[sustran] Re: 20:20 Century Transport Icons - Cut 1 of idea for a cooperative

[Todd Litman]

Too often, transportation reformers focus on just one problem and one
solution at a time: congestion pricing to address congestion problems,
emission charges to address emission charges, etc. But because
transportation imposes many different external costs it requires a
combination of reforms. For a discussion of these issues see
"Transportation Cost Analysis," "Socially Optimal Transport Prices and
Markets" and "Reinventing Transportation", all available free at our
website: http://www.vtpi.org.


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 vtpi.org
Website: http://www.vtpi.org


At 04:32 PM 12/09/1999 +0800, you wrote:
>Eric,
>
>I agree with you that there is more than one way to price a road and that
>good parking policy has undisputed advantages. However, at the risk of
>repeating some well-known arguments, let me say why I think that road
>pricing should be one of the transportation icons, especially in the SUSTRAN
>context.
>
>1. The aim of road pricing is to reduce car travel by charging motorists for
>road use where and when congestion occurs. Many of the items on your list
>(e.g. bottlenecking, parking supply reduction, parking charges) also serve
>the same broad purpose but these are really half-measures. They address the
>space dimension of congestion (i.e. can limit car trips into a particular
>area) but not the time dimension. What is worse, bottlenecking and parking
>supply reduction also reduce accessibility of the affected area. Parking
>policy does not affect the through traffic, etc...    
>
>2. If we are to believe transport economists, congestion pricing is the only
>way to impose true external cost of driving on the motorists. And any
>transport system in which users do not bear the true cost of driving CANNOT
>be sustainable in the long run. This is because the external resources
>(energy, environment, human health) are being used up at a disproportionate
>rate.
>     
>Best of luck with your cooperative knowledge building exercise on the Web!
>
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Piotr Olszewski              colsze at ntu.edu.sg
>Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: eric.britton at ecoplan.org [mailto:eric.britton at ecoplan.org]
>> Sent: Wednesday, December 08, 1999 5:46 PM
>> To: sustran-discuss at jca.ax.apc.org
>> Cc: COLSZE at ntu.edu.sg
>> Subject: [sustran] 20:20 Century Transport Icons - Cut 1 of idea for a
>> cooperative
>> 
>> 
>> Piotr Olszewski 	has written the observation that follows, to which I
>would
>> like to comment briefly, while at the same time working away to prepare a
>> more completed 20:20 construct that may in time be more worthy of your
>time
>> and attention.  Two quick points I would like to make which I hope may
>help
>> to clarify what we are about here:
>> 
>> 1. First, the idea of the list as it stands thus far is not at all to
>> provide a compendium of "wonderful transport solutions" of our soon gone
>> century.  That list as it stands includes not only icons to which I think
>we
>> might usefully give more thought and attention, but also a certain number
>of
>> candidates for what, if my courage holds out, we may end up call the
>> "Transportation Hall of Shame" (a bit strong, really). I leave it to you
>for
>> now to see how that might work out and what should go where.
>> 
>> 2. Point two is indeed good old Road Pricing, a terrific idea if every I
>> heard of one.  But there is, in the 20:20 view of things anyway, more than
>> one ways to price a road. For instance....
>> a. Piotr reminds us of Singapore of course, past and present, and that's
>> certainly one way.  This is, in my book, the choice of Real Men (which is
>> not me). If you are spoiling for a fight, try road pricing. You'll stay
>very
>> fit indeed since you will always have to keep moving.
>> b. But what about Road Pricing the Works, a.k.a. parking policy.
>> 
>> And that, dear friends, is why parking policy is not only a 20th century
>> icon (for all that we did and did not do with it, despite the fact that it
>> was right there all the time waiting for us to really put it to work).
>> 
>> Is this beginning to make any sense at all?
>> 
>> (Thanks to Piotr and for others of you who have gotten back to me with
>idea
>> and challenges that are great grist for this mill.)
>> 
>> Eric Britton
>> 
>> The Commons  ___  technology, economy, society  ___
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>> Eric.Britton at EcoPlan.org     URL www.the-commons.org
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>> 
>
>