[sustran] VTPI NEWS - Summer 2007

[Todd Alexander Litman]

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                                   VTPI NEWS
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                       Victoria Transport Policy Institute
                          "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity"
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                           Summer 2007    Vol. 10, No. 3
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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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ONLINE TDM ENCYCLOPEDIA
========================

The VTPI "Online TDM Encyclopedia" 
(<http://www.vtpi.org/tdm>http://www.vtpi.org/tdm 
) is a comprehensive information resource to help 
identify and evaluate innovative management 
solutions to transport problems, available for 
free on our website. Many of the chapters have 
recently been updated with new information.

The Encyclopedia has a new feature titled, 
"Organizations and Stakeholder Groups" 
(<http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/index.php#stakeholders>http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/index.php#stakeholders 
). This section indicates the best mobility 
management strategies for various types of 
organizations and stakeholder groups, including 
businesses, and local, state/provincial and federal government agencies.
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SMART TRANSPORTATION EMISSION REDUCTIONS
====================================
Many governments and organizations are now 
evaluating climate change emission reduction 
options. There are many possible ways to reduce 
transportation emissions, but some provide far 
more total benefits than others. Emission 
reduction strategies that reduce vehicle travel 
also reduce congestion, roadway and parking costs, accidents and sprawl.

"Win-Win Transportation Solutions" are 
cost-effective, technically feasible market 
reforms that help solve transportation problems 
by improving mobility options and removing market 
distortions that stimulate excessive motor 
vehicle travel. They provide many economic, 
social and environmental benefits. If implemented 
to the degree economically justified, our 
analysis indicates that Win-Win solutions could 
achieve the transport component of Kyoto emission 
reduction targets while supporting other economic 
and social objectives. Critics are wrong to claim 
that meeting emission reduction goals would harm 
the economy: by choosing the right strategies we 
can achieve both environmental goals and economic development goals.

However, conventional tends to consider a limited 
set of impacts and so tends to undervalue Win-Win 
strategies. Only by applying more comprehensive 
analysis can their full benefits be recognized. 
VTPI has updated its reports concerning Win-Win strategies.

For more information:

"Win-Win Emission Reduction Strategies: Smart 
Transportation Strategies Can Achieve Emission 
Reduction Targets And Provide Other Important 
Economic, Social and Environmental Benefits," 
(<http://www.vtpi.org/wwclimate.pdf>http://www.vtpi.org/wwclimate.pdf )

"Win-Win Transportation Solutions: Cooperation 
for Economic, Social and Environmental Benefits," 
(<http://www.vtpi.org/winwin.pdf>http://www.vtpi.org/winwin.pdf )

"Efficient Vehicles Versus Efficient 
Transportation: Comparing Transportation Energy 
Conservation Strategies," 
(<http://www.vtpi.org/cafe.pdf>http://www.vtpi.org/cafe.pdf ).


NEW DOCUMENTS
==============

"Guide To Calculating Mobility Management 
Benefits" (http://www.vtpi.org/tdmben.pdf )
This Guide provides instructions for estimating 
the benefits of a specific Mobility Management 
(also called Transportation Demand Management or TDM) strategy or program.


"Evaluating Accessibility for Transportation 
Planning" (http://www.vtpi.org/access.pdf ).
This paper discusses the concept of 
'accessibility' and how it can be incorporated in 
transport planning. Many factors affect 
accessibility, including mobility (physical 
movement), the quality and affordability of 
transport options, transport system connectivity, 
mobility substitutes, and land use patterns. More 
comprehensive analysis of accessibility in 
planning expands the scope of potential solutions to transport problems.


"Build for Comfort, Not Just Speed: Valuing 
Service Quality Impacts In Transport Planning" 
(http://www.vtpi.org/quality.pdf )
This paper examines practical ways to evaluate 
qualitative transport improvements such as 
increased convenience, comfort and security in 
transport planning. Conventional transport 
planning and evaluation practices tend to focus 
on quantitative impacts and undervalue 
qualitative impacts. Improving qualitative 
analysis can expand the range of impacts and 
options considered in transport evaluation, 
leading to better planning decisions.


"Evaluating Transportation Affordability" 
(http://www.vtpi.org/affordability.pdf )
This paper investigates the concept of 
'transportation affordability,' its importance to 
society, how to evaluate it for transport 
planning, and practical ways to improve it. 
Conventional planning tends to consider a 
relatively limited range of transport 
affordability impacts and objectives. More 
comprehensive analysis can help decision makers 
better understand affordability impacts and 
identify more effective strategies for improving transport affordability.


"Pay-As-You-Drive Pricing in British Columbia: 
Backgrounder" (http://www.vtpi.org/paydbc.pdf ).
Pay-As-You-Drive (PAYD) pricing means that a 
vehicle’s insurance premiums and registration 
fees are based directly on the amount it is 
driven. PAYD pricing is particularly appropriate 
in British Columbia because the Insurance 
Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) insures 
all vehicles in the province and has a mandate to 
maximize social benefits, including traffic 
safety, insurance affordability and emission 
reductions (due to the province’s aggressive 
climate change emission reduction targets). This 
short paper describes PAYD, summarizes its 
history in BC, and describes how PAYD pricing can 
help achieve provincial objectives. This is part 
of a new campaign to encourage ICBC to implement 
a PAYD pilot project to evaluate the concept.


"Designing Pay-Per-Mile Auto Insurance Regulatory 
Incentives Using the NHTSA Light Truck CAFE Rule 
as a Model" (http://www.vtpi.org/07-3457.pdf ), by Allen Greenberg
This paper, presented at the 2007 Transportation 
Research Board annual meeting, describes the 
concept of Pay-As-You-Drive-And-You-Save 
(PAYDAYS) insurance, which converts premiums into 
distance-based fees, and evaluates its value as 
an energy conservation strategy based on the 
method used by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
to develop new fuel economy rules for light trucks.
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UPDATED DOCUMENTS
==============
"Pavement Busters Guide: Why and How to Reduce 
the Amount of Land Paved for Roads and Parking 
Facilities," (<http://www.vtpi.org/pavbust.pdf>www.vtpi.org/pavbust.pdf )
This guide identifies ways to reduce the amount 
of land devoted to roads and parking facilities. 
It identifies current policies and planning 
practices that unintentionally contribute to 
economically excessive road and parking 
requirements, and specific strategies for 
reducing the amount of land paved for roads and 
parking facilities. This analysis indicates that 
road and parking pavement area can often be 
reduced in ways that are cost effective and 
maintain adequate levels of accessibility.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
================
VTPI will participate in these upcoming events:

'A City Built for Everyone: A Sustainable, 
Equitable and Smart Transportation Forum,' 
Sustainable Calgary (http://www.sustainablecalgary.ca )
September 29, 2007, Calgary, Alberta


'WALK21 2007 - Putting Pedestrians First' 
(<http://www.toronto.ca/walk21>http://www.toronto.ca/walk21 )
October 1st To 4th, Toronto, Canada
Walk21 Toronto 2007 is the 8th annual conference 
on walkable and livable communities.
Monday, Oct. 1, all day workshop, 'Measuring 
walking: Towards internationally standardized 
monitoring methods of walking and public space'
Wednesday, Oct. 3, 10:45-11:15, 'Economic Value of Walking'
Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2:00-3:30, 'Can You Spy the 
Signs: How Walking with Children Can Change the World' (Suzanne Kort-Litman)


Cotter Debate on Transportation Policy and the 
Environment (http://www.colby.edu/news_events/calendar )
Monday October 8, 2007, 7:00 p.m.
Debate between Todd Litman (Victoria Transport 
Policy Institute) and Samuel Staley (Reason Foundation)


Canadian TDM Summit (http://www.actcanada.com/EN/Conference2007 )
November 25-28, 2007, Calgary, Alberta
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USEFUL RESOURCES
=================

'Sustainable Transportation Indicators Listserve'
The Transportation Research Board’s Sustainable 
Transportation Indicators Subcommittee (ADD40[1]) 
now has an active listserve. We are currently 
working to develop recommendations for a 
preferred definition of sustainable 
transportation, and development of a recommended 
set of indicators, which could be adopted by TRB. 
This list is open to anybody interested in these 
issues. To subscribe, go to 
<http://lists.cutr.usf.edu/read/?forum=sti>http://lists.cutr.usf.edu/read/?forum=sti 
.

The GTZ "Sustainable Transport Sourcebook" is now 
available in HTML format 
(http://www.sutp.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=566&Itemid=40&lang=en 
). These versions are identical in content (and 
virtually identical in format) to the PDF 
versions, but easier to download with low band width Internet.

"Bus Rapid Transit Planning Guide" 
(http://www.itdp.org/STe/ste24/new_pub.html 
).  After over two years of effort, 800 pages of 
text, and nearly 1000 images and graphics. The 
document is currently in English, but it will be 
translated to Spanish, Portuguese, French, Chinese, and Indonesian.

"Transit Oriented Development; Chapter 17, Travel 
Response To Transportation System Changes," 
(http://www.trb.org/TRBNet/ProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=1034 
), by John E. Evans and Richard H. Pratt.
This latest volume of this comprehensive study of 
factors that affect travel behavior. It indicates 
that transit-oriented development can provide 
significant reductions in per capita vehicle 
ownership and use, and increase walking and public transit travel.

"WalkScore" (http://www.WalkScore.com) 
automatically calculates a neighborhood’s 
walkability rating by identifying the distance to 
public services such as grocery stores and 
schools. It works for any street address in the 
United States of America and Canada, assigning 
points based on the distance to local amenities, 
using Google maps and business listings.

"Economics of Travel Demand Management: 
Comparative Cost  Effectiveness and Public 
Investment" 
(<http://www.nctr.usf.edu/pdf/77704.pdf>www.nctr.usf.edu/pdf/77704.pdf ).
This document by the Center for Urban 
Transportation Research provides guidelines for 
applying benefit/cost analysis to mobility 
management programs. It describes TRIMMS (Trip 
Reduction Impacts for Mobility Management 
Strategies), a software program that automates economic evaluation.

"Impact of Employer-based Programs on Transit 
System Ridership and Transportation System 
Performance," 
(<http://www.nctr.usf.edu/pdf/77605.pdf>http://www.nctr.usf.edu/pdf/77605.pdf).
This study by the Center for Urban Transportation 
Research uses a traffic model to evaluate the 
impacts of Commute Trip Reduction programs on 
transportation system performance. It finds that 
such programs can provide significant reductions 
in traffic congestion delay and fuel consumption.

"Getting Up To Speed (GUTS): A Conservationist’s 
Guide to Wildlife and Highways," 
(<http://www.gettinguptospeed.org/>http://www.GettingUpToSpeed.org) 
provides a foundation for evaluating roadway 
environmental impacts and incorporating this 
information into transport planning.

"Economic Benefits of Land Conservation" 
(<http://www.tpl.org/content_documents/econbens_landconserve.pdf>www.tpl.org/content_documents/econbens_landconserve.pdf 
).
This document by the Trust for Public Lands 
describes how land conservation and parks can 
help communities grow smart, attract investment, 
revitalize cities, boost tourism, protect farms 
and ranches, prevent flood damage, and safeguard 
the environment. It includes monetized estimates of some impacts.

"Portland’s Green Dividend," 
(http://www.ceosforcities.org/internal/files/PGD%20FINAL.pdf 
), by Joe Cortright. This study by CEOs for 
Cities finds that as a result of innovative 
transportation and land use policies, Portland, 
Oregon area residents drive about 20% fewer 
annual miles and use alternative modes about 
twice as much as in comparable cities, and as a 
result enjoy various benefits, including more 
regional economic development, consumer cost 
savings, reduced air pollution, better health and 
more livable urban neighborhoods. Also see, 'Less 
driving is more cash for Portland' "The 
Oregonian" 
(<http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1187576751202450.xml&coll=7>http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1187576751202450.xml&coll=7 
)

"Smart Parking Seminar ­ Developing Policies for 
Your Community" 
(http://www.mtc.ca.gov/planning/smart_growth/parking_seminar.htm 
), by the San Francisco region Metropolitan 
Transportation Commission. This website contains 
materials developed for a training seminar on 
parking policies to support smart growth.

The Institute for Transportation and Development 
Policy (ITDP) has an excellent e-newsletter 
called Sustainable Transport 
(<http://www.itdp.org/STe/index.html>http://www.itdp.org/STe/index.html ).

Ian W. H. Parry, Margaret Walls and Winston 
Harrington (2007), Automobile Externalities and 
Policies, (http://www.rff.org/rff/Documents/RFF-DP-06-26-REV.pdf )
This paper discusses the nature, and magnitude, 
of externalities associated with automobile use, 
including local and global pollution, oil 
dependence, traffic congestion and traffic 
accidents. It discusses current federal policies 
affecting these externalities, including fuel 
taxes, fuel-economy and emissions standards, and 
alternative fuel policies; discusses emerging 
pricing policies, including congestion tolls, and 
pay-as-you-drive insurance reform; and summarizes 
what appears to be the appropriate combination of 
policies to address automobile externalities.
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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 email list. And please pass this 
newsletter on to others who may find it useful.


Sincerely,
Todd Alexander Litman
Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www.vtpi.org)
litman at vtpi.org
Phone & Fax 250-360-1560
1250 Rudlin Street, Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, CANADA
“Efficiency - Equity - Clarity”