[sustran] VTPI NEWS

Todd Litman litman at islandnet.com
Wed Apr 14 23:03:45 JST 1999


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				     VTPI NEWS
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			Victoria Transport Policy Institute
			  "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity"
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 			  Spring 1999      Vol. 2, No. 1


REVISED WEBSITE - REPORTS POSTED
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Most VTPI reports are now posted for free downloading at our revised and
expanded website: 

		http://www.islandnet.com/~litman 

There are more than two dozen reports, with something for everybody,
covering transportation costing, transportation demand management, optimal
pricing, transit policy, transportation program evaluation, bicycle and
pedestrian issues, traffic calming, and much more. There are also links to
other interesting transportation policy and planning websites. 
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VTPI AT TRB
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We presented three papers at the 1999 Transportation Research Board Annual
Meeting in January.

1. Automobile Dependency, Session 21 & 58
This special double session was an exciting debate concerning the optimal
level of automobile dependency. Here are some highlights:

Frank Moretti of The Road Information Program (www.tripnet.org) argued that
increasing road capacity and accommodating increased motor vehicle use is
essential for economic growth. He cited studies indicating that highway
investments provide significant economic returns (see, for example, the
AASHTO report, "Transportation and the Economy" at www.aashto.org). 

Don Chen of the Surface Transportation Policy Project (www.transact.org)
discussed the costs of excessive automobile dependency on disadvantaged
communities, such as traffic impacts on urban neighborhoods and mobility
problems facing non-drivers. He described efforts by his organization to
promote more balanced transportation, including the new federal "Smart
Growth" initiative.

Kenneth Green of the Reason Foundation (www.reason.org), and author of the
report "Defending Automobility" argued that automobile travel is important
for individuals' freedom and opportunity, and that measures to limit
vehicle use are coercive and inequitable. He emphasized the potential of
market initiatives, such as privatization of roads and transit services, to
improve mobility.

Walter Hook of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy
(www.ITDP.org) discussed "Road Investments, Economic Growth, and Debt:
Lessons from Asia and Africa." His research indicates that automobile
dependency can have negative economic impacts in developing countries.

Frank Haight, Editor of the journal Transportation Research, discussed some
of the benefits that automobile use provides, the problems of increased
automobile use, and the difficulties of analyzing costs and benefits.

Professor Peter Newman of the Institute for Science and Technology Policy
(http://wwwistp.murdoch.edu.au) discussed findings from recent research on
the economic, social and environmental costs of automobile dependency, and
the benefits of more balanced transportation, based on detailed comparative
surveys of international cities.

My presentation summarized research indicating that high levels of
automobile dependency reduce economic development by increasing overhead
costs and reducing overall productivity. This analysis suggests that the
economically and socially optimal level of per-capita automobile use is
lower than what occurs in North America. High levels of automobile
dependency result from market distortions that reduce consumer choice and
encourage excessive driving. This indicates that given a less distorted
transportation market, consumers would choose to use their automobiles
less, and would be better off overall as a result.

Related papers posted at our website (http://www.islandnet.com/~litman),
include:
  *  Optimal Level of Automobile Dependency (the text of my presentation).
  *  The Costs of Automobile Dependency
  *  Automobile Dependency and Economic Development
  *  Socially Optimal Transport Markets and Prices
  *  Transportation Market Distortions - A Survey (draft report)


This debate raised a number of interesting and timely issues concerning the
costs and benefits of automobile dependency, and how to measure these
impacts. Audiotapes of the sessions are available from Audio Recording
Services, Inc, Phone; 410-643-4220; Email: arsinc at crosslink.net; Website:
www.ars-service.com.


2. Paradigm Shift for Sustainable Transportation, Session 412
A "paradigm" consists of the perspectives and assumptions used in decision
making. It defines how we think about problems and how we identify and
evaluate solutions. My paper, "Exploring the Paradigm Shift Needed to
Reconcile Transportation and Sustainability Objectives," (available at our
website) discusses these issues.


3. Distance-based Charges: A Practical Strategy for More Optimal Vehicle
Pricing, Session 458
This paper (also available at our website) compares various vehicle pricing
strategies. It suggests that mileage-based charges are the most effective
way to charge for road use, accident risk, pollution and other
environmental impacts. It discusses how such charges can be implemented.


We were pleased to see a TRB paper by Wenya Jia and Martin Wach, "Parking
Requirements and Housing Affordability: A Case Study of San Francisco,"
(available at the University of California Transportation Center website,
http://socrates.berkeley.edu/~uctc) which provides empirical support for
our earlier research indicating that residential parking standards in
zoning codes significantly reduce the availability of affordable housing
(see "Parking Requirement Impacts on Housing Affordability" at our
website). Alternative management strategies could better match demand
(number of vehicles owned by a household), with supply (number of
residential parking spaces it is forced to pay for) to increase consumer
choice and economic efficiency. This is an important issue that we hope to
work on more in the future.
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RESEARCH
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Below are some recent and current VTPI research activities:

*  Distance-Based Vehicle Insurance
Distance-based insurance converts vehicle insurance from a fixed cost into
a variable cost. Since the average motorist currently spends more on
insurance than on fuel, this essentially doubles the perceived cost of
driving. We have examined the benefits and costs of different
distance-based insurance strategies and have concluded that Per-Mile
Pricing is by far the best approach. For more information, see the report
posted at our website. 

*  Transportation Tax Shifts
We recently completed the report, "Road Relief; Tax and Pricing Shifts for
a Fairer, Cleaner and Less Congested Transportation System in Washington
State," co-authored with Charles Komanoff and Douglas Howell for the Energy
Outreach Center in Olympia, Washington, with funding from the USEPA. The
report is available at http://www.eoc.org. This study examines ways to
increase transportation efficiency and equity by implementing
revenue-neutral tax and pricing shifts. It discusses how these changes
would improve the economy, reduce congestion, air pollution, and traffic
deaths, and make transportation more affordable.

*  Pedestrian & Bicycle Planning Guide
We are part of a team developing a pedestrian and cycling planning guide
for municipal governments, to be published by the BC provincial government.
It's an enjoyable project that allows us to assemble the latest and
greatest in non-motorized transportation planning.

*  Pavement Busting
Late last year we participated in a series of workshops on innovative
transportation and land use policy, sponsored by the Local Government
Commission (www.lgc.org). We presented "pavement busting" strategies for
reducing the amount of land paved for roads and parking. It was fun to
travel with co-presenters Reid Ewing, Walter Kulash and Dan Burden, each of
whom has done important work promoting more livable community
transportation. See the "Pavement Buster's Guide" at our website.

*  Win-Win Transportation Management Strategies
We have identified several TDM strategies that are technically feasible and
cost effective. We call these Win-Win strategies, since they provide
economic benefits and help achieve environmental and social goals. We
estimate that implementing a package of these strategies to the degree that
they are justified by direct cost savings to consumers, businesses and
governments would approximately achieve our Kyoto greenhouse gas emission
reduction objectives. Who says environmental protection is costly to the
environment?

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Please let us know if you have comments or questions about any information
presented in this newsletter, or if you would like to be removed from our
mailing list.

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The Victoria Transport Policy Institute is dedicated to innovative research
and analysis. We develop practical tools for incorporating social and
environmental values into transportation decision making.


Todd Litman, Director
Victoria Transport Policy Institute
1250 Rudlin Street
Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada
Phone & Fax: 250-360-1560
E-mail:  litman at islandnet.com
Website: www.islandnet.com/~litman



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