[sustran] VTPI News - Spring 2004

[Todd Alexander Litman]

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                                   VTPI NEWS
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                       Victoria Transport Policy Institute
                          "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity"
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                        Spring 2004    Vol. 7, No. 1
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The Victoria Transport Policy Institute is an independent research 
organization dedicated to developing innovative solutions to transportation 
problems. The VTPI website (http://www.vtpi.org) has many resources 
addressing a wide range of transport planning and policy issues. VTPI also 
provides consulting services.
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VTPI ONLINE TDM ENCYCLOPEDIA - UPDATES
========================================
The VTPI "Online TDM Encyclopedia" (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm) is the most 
comprehensive resource available anywhere to help identify and evaluate 
innovative management solutions to transport problems. We have recently 
updated many Encyclopedia chapters, including the following:

'Transportation Elasticities' (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm11.htm)
'Fuel Tax Increases' (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm17.htm)
'Land Use Impacts on Transport' (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm20.htm)
'Road Pricing' (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm35.htm)
'TDM and Economic Development' (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm54.htm)
'Safety Evaluation' (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm58.htm)
'Smart Growth Reforms' (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm95.htm)


We have also changed the Encyclopedia's references format. To make it 
easier to find citations, the last name of the first author is now in bold 
font. This helps find a name when scanning a long list of references, and 
clarifies the differences in alphabetical order between a firm and a 
personal name (for example, a document by a company named 'Wilber Smith' is 
alphabetized under 'W,' but a document by Mr. Wilber Smith is alphabetized 
under 'S'). Please let me know what you think of this style and whether we 
should keep it.

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NEW/UPDATED DOCUMENTS
=====================
We have posted several important new or significantly updated documents on 
our website.

"Managing Personal Mobility Devices (PMDs) On Nonmotorized Facilities" 
(http://www.vtpi.org/man_nmt_fac.pdf)
This paper explores the most appropriate way to manage the diverse range of 
Personal Mobility Devices (PMDs) (bicycles, wheelchairs, scooters, skates, 
Segways) on nonmotorized facilities (walkways, sidewalks, paths, trails, 
etc.). PMDs are becoming increasingly common, resulting in new conflicts 
and opportunities. This paper examine the broader context of these issues, 
includes results of a recent survey of the legal status of electric powered 
PMDs, and develops general principles and guidelines for managing PMD use.


"Comprehensive Evaluation of Rail Transit Benefits" 
(http://www.vtpi.org/railben.pdf)
This report evaluates the benefits of rail transit based on a comprehensive 
analysis of transportation system performance in major U.S. cities. It 
finds that cities with larger, well-established rail systems have 
significantly higher per capita transit ridership, lower average per capita 
vehicle ownership and mileage, less traffic congestion, lower traffic death 
rates and lower consumer transportation expenditures than otherwise 
comparable cities. The paper discusses best practices for evaluating 
transit benefits and critiques other documents critical of rail transit 
investments. (Note, this paper and the spreadsheet used in its analysis 
were significantly revised during the last month.)


"Pay-As-You-Drive Pricing For Insurance Affordability" 
(http://www.vtpi.org/payd_aff.pdf)
This paper describes Pay-As-You-Drive (PAYD) pricing and how it can 
increase vehicle insurance affordability. PAYD means that premiums are 
directly related to annual vehicle mileage. This increases insurance 
affordability by giving motorists a new opportunity to save money by 
minimizing their annual vehicle mileage. PAYD pricing redefines insurance 
affordability to mean that higher-risk drivers must limit their mileage to 
the amount of risk they can afford. This reduces high risk driving and 
accidents, and eliminates the need for unfair cross-subsidies between rate 
classes, providing numerous benefits to individual motorists and society 
overall.


"Evaluating Public Transit Benefits and Costs" 
(http://www.vtpi.org/tranben.pdf)
This guidebook describes how to create a comprehensive framework for 
evaluating the full impacts (benefits and costs) of a particular transit 
service or improvement. It identifies various categories of impacts and how 
to measure them. It discusses best practices for transit evaluation and 
identifies common errors that distort results. It discusses the travel 
impacts of various types of transit system changes and incentives. It 
describes ways to optimize transit benefits by increasing system 
efficiency, increasing ridership and creating more transit oriented land 
use patterns. It compares automobile and transit costs, and the advantages 
and disadvantages of bus and rail transit. It includes examples of transit 
evaluation, and provides extensive references. (Note, this is significantly 
revised compared with earlier versions of this document.)


"Parking Requirement Impacts on Housing Affordability" 
(http://www.vtpi.org/park-hou.pdf)
Generous parking requirements reduce housing affordability and impose 
various economic and environmental costs on society. Based on typical 
affordable housing development costs, one parking space per unit increases 
costs by about 12.5%, and two parking spaces increase costs by about 25%. 
Since parking costs increase as a percentage of rent for lower priced 
housing, and housing represents a larger portion of household expenditures 
for poorer households, parking costs are regressive. Various parking 
management strategies described in this report can increase affordability, 
economic efficiency and equity. (Note, this is significantly revised 
compared with earlier versions of this document.)


"The Value of Downtown" (http://www.vtpi.org/downtown.pdf)
This paper describes the unique role that downtowns have in many region's 
economy and identify, discusses whether downtowns are really dangerous, and 
identifies various strategies for improving downtowns.


"Appropriate Response to Rising Fuel Prices" 
(http://www.vtpi.org/fuelprice.pdf)
Recent fuel price increases have renewed calls to reduce fuel taxes and 
increase production subsidies. But the best policy response overall is to 
increase taxes and do everything possible to expand travel options and 
improve transportation system efficiency. This short paper explains why.


"Fuel Trends Spreadsheet" (http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/fueltrends.xls)
This spreadsheet contains data on annual U.S. motor vehicle fuel 
consumption, fuel price, tax rates, vehicle mileage and fuel efficiency 
from 1960 through 2002 or 2004. It shows that, despite recent fuel price 
increases, fuel costs per gallon and per vehicle-mile are still low by 
historical standards.


"Urban-Rural Differences in Mobility and Mode Choice: Evidence from the 
2001 NHTS," (http://www.vtpi.org/pucher_ur.pdf), by John Pucher and John L. 
Renne.
This paper uses data from the 2001 National Household Travel Survey to 
compare travel behavior in rural and urban areas of the United States. As 
expected, the car is the overwhelmingly dominant mode of travel. Over 97% 
of rural households own at least one car vs. 92% of urban households; 91% 
of trips are made by car in rural areas vs. 86% in urban areas. Mobility 
levels in rural areas are generally higher than in urban areas. The rural 
elderly and poor are considerably more mobile than their urban 
counterparts, and their mobility deficit compared to the rural population 
average is strikingly less than for the urban elderly and poor compared to 
the urban average.


"Transport Policies in Central and Eastern Europe" 
(http://www.vtpi.org/PucherCentralEurope.pdf), by John Pucher and Ralph 
Buehler
This paper compares transportation trends in the formerly socialist 
countries of Central and Eastern Europe since the demise of Communism in 
the late 1980s and early 1990s. It discusses these changes, their benefits 
and costs, and potential ways of dealing with the problems that result. The 
most obvious indicator of that revolution is the dramatic growth in levels 
of private car ownership and use, and a corresponding decline in public 
transport use. The modal shift in passenger transport is mirrored in most 
countries by similar changes in goods transport. While the increasing 
reliance on roadway transport had already started during the later years of 
the socialist era, the movement toward market-based capitalism greatly 
accelerated it, prompted by striking changes in government transport policies.


"Overcoming Obstacles of Car Culture: Promoting an Alternative to Car 
Dependence Instead of Another Travel Mode," (www.vtpi.org/roth.pdf), by 
Michael Roth.
This paper explores the effectiveness of promoting Environment Friendly 
Modes (walking, cycling and transit) as a group rather than the promotion 
of public transport alone, drawing from travel behaviour and social 
marketing theory. It then examines the process and results from the 
Individualised Marketing (IndiMark) travel behaviour change technique 
within the context of promoting an alternative to car dependence. 
Originally presented at the UITP International Marketing Conference 
(Paris), International Association of Public Transport (www.uitp.com), 
November 2003


"Transit Price Elasticities and Cross-Elasticities" 
(http://www.vtpi.org/tranelas.pdf)
This paper summarizes price elasticities and cross elasticities for use in 
public transit planning and modeling. It finds that commonly-used transit 
elasticity values tend to be lower than appropriate for long-run impact 
analysis. Analysis based on these elasticity values tend to understate the 
potential of transit fare reductions and service improvements to reduce 
problems such as traffic congestion and vehicle pollution, and understate 
the long-term negative impacts that fare increases and service cuts can 
have on transit ridership, transit revenue, traffic congestion and 
pollution emissions.

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PUBLISHED ELSEWHERE
===================

"World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention," 
(http://www.who.int/world-health-day/2004/infomaterials/world_report/en) by 
the World Health Organization, released April 7 for the World Health Day on 
Road Safety. This report includes information on traffic injury and 
fatality rates in various parts of the world, plus practical strategies for 
increasing road safety. For more information see the WHD website 
http://www.who.int/world-health-day/2004/en. Todd Litman contributed to 
Chapter 4, which discusses potential policy interventions, particularly the 
role of mobility management strategies for increasing safety. For more 
information on this issue see "If Health Matters" 
(http://www.vtpi.org/health.pdf) and "Safety Evaluation," 
(http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm58.htm).


Lucas, Karen (ed), "Transport & Social Exclusion: A Survey of the Group of 
Seven Nations," Transport Studies Group, University of Westminster, Funded 
by the FIA Foundation for the Automobile and Society 
(http://www.fiafoundation.com/content/media/SE%20high%20res.pdf), 2003. 
This includes research by VTPI concerning transportation and social 
exclusion in Canada.


'Economic Value of Walkability,' was published in "World Transport Policy & 
Practice," (http://www.eco-logica.co.uk/WTPPhome.html) Volume 10, Number 1, 
2004.


"Sustainable Transportation: A Sourcebook for Policy-Makers in Developing 
Countries," by the Sustainable Urban Transport Project  Asia 
(http://www.sutp.org/docs/sourcebook/sourcebook.aspx). Many of these 
documents are now available in various languages including Spanish, French, 
Chinese, Indonesian, Romanian, Thai and Vietnamese 
(http://www.sutp.org/docs/sourcebook/translations.aspx). The "Mobility 
Management" module, written by Todd Litman, is available at the VTPI 
website (http://www.vtpi.org/gtz_module.pdf).

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BEEN THERE - DONE THAT
======================
In recent months we have participated in several exciting events:

'Congestion Management Best Practices,' for the Washington DC Downtown 
Congestion Management Task Force, Washington DC (www.dc.gov), 6 May 2004.

'Pay-As-You-Drive Pricing For Insurance Affordability,' at the "Casualty 
Actuarial Society Spring Meeting" (www.casact.org), Colorado Springs, 17 
May 2004.

'London Congestion Pricing: Implications for Other Cities,' at the 
"Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting" (www.trb.org), 13 January 2004.

'Emerging Research Issues in Nonmotorized Transport,' at the 
"Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting" (www.trb.org), 14 January 2004.

'Vehicle Use Pricing: Reforms For Efficiency,' at the "Transportation 
Research Board Value Pricing Workshop" (www.trb.org), 11 January 2004.

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UPCOMING EVENTS
===============
"Shifting Gears: Sustainable Mobility for Western Municipalities, 
(http://www.climatechangecentral.com/default.asp?V_DOC_ID=1395), Westin 
Hotel, Edmonton, Alberta June 16-17, 2004.
This conference will explore practical ways that western Canadian 
municipalities can address transportation problems and improve mobility 
through management innovations and emerging technologies. Todd Litman will 
give a presentation on 'Win-Win Transportation Solutions.'


National Wellness Conference, (http://www.nationalwellness.org), July 
10-15, University of Wisconsin, sponsored by the National Wellness Institute.
This 29th Annual National Wellness Conference has the theme of 'Creating 
Optimal Wellness Environments.' It will explore best practices for 
community wellness and underserved populations. Todd Litman will give a 
presentation on 'Healthy Community Planning: Integrating Public Health 
Objectives Into Transportation and Land Use Planning.'


Pro Walk - Pro Bike (http://www.bikewalk.org), September 7  10, 2004, 
Victoria, British Columbia.
Pro Walk - Pro Bike is a major bi-annual international walking and cycling 
conference to be held in our home town, Victoria, BC. The theme is 
'Creating Active Communities,' which will explore the link between 
community design and health. Todd Litman will give a presentation on the 
'Economic Value of Walkability.'

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USEFUL RESOURCES
================
Phil L. Winters and Sara J. Hendricks, "Quantifying The Business Benefits 
of TDM," Center for Urban Transportation Research, for the Office of 
Research and Special Programs, USDOT
(http://www.nctr.usf.edu/html/416-11.htm), 2003.


Lloyd Wright, "Mass Transit Options, " 
(http://www.gobrt.org/SourcebookMassTransitOptions.pdf) and "Bus Rapid 
Transit" (http://www.gobrt.org/SourcebookBRT.pdf), modules in the 
"Sustainable Transport: A Sourcebook for Policy-makers in Developing Cities."

Peter L Jacobsen, 'Safety in numbers: more walkers and bicyclists, safer 
walking and bicycling,' "Injury Prevention" 
(http://ip.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/9/3/205), Vol. 9, 2003, pp. 
205-209.

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Please let us know if you have comments or questions about any information 
in this newsletter, or if you would like to be removed from our mailing 
list. And please pass this newsletter on to others who may find it useful.




Sincerely,
Todd Litman, Director
Victoria Transport Policy Institute
"Efficiency - Equity - Clarity"
1250 Rudlin Street
Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada
Phone & Fax: 250-360-1560
Email: litman at vtpi.org
Website: http://www.vtpi.org