[sustran] Re: sustran-discuss V1 #184
Matt Nichols
mnichols at iclei.org
Fri Apr 10 02:49:55 JST 1998
RE>sustran-discuss V1 #184 4/9/98
Do anyone else's Sustran postings often cut-off mid-article at the end?
Mine seem to stop nearly every time, interupted by the end address info.
Any suggested solutions?
--------------------------------------
Date: 4/8/98 11:01 AM
To: Matt Nichols
From: sustran-discuss at jca.ax.apc.or
ENCLOSURE: A file arrived with this message. It is enclosed in the next
message with this subject.
* To leave, send the message UNSUBSCRIBE sustran-discuss-digest
* to majordomo at mail.jca.ax.apc.org
sustran-discuss Thursday, April 9 1998 Volume 01 : Number 184
In this issue:
[sustran] Optimal Transport Pricing and Markets Paper
Re: [sustran] Optimal Transport Pricing and Markets Paper
Re: [sustran] Coherent transport systems - EcoTrack
Re: [sustran] Coherent transport systems - EcoTrack
Re: [sustran] Optimal Transport Pricing and Markets Paper
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 07 Apr 1998 15:19:58 -0700
From: Todd Litman <litman at IslandNet.com>
Subject: [sustran] Optimal Transport Pricing and Markets Paper
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.
===========================================
------------------------------
Date: Wed, 08 Apr 1998 08:49:24 +0900
From: Hajime Inamura <inamura at plan.civil.tohoku.ac.jp>
Subject: Re: [sustran] Optimal Transport Pricing and Markets Paper
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.
>
>===========================================
>
>
>
>
- -------------------------------------------------
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
- -------------------------------------------------
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1998 21:32:47 -0500
From: "Gerry Hawkes" <ghawkes at sover.net>
Subject: Re: [sustran] Coherent transport systems - EcoTrack
Dear Obwon:
Thanks for the very helpful information on file formats for web
site photos.
Below I have inserted responses after your questions and
comments regarding the EcoTrack system.
- - Gerry Hawkes
Bike Track, Inc.
www.biketrack.com
- -----Original Message-----
From: Obwon <ob110ob at IDT.NET>
To: sustran-discuss at jca.ax.apc.org
<sustran-discuss at jca.ax.apc.org>
Date: Saturday, April 04, 1998 4:35 AM
Subject: Re: [sustran] Coherent transport systems
>Gerry Hawkes wrote:
>>
>> Dear Tore & Sustran Colleagues,
>>
>> In response to your request for information you might like to
go
>> to http://www.biketrack.com/visions.htm for a vision of the
>> transportation system we are working toward.
>>
>
> Gerry? I've just viewed the website [mostly text] Please keep
us
>posted as to when pictures become available
> I would enjoy seeing 'deployment' art work/renderings which
can give a
>better view of what is envisioned as the end result and 'assist
relief'
>box drawings which help understand/explain details.
RESPONSE: You can get an idea of the EcoTrack surface pattern
that will be used on the modular EcoTrack bicycle and pedestrian
path system by going to http://www.biketrack.com/antislip.htm and
looking at the photos of the tile surfaces there. By late May or
early June this surface will be available in 2' x 4' structural
plastic panels. We will get photos of these panels onto the web
site shortly thereafter. While the panels will be used for
docks, wheelchair ramps, and gangways, they will also have
application for bicycle pedestrian bridges and the construction
of bicycle pedestrian paths.
We also have a patent pending on a modular truss system for
easily and inexpensively constructing strong, but lightweight
bicycle/pedestrian bridges, gangways and wheelchair access ramps.
The truss system is designed to be assembled in two foot
increments to any desired lengths with the structural 2'x4'
panels forming the travel surface. The first truss systems will
also come off the production line in late May or early June.
Again we will get photos up on our web site shortly thereafter.
We have thought some of posting photos of prototype panels and
truss systems and/or our engineering drawings, but feel it is
best to wait to post photos of the final production versions
along with final specifications.
>Since I ride both
>long and short trips around the city (NY) in all weather
conditions, I'd
>like to visualize the provision of a system that will work to
deflect
>the harsher elements of such trips.
> Yet, it's hard to imagine that they wouldn't provide 'clutter'
of
>senic views which would become a nusiance when they aren't
needed, even
>if a blessing when they are. To be sure, covered trails is more
>efficient than carrying a shelter around with you [bike shells
etc].
RESPONSE: You raise a good point. There will certainly be
locations where you do not want the viewscape cluttered with
covered bikeways, but in many cases covered bikeways will be
less obtrusive than a busy highway bordered by buildings, signs,
guardrails and several lanes of traffic. I envision a covered
bikeway in which the sides roll up during good weather allowing
the users to easily view their surroundings as well as minimizing
the visual barrier. As we evolve the system, it may be possible
to economically employ highly transparent plastics in the canopy
and sides.
>
> And unless you're planning to allow/accomodate 'heavy' hpv's
such as
>loaded carryalls, workbikes and pedicabs/pedicars and the like,
then
>smaller hills shouldn't b
[Message ID: -1320089232]
[Internet header:]
>From owner-sustran-discuss-digest at mail.jca.ax.apc.org Wed Apr 08 13:19:37
1998
Received: by mail.iclei.org from localhost
(router,SLMail V2.5); Wed, 08 Apr 1998 13:19:37 -0500
Received: by mail.iclei.org from mail.jca.ax.apc.org
(210.151.253.121::mail daemon; unverified,SLMail V2.5); Wed, 08 Apr
1998 13:19:28 -0500
Received: (from majordom at localhost)
by mail.jca.ax.apc.org (8.8.8/3.6W_JCA-AX-K5) id CAA21865
for sustran-discuss-digest-outgoing; Thu, 9 Apr 1998 02:00:39 +0900 (JST)
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1998 02:00:39 +0900 (JST)
Message-Id: <199804081700.CAA21865 at mail.jca.ax.apc.org>
From: owner-sustran-discuss at jca.ax.apc.org (sustran-discuss)
To: sustran-discuss-digest at jca.ax.apc.org
Subject: sustran-discuss V1 #184
Reply-To: sustran-discuss at jca.ax.apc.org
Sender: owner-sustran-discuss at jca.ax.apc.org
Errors-To: owner-sustran-discuss at jca.ax.apc.org
Precedence: bulk
More information about the Sustran-discuss
mailing list