[sustran] Transport of Delight! New Book!

[Todd Alexander Litman]

Dear Jonathan,

It is easy to criticize rail transit investments if they are evaluated 
using conventional transportation engineering metrics (e.g., cost per new 
transit trip), ignoring secondary effects such as leverage effects on per 
capita automobile mileage and desirable land use effects. I hope that this 
book contains balanced information on the unique benefits of rail transit 
and transit oriented development. Your thesis was completed years ago 
before much of this was published, but you had time to incorporate it into 
the book. See, for example:

Hank Dittmar, "Is Rail Transit Right For Your Community? Asking the Right 
Questions; Measuring the Benefits," Surface Transportation Policy Project 
(www.transact.org/report.asp), 1997.

Hank Dittmar and Gloria Ohland, "The New Transit Town: Best Practices In 
Transit-Oriented Development," Island Press (www.islandpress.org), 2004.

Carmen Hass-Klau, et al., "Bus Or Light Rail : Making The Right Choice," 
Environment and Transport Planning, Brighton Press (Brighton), 2000

John Holtzclaw, "Does A Mile In A Car Equal A Mile On A Train? Exploring 
Public Transit's Effectiveness In Reducing Driving," The Sierra Club, 
(www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/articles/reducedriving.asp), 2000.

Todd Litman, "Rail Transit in America: Comprehensive Evaluation of 
Benefits," VTPI (www.vtpi.org/railben.pdf), 2004.

Glenn Pascall, "The Rail Transit Debate; An Assessment Of The Arguments," 
Discovery Institute (www.discovery.org), 2001.


I see much more mythology and planning distortions related to automobile 
transportation (cars are often described as "sexy," see discussion in 
http://www.vtpi.org/autosex.htm and are a major status symbol as discussed 
in http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm91.htm), significant planning and modeling 
errors that favor highway building (see http://www.vtpi.org/gentraf.pdf and 
http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm76.htm), resulting in much greater economic 
resources wasted than occurs with rail investments.

Best wishes,
-Todd Litman


At 01:14 PM 3/16/2005 +0700, Jonathan E. D. Richmond wrote:
>I would like to let you know that my "new" book, "Transport of Delight --
>The Mythical Conception of Rail Transit in Los Angeles," has now been
>published by the University of Akron Press.
>
>It can be found here on Amazon (and I would certainly appreciate any
>reader's comments on the Amazon site if you get a chance to read it):
>
>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/188483695X/qid=1110952534/sr=8-2/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i2_xgl14/102-6230374-9224931?v=glance&s=books&n=507846
>
>I put "new" in quotes because the book is in fact an updated version of
>my MIT doctoral dissertation. The book is about how a system of images,
>symbols and metaphors comes together to creat powerful myths which spur
>poor planning decisions (in this case, the creation of a rail passenger
>system in Los Angeles). It is full of interviews of politicians,
>planners, community leaders and others, and their responses are subjected
>to a literary analysis to help understand the driving forces behind their
>reasoning and actions. I find that there is a "logic of the insane," and
>suggest that those of us subject to such a logic -- frankly all of us at
>some time or another -- need to be able to learn to identify and reflect
>on the assumptions which constrain us if we are to move beyond them.
>This is not just about transportation, but about thought and
>action as a whole.
>
>I also include a critique of technical modelling procedures in use in LA
>(and typically used widely elsewhere). A history of transportation policy
>development in the States (and specifically in Los Angeles) is also there,
>and should be of widespread interest.
>
>Unfortunately, I am very unhappy with the production of the book. The
>University of Akron Press behaved in a disgraceful way in suddenly cutting
>out a large part of the essential illustrative material after it had been
>painstakingly assembled and permissions paid. Arguments that this
>decision affected the integrity of the text fell on deaf ears. The press
>claimed they were short of money, but would not respond to an offer to pay
>the alleged additional costs of including all the materials originally
>planned (and which the press had received a year beforehand and had said
>would be put into production). I have made a complaint about the press
>director to the provost of the University of Akron.
>
>Despite this lapse, almost all my words are there -- I say "almost"
>because the press refused to include a statement regarding the
>unauthorized deletion of illustrations -- and I would of course like you
>to have the chance to read them and perhaps recommend my book to your
>students, since I think it has much to say of relevance to a great many
>areas of human endavour.
>
>Best,
>
>                                    --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/


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