[sustran] Efficient Transportation News

[Todd Litman]

Here are two news items about ways to make transportation pricing more
equitable and efficient.

The report "Road Relief: Tax and Pricing Shifts for a Fairer, Cleaner, and
Less Congested Transportation System in Washington State" is now available at:

http://www.eoc.org

This report describes a number of specific, technically feasible,
revenue-neutral transportation-related tax and price shifts that would
increase equity and encourage more efficient motor vehicle use. These same
concepts could be applied in most other states and provinces.

A conference on "Green Tax Shifts" will be held December 10 & 11, 1998 in
Seattle. This conference will discuss environmental tax shifting in
general, and the recommendations in the Road Relief report in particular.
Conference registration information is on the website.


A conference on "Benefits of Mileage Based Auto Insurance" sponsored by the
Economic Policy Institute will be held December 10, 1998 in Washington DC.
Mileage-based insurance changes the unit by which vehicle insurance is sold
from the vehicle-year to the vehicle-mile (or vehicle-kilometer). This
price unit can incorporate other risk factors, so higher-risk drivers pay
more per mile than lower risk drivers. 

This is much more fair than current pricing, which forces lower-mileage
drivers to subsidize the insurance costs of higher-mileage drivers in their
risk class. It would encourage more efficient travel behavior. By
converting one of the largest fixed vehicle expenses into a variable cost,
mileage-based insurance nearly doubles the marginal cost of driving,
significantly reducing accidents, traffic congestion, infrastructure costs,
and pollution. Yet it does not increase consumer costs at all. In fact,
most consumers would save $50-100 per year, and enjoy increased choice.
Lower-income households would especially benefit from these potential
savings. It has a number of advantages over Pay-at-the-Pump insurance schemes.

For conference information call Stephanie Scott-Steptoe at the Economic
Policy Institute at 202-775-8810. If you cannot attend the conference but
want information on mileage-based insurance contact me directly and I will
send you a paper summarizing the latest research on this concept.

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