[sustran] Optimal Transport Pricing and Markets Paper

[Hajime Inamura]

Inamura at Tohoku-U,Japan wrote,

Dear Mr. Todd Litman 

I am not sure I can make an appropriate comment for you, but I am interested in 
your paper stated below. Please send me as an attached file of Word 97.

*********************

>Dear Colleagues and Friends,
>
>I recently completed a 40-page draft paper titled "Socially Optimal
>Transport Prices and Markets; Principles, Strategies and Travel Impacts."
>In it I attempt to define the major criteria for optimal pricing and
>markets, estimate optimal prices for an average automobile, use the results
>to calculate the change in vehicle travel that might result from optimal
>pricing, and discuss the implications of changing from current to more
>optimal pricing. Below is the report abstract.
>
>I am looking for up to a dozen reviewers of this paper. Please let me know
>if you would like a copy, and if so, whether I can send it as a Word 97
>file attachment, or whether you need a hard copy (and if so, your preferred
>mailing address). 
>
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Todd Litman, Director
>Victoria Transport Policy Institute
>"Efficiency - Equity - Clarity"
>1250 Rudlin Street
>Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada
>Phone & Fax: 250-360-1560
>E-mail:      litman at islandnet.com
>Website:     www.islandnet.com/~litman
>
>
>		===========================================
>		Socially Optimal Transport Prices and Markets
>		  Principles, Strategies and Travel Impacts
>
>				      DRAFT
>	    			   2 April 1998
>
>				  By Todd Litman
>			Victoria Transport Policy Institute
>
>	
>					ABSTRACT
>This paper explores the potential of developing more optimal transport
>prices and markets, and resulting impacts on vehicle travel, consumer
>costs, environmental and land use impacts, economic development, and social
>welfare. 
>
>Optimal pricing must balance economic efficiency, equity, and transaction
>costs. Optimal markets must offer consumers choices and information,
>minimize distortions, encourage producer competition, and avoid social
>traps. Current transport prices and markets often fail to meet these
>criteria. Although distortions may have been justified when transaction
>costs were high and motor vehicle externalities relatively small, new
>pricing technologies and increasing concern over external costs justifies
>increased emphasis on marginal and full-cost pricing, and efforts to
>eliminate market distortions.
>
>Eleven specific strategies are proposed to create more optimal pricing and
>markets. These strategies would significantly increase the perceived cost
>of motor vehicle use while reducing fixed vehicle costs and externalities,
>increase consumer choices, and reduce market distortions. Higher vehicle
>costs would be offset by reductions in other taxes, consumer expenses, and
>motor vehicle externalities. Employment, productivity and economic
>development should increase. Most consumers should benefit overall.
>
>Full implementation of these proposed changes is predicted to reduce motor
>vehicle use by 40-65%. This indicates that current high levels of
>automobile use is partly an artifact of mispricing and market distortions,
>not consumer preference. Differences in the magnitude of vehicle travel
>between current and optimal pricing and markets represents reduced consumer
>welfare. Although there are a number of barriers to implementing more
>optimal pricing and markets, these can be minimized through good planning
>and management practices which make charges predictable and gradual,
>maximize public involvement, and address specific public concerns.
>
>===========================================
>
>
>
>

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Hajime INAMURA  inamura at plan.civil.tohoku.ac.jp
Phone:+81-22-217-7492  Facsimile:+81-22-217-7494
Web  :http://www.plan.civil.tohoku.ac.jp
Department of Civil Engineering,
Graduate School of Information Sciences,
Tohoku University,
Aoba, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8579, JAPAN
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