders travel to work by car and get stuck daily in traffic. Just 7 per cent use public transport to get to work.

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The Diesel engines buses of Auckland transport are threat to the environment. It can affect the NZ environment adversely as the particular matter contribute to the respiratory an cardiovascular illness. But the council is taking specific steps by introducing hybrid and electric buses

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Hey guys here is the link of survey on Auckland Transport

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We had approach workers of AT Britomart for a moment of there time however we did not get any information as they were so called busy.

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Ritchie’s contact to operations manager West Auckland .

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Contact to NZ Buses

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Del using the top up machine. She is one of AT customer who use AT service daily.

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Auckland Transport is going to get greener as they are introducing an electric buses named as E-buses. These electric buses are the part of the move to have zero emissions by 2025

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Auckland Transport is going to get greener as they are introducing an electric buses named as E-buses. These electric buses are the part of the move to have zero emissions by 2025

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Auckland transport has increased the commuter access to the city centre which provides the opportunity to  stimulate economic development.

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Auckland transport has increased the commuter access to the city centre which provides the opportunity to  stimulate economic development.

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As the new innovation of technology, Auckland have create thier own App Called " AT Moblie". This app allowe thier customer to check journey through online and it show the real time operate 

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As the new innovation of technology, Auckland have create thier own App Called " AT Moblie". This app allowe thier customer to check journey through online and it show the real time operate 

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This app allowe thier customer to check journey through online and it show the real time operate. customer also got any amergency alert if that any problem with theier service

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New AT mobile app provides a simpler public transport journey

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Auckland Transport has revealed plans for new walking and cycling facilities in New Lynn and is looking for local people to give their feedback.

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Taking in the legal side of things for Auckland Transport physical environment of Auckland Transport will need to be safe for the public such as roads , railways to be in a safe route.

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According to AT, After they had significent devolopemt on the technology such as Britomart centre, the Northern Busway, the upgrade ans electrification of the rail network and cooprate with AT Hop Card

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According to AT, After they had significent devolopemt on the technology such as Britomart centre, the Northern Busway, the upgrade ans electrification of the rail network and cooprate with AT Hop Card

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This improvement is bring to the increase the number of ridership.

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Transportation in Auckland experience many problems with the growing population. So, they have to contribute immensely. Like, making the streets better.The integrated approach to transport planning requires-

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Transportation in Auckland experience many problems with the growing population. So, they have to contribute immensely. Like, making the streets better.The integrated approach to transport planning requires-

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-Planning transport and land use together and iteratively.
-A focus to access to public and mobility.
-Making the best use of infrastructure
-engaging and developing partnership with stakeholders.

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Road stopping is an legal action taken by Auckland Transport, to stop buses from taking routes on unformed roads. According to The road-stopping process is governed by either the Local Government Act 1974 or the Public Works Act 1981.

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"Road stopping" is the term given to changing land with the legal status of road to a freehold title.

Road stopping

Road stopping occurs only where land has legal road status, which can include unformed roads (often referred to as "paper roads").

Customers wanting to apply for road stopping generally have an existing need, eg:

they have illegally built a structure, fence or deck on the legal road corridor (berm, footpath and road);

they own all the adjoining properties and want to include the road in their ownership.

Applying to stop a road

Before any road land can be stopped, Auckland Transport (AT) will need to confirm the road is no longer required for transport purposes and carry out the necessary road-stopping processes, including removing the road status of the land so that it is no longer subject to laws relating to roads, eg. public access.

The road-stopping process is governed by either the Local Government Act 1974 or the Public Works Act 1981.

You, as the applicant, are required to pay current market value for the land defined by registered valuation and meet all AT's reasonable costs during the process. These costs include (but are not limited to) land survey, valuation, public notification costs, legal and Land Information New Zealand costs, as well as staff processing time. Costs will be invoiced to you on a monthly basis as the work is done.

Note: AT reserves the right to exercise its discretion not to stop the road land at any point during the application process.

Who can apply

Only the immediate adjoining landowners can apply to stop a road. You are likely to have your application declined unless you can obtain the prior written consent of all other adjoining landowners (and service/utility authorities if any of their utilities are affected).

Only those properties immediately next to the road to be stopped are adjoining owners. The next door neighbour who is one or more properties removed is not considered an adjoining owner.

Application process for road stopping

Step 1. Initial enquiry

Make an initial enquiry to AT to see if the area of road is no longer required for transport purposes.
Make an enquiry
Step 2. Submit a formal application

If the initial enquiry is confirmed by AT, then you can submit a formal application:

Download the road stopping application form (PDF 144KB)

Also required with your application

Adjoining landowner consent form (PDF 120KB)

Signed consents from utility providers (if any of their utilities are affected).

Non-refundable deposit of $1,000 (incl. GST) - contact us to discuss payment options.

Send your completed application to:

Auckland Transport (Attn: Property Department),
Private Bag 92250,
Henderson.

Step 3. Approval process

1. AT and Auckland Council consult about future use of the legal road to establish whether there is any reason it cannot be stopped and what, if any, conditions are required.

2. A survey plan of the affected land area to be amalgamated with the your land is prepared (at your cost).

3. Valuation of the land arranged (at your cost).

4. AT's Board supports or declines the request to initiate the road stopping process.

5. If the road is in a rural area, consent from the Minister of Land Information New Zealand is required.

6. Notices of Closure are advertised in the New Zealand Herald, at your cost (opportunity for objections).

7. Notice is affixed to the site announcing the stopping until the objection period closes (40 days).

8. If objections are received, the matter can be referred to the Environment Court. AT will not take proceedings to the Environment Court, which means the process is halted.

9. If no objections are received, AT places a notice in the New Zealand Herald declaring that the road is stopped.

10. AT obtains a registered valuation of the property to offer. If you agree to purchase at the valuation sum, settlement is reached. If you refuse to purchase the land, you will still have to meet all costs incurred to that date.

Note: There is no guarantee that applications will progress through all the stages of the process and that the road will be stopped.

For more information or assistance
Contact Auckland Transport

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"Road stopping" is the term given to changing land with the legal status of road to a freehold title. Road stopping occurs only where land has legal road status, which can include unformed roads (often referred to as "paper roads").

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Micro- Auckland transport is an organisation of the Auckland city council whom are responsible for public transportation such as buses, trains and ferry services.
Macro- This will affect the macro dynamics by accountability of charges , public time services, and routes.

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Auckland Transport (AT) is the council-controlled organisation (CCO) of Auckland Council responsible for transport projects and services. It combined the transport functions of the eight former Auckland local authorities and the Auckland Regional Transport Authority (ARTA) from 1 November 2010.

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Micro - 1.3 billion in revenue from public transport services 

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Micro - 1.3 billion in revenue from public transport services 

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Macro- Upgrade in services such as new buses , all round top up machines not in specific places.
Possibly higher fixed wages.

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Micro- During 2005-2017 according to AT , they had a total of 51.3 million increase to 90.9 million riders this is inclusive of tourists. 

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Micro- During 2005-2017 according to AT , they had a total of 51.3 million increase to 90.9 million riders this is inclusive of tourists. 

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Macro- Packed buses , trains , ferries , especially with so many people traveling to work, school, home .

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Public transport in Auckland - Wikipedia

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Auckland's rapid population growth means that improving the city's public transport system is a priority for Auckland Council and the New Zealand Government. Major improvements planned or underway include the City Rail Link, extending the Northern Busway to Albany, construction of an Eastern Busway between Panmure and Botany and the introduction of a light rail line between the city centre and Auckland Airport.

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Auckland Transport is controlled by Auckland council which is responsible for transport projects and services.Having a revenue of $1.36 billion.Auckland Transport has major geographical and historical challenges.It includes different policies and ideologies on transport strategies and funding system for genuine public involvement.Political decisions and restructuring of organizations have a place in developing  public transport.

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Auckland Transport is controlled by Auckland council which is responsible for transport projects and services.Having a revenue of $1.36 billion.Auckland Transport has major geographical and historical challenges.It includes different policies and ideologies on transport strategies and funding system for genuine public involvement.Political decisions and restructuring of organizations have a place in developing  public transport.

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Macro- Auckland Transport has many quantities such as train stations , diaries , or top ups online-  either the public can top up there AT card or buy a ticket if need be. There is the odd facing off topping up and I must admit myself personally can find this to be a stressful task so what do most people do in this situation always have a plan B such as finding the nearest top up station.