[sustran] Re: distance based fuel tax technology test

Jonathan E. D. Richmond richmond at alum.mit.edu
Tue Sep 21 20:16:19 JST 2004



The vehicle quota system is under political pressure. The Singapore
government is becoming paranoid about skilled young people leaving
Singapore and, in various surveys with college students and the like, has
found inability to purchase a car because of cost as a major cause of
discontent. My feeling is that change is possible, although there are
heavy conservative pressures to keep the quota charges which bring in much
revenue -- and the Singapore government always likes revenue! I think
there is a legitimate concern, also, that lifting quotas could lead to
environmental problems, however skillful the attempts to provide charging
mechanisms which will maintain equivalent control. As one person told me,
if quotas go, the next political pressure will be to reduce (or not to
increase) tolls --Jonathan


On Tue, 21 Sep 2004, Lloyd Wright wrote:

> Dear Paul,
>
> It is an interesting paper, and it is good see some creativity being applied
> to different charging approaches.
>
> I wonder, though, if ultimately the vehicle quota system is dropped and a
> distance-based scheme is the sole mechanism, then there will be significant
> purchases of second vehicles.  Families could get around a 25,000 km quota by
> simply purchasing many vehicles.
>
> Further, if a person has a 25,000 km quota, then there may be a psychological
> push to fully use up your credits, even when there may not be an actual demand
> for the distance.  Or persons may end up leasing out the vehicles which have
> spare kilometres.  Whenever there are credit systems based on a total amount,
> then the system works to ensure persons will fully use the available credits.
> By contrast, marginal charges, such as the ERP, are effective in directly
> charging for each km at the point of use, and thus directly provide an
> incentive to curb usage.
>
> The paper begins with the point that the current combination of vehicle quotas
> and road pricing has "major drawbacks".  But it is not quite clear what those
> major drawbacks are.  The only point made in this regard is that the large
> upfront vehicle costs dwarf the marginal ERP charges, and thus psychologically
> create a situation where usage seems inexpensive.  If this is the only
> problem, it seems like you could just change the balance (e.g., raise the ERP
> charges).  This would seem far simpler and more effective than introducing
> another new scheme altogether.
>
> I do not know the situation in Singapore well, but it seems somewhat implicit
> in the paper that the vehicle quota system is under political pressure.  Are
> new schemes being proposed because ultimately consumer pressure will mean a
> lifting of the vehicle quota system?
>
> Thanks for sharing the paper.
>
> Best,
>
> Lloyd Wright
> University College London
>
> ------ Original Message ------
> Received: Tue, 21 Sep 2004 02:37:18 AM EDT
> From: "Paul Barter" <paulbarter at nus.edu.sg>
> To: "sustran-discuss" <sustran-discuss at list.jca.apc.org>
> Subject: [sustran] Re: distance based fuel tax technology test
>
> I have written something related to this topic. It has a Singapore-focus
> but is probably of wider interest too. It is a work-in-progress, so
> comments criticisms are welcome.
>
> "A vehicle quota integrated with road usage pricing: a mechanism to ease
> the phase-out of high fixed vehicle taxes in Singapore"  by Dr Paul A.
> Barter
>
> Abstract
> This expository paper suggests a way to integrate a vehicle quota with
> usage based charging, including road pricing. It thereby challenges
> assumptions that ownership control requires high fixed vehicle costs. It
> focuses on Singapore, which has high purchase taxes and a Vehicle Quota
> System. These are effective but result in certain problems. The
> authorities are gradually relaxing ownership control and increasing
> reliance on usage charges. Mechanisms are proposed to variabilise fixed
> taxes, including the vehicle permit price, in ways that are compatible
> with the vehicle quota. This could make the shift to usage-based
> charging more efficient, complete and flexible.
>
> The full draft is at www.spp.nus.edu.sg/docs/wp/wp56.pdf
>
> Paul
>
> Dr Paul A. Barter
> Visiting Fellow, LKY School of Public Policy,
> National University of Singapore
> 5 Arts Link, Singapore 117570
> Tel: +65-6874 3324;  Fax: +65-6778 1020
> Email:  paulbarter at nus.edu.sg
> I am speaking for myself, not for my employers.
>
>
> > Original Message:
> > -----------------
> > From: Eric Bruun ericbruun at earthlink.net
> > Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2004 21:51:09 -0400
> > To: CONS-SPST-SPRAWL-TRANS at LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG,
> > hgstransport at yahoogroups.com, sustran-discuss at jca.ax.apc.org,
> > Rogerboldt at aol.com, Stephen at gabites.co.nz,
> > johanna at africon.co.za, RDELMIST at ebe.uct.ac.za,
> > bo.ostlund at tfk.se, o.galella at trafixconsultants.com,
> > brendon.hemily at sympatico.ca, borning at cs.washington.edu,
> > beimborn at csd.uwm.edu, nhmw at mit.edu, morlok at seas.upenn.edu,
> > allen at wharton.upenn.edu, vuchic at eniac.seas.upenn.edu,
> > pucher at rci.rutgers.edu, gthompsn at coss.fsu.edu,
> > TMatoff at ltk.com, jschumann at ltk.com, francisvanek at yahoo.com,
> > j-schofer at northwestern.edu, jack at cdta.org,
> > gregg at cutr.usf.edu, joel at miamidade.gov,
> > maryon.john at urban-transport.com
> > Subject: hgtrans: distance based fuel tax technology test
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >             Mileage Tax Road Tested
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >                   Jul 20, 2004
> >                   GPS World
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >       Working under a grant from the Oregon Department of
> > Transportation, two engineering professors at Oregon State
> > University designed and demonstrated a GPS and wireless
> > system for "vehicles miles traveled" (VMT) that could replace
> > the state?s gasoline tax. The system calculates how many
> > miles a vehicle has traveled since its last refueling,
> > computes a fee, and adds it to the fuel cost while the
> > vehicle is still at the fuel pump.
> >       Watchdogs have already objected that such a system
> > would charge the same mileage rate for gas-guzzling SUVs,
> > super-efficient hybrid cars, and everything in between.
> > Others have pointed to a potential threat to privacy.
> > (Impetus for the project actually came from projections that
> > increased fuel efficiency could reduce state revenues from
> > gas taxes to the point, as early as 2014, that it could no
> > longer maintain road
> > infrastructures.)
> >
> >       On the plus side, using GPS in the on-vehicle device
> > gives the capability to implement "congestion pricing" ?
> > charging different per-mile rates based on roads or regions
> > traveled, or times of day. It could also exclude miles driven
> > outside state borders.
> >
> >       In a May demonstration, researchers David Kim and David
> > Porter drove prototype vehicles through zones set up within
> > the city of Corvallis to demonstrate how the system counts
> > miles and then wireless incorporates the user fee into fuel
> > purchases at test gas pumps. AFX Technologies International
> > of Dallas, Texas, customized the in-vehicle units, based on
> > its Mobile Minion asset tracking product, which uses
> > Trimble?s Lassen SQ GPS module.
> >
> >       The VMT will start a pilot trial with 400 volunteer
> > drivers in Eugene, Oregon later this year.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --------------------------------------------------------------------
> > mail2web - Check your email from the web at http://mail2web.com/ .
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
>

-----

Jonathan E. D. Richmond                               02 524-5510 (office)
Visiting Fellow                               Intl.: 662 524-5510
Urban Environmental Management program,
School of Environment, Resources and Development
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Asian Institute of Technology                 Intl.: 662 524-8257
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