Using Evolutionary Game Theory to Study Behavioral Strategies of the Government and Carriers Under Different Transshipment Modes

Abstract

Due to severe congestion before the Three Gorges Dam, roll-on/roll-off and container carriers are encouraged to adopt water-land transshipment mode. Owing to high transit and road costs, however, carriers are reluctant to adopt this mode. In this paper, we study the spatial-temporal relationship between the transshipment mode and the transshipment cost. Furthermore, we analyze the feasibility of subsidy strategies with regards to water-land transshipment from the standpoint of the government. An evolutionary game theory model is used to identify the equilibrium points of transshipment and non-transshipment, as well as subsidy and non-subsidy strategies available to carriers and the government, respectively, under different scenarios. With a transshipment job for a major carrier as an example, freight prices offered by carriers and subsidies provided by the government under water-road and water-road-water modes are analyzed, with the aim of providing strategic input for both the government and the carriers.INDEX TERMS Three Gorges Dam, transshipment, evolutionary game theory.

Lock Congestion Relief in a Multimodal Network With Public Subsidies and Competitive Carriers: A Two-Stage Game Model

“…The EGT model is implemented along the lines of [1] and is described here briefly for the reader's convenience. The parameters and variables used in the EGT model are listed in Table 1.…”

“…Inland waterways, such as the Rhine and Mississippi rivers, play a key role in freight transportation systems and contribute to the economic development of their regions. As a competitive alternative to road and rail transport, they are characterized by reliability, large channel capacity, low transportation cost, and environment-friendliness [1]. For example, the Yangtze River is the third-longest in the world; it contributes to the development of the economic belt in China and through the inland waterway network connecting it to the sea, goods from inland cities in China can be delivered easily to Singapore and other European countries.…”

“…Yang et al [18] considered the effects of subsidies to improve clean innovation and found that more subsidies can help decrease environmental emissions. Yang et al [1] addressed the waterway lock congestion problem earlier and explored the impact of different subsidy policies from the government on carriers' choices.…”

“…Previous papers did not consider carrier pricing strategy and pricing competition, and questions remain about which freight price is plausible under different scenarios, given the carriers' bounded rational behavior. In our previous research [1], we explored the impact of different subsidy policies from the government on carriers' behavior strategies. This study extends the previous research and considers pricing strategy and pricing competition under lockage mode and transshipment mode between different carriers, which are still lacking in the available literature.…”

“…(1) Previous research on the topic [1] was extended. To our knowledge, this is the first mathematical model to investigate the gaming strategies around bottlenecks in a multimodal network, between the authority and carriers, including price competition among carriers.…”