[sustran] Re: WorldTransport Forum Economics of Traffic Congestionand TDM

[Jonathan E. D. Richmond]

Yes, of course the benefits to the rich do swamp those to the poor, but
the way things are calculated it does not come out looking that way. To
start with, benefit assessments tend to focus on travel time saved and
not gains in mobility to society. To proceed with the problem, members of
the informal economy -- who use the most basic services -- are often not
counted in at all and, if they are counted, their time value is
said to be minimal --Jonathan




On Thu, 21 Jul 2005, Lee Schipper wrote:

> I would argue that the "benefits to the poor man" SWAMP those to the
> "rich man" because there are so many
> poor women and men who benefit, vs a minority of rich -- of which by
> definition there are only a few. There is also a middle
> class, some  (many) of whom are in cars (two-wheelers).
>
> I met a man from Jakarta on the plane once who complained about the new
> BRT corridor. He said (mistakenly) that the
> BRT was bad for Jakarta because it slowed down traffic in cars. THe
> rich are in those cars, he mused, and those are the ones
> who make business and make the country go.
>
> I don't see why we need a robin hood to take from the poor and build
> roads for the rich. I also strongly believe in toll roads and
> London-style schemes -- so those who move in th eir own vehicles pay
> more than those who do not, irrespective of who is rich or poor but
> drives a car.
>
> >>> richmond at alum.mit.edu 7/20/2005 11:40:26 PM >>>
>
> There are important questions about what wage rate to use in these
> congestion measures if they are to be used in making decisions. The
> income
> of car owners is generally higher than those without cars, so in
> choosing
> who to give "benefits," calculations using income of beneficiaries
> will
> find that there is a greater "social benefit" from doing things that
> help
> the rich rather than the poor.
>
> This is one of the ways that expensive metro rail systems can be
> justified
> over simpler bus alternatives, for example: it is argued that they are
> more likely to take cars off the road, and the time savings to the
> former
> road users are valued highly. The social value of improving basic
> urban
> bus services for large numbers of people who depend on them is shown
> as
> far less, by comparison, because the poor earn only a fraction of the
> income of car users and their value of time is said to be much less.
>
> What do others think? Should we, in social decision making, regard the
> benefits to a poor person as worth less than those of a wealthier
> person?
> If so, what sort of methodological change does that imply?
>
>                                                            --Jonathan
>
> -----
>
> Jonathan E. D. Richmond                               02 524-5510
> (office)
> Visiting Fellow                               Intl.: 662 524-5510
> Urban Environmental Management program,
> School of Environment, Resources and Development
> Room N260B                                            02 524-8257
> (home)
> Asian Institute of Technology                 Intl.: 662 524-8257
> PO Box 4
> Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120                        02 524-5509
> (fax)
> Thailand                                      Intl:  662 524-5509
>
> e-mail: richmond at ait.ac.th               Secretary:  Kuhn Vantana
> Pattanakul
>         richmond at alum.mit.edu		              02 524-6368
> 					      Intl:  662 524-6132
> http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/
>
>
>
> ================================================================
> SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred,
> equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries
> (the 'Global South'). Because of the history of the list, the main focus
> is on urban transport policy in Asia.
>

-----

Jonathan E. D. Richmond                               02 524-5510 (office)
Visiting Fellow                               Intl.: 662 524-5510
Urban Environmental Management program,
School of Environment, Resources and Development
Room N260B                                            02 524-8257 (home)
Asian Institute of Technology                 Intl.: 662 524-8257
PO Box 4
Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120                        02 524-5509 (fax)
Thailand                                      Intl:  662 524-5509

e-mail: richmond at ait.ac.th               Secretary:  Kuhn Vantana Pattanakul
        richmond at alum.mit.edu		              02 524-6368
					      Intl:  662 524-6132
http://the-tech.mit.edu/~richmond/