[sustran] Transport of Delight! New Book!

[Todd Alexander Litman]

Dear Jonathan Richmond,

Perhaps I'll seem old-fashioned to you, but I'm afraid that I cannot accept 
the postmodern perspective that all reality is subjective, and all 
decisions reflect metaphors. That may be appropriate for literary criticism 
but not for public policy and planning decisions that have significant 
economic and social impacts.

You present your book as an academic publication for use in college-level 
classes. Good scholarship requires that analysis be carefully described, 
conclusions explained, and that alternative perspectives and contrary data 
be given fair and thoughtful discussion - that is what distinguishes 
academic analysis from biased opinion and propaganda.

Your book is based on the assumption that building rail transit in Los 
Angeles is "crazy" and makes no sense. If this is an academic book you 
should be able to describe the analysis that lead you to that conclusion, 
and identify factors which could affect that conclusion, such as 
alternative perspectives or data.

Your previous publications on the subject ("A Whole-System Approach to 
Evaluating Urban Transit Investments," Transport Reviews. Vol. 21, No. 2, 
April-June 2001, 141-180; 
http://confusion.mit.edu/~richmond/professional/wholesys.pdf) compare rail 
and bus transit based on direct impacts (e.g., cost per passenger-mile), 
without much consideration of other factors which may justify additional 
support for rail, such as the potential for increased ridership by 
discretionary travelers (people who have the option of driving), and land 
use effects (creation of more compact, mixed, walkable communities), and 
their leverage effects (the tendency of each rail transit passenger-mile to 
reduce 2-7 automobile vehicle-miles).

Research by myself ("Rail Transit in America: Comprehensive Evaluation of 
Benefits," VTPI (www.vtpi.org/railben.pdf), 2004) and others indicates that 
cities with quality rail transit systems have less per capita congestion 
delays, lower traffic fatality rates, significant consumer cost savings, 
significant road and parking facility cost savings, improved mobility for 
non-drivers, lower transit service unit costs, higher land values, than 
cities that lack such systems. My analysis indicates that these benefits 
more than offset the additional costs of rail transit. You are certainly 
welcome to disagree with this conclusion and present alternative 
information, but it seems reasonable to ask whether these issues are 
mentioned in your book. I assume, from the ambiguity of your response that 
they are not.

My concern here is not with a balanced transportation system, which you 
address as metaphor. It is with balance in information and perspectives 
provided in the book.


Best wishes,
-Todd Litman


At 12:42 AM 3/17/2005 +0700, Jonathan E. D. Richmond wrote:
>Dear Todd,
>
>The book contains a discussion of the "balance" metaphor, to which you
>appear to be subject, among other things. The book is about the workings
>of the mind, and why people make crazy decisions -- in the case of Los
>Angeles, to proceed with a rail system that made no sense.
>
>Perhaps you need to read it!
>
>                                 --Jonathan
>
>
>
>
>On Wed, 16 Mar 2005, Todd Alexander Litman wrote:
>
> >
> > 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
> >
> >
>
>-----
>
>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