From mobility at igc.org Tue Dec 5 23:19:15 2000 From: mobility at igc.org (ITDP) Date: Tue, 05 Dec 2000 09:19:15 -0500 Subject: [sustran] [Fwd: (50 Years) Alert: Panama - stop WB/IFC project] Message-ID: <3A2CF963.104F8429@igc.org> This highway really stinks. I encourage everyone to send their letters. Best, Walter Hook -- Access ITDP's New Website: www.ITDP.org The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy 115 W. 30th Street - Suite 1205 - New York, NY 10001 - USA tel: (212) 629-8001 fax: (212) 629-8033 -------------- next part -------------- An embedded message was scrubbed... From: Soren Subject: (50 Years) Alert: Panama - stop WB/IFC project Date: Mon, 4 Dec 2000 12:01:00 -0500 Size: 6827 Url: http://list.jca.apc.org/manage/private/sustran-discuss/attachments/20001205/fb3cd9e5/attachment.eml From sagaris at lake.cl Wed Dec 6 01:17:06 2000 From: sagaris at lake.cl (Lake Sagaris) Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2000 12:17:06 -0400 Subject: [sustran] Re: [Fwd: (50 Years) Alert: Panama - stop WB/IFC project] References: <3A2CF963.104F8429@igc.org> Message-ID: <011f01c05ed6$d2eaf640$021f1dc8@computer> Hi Walter Do you have a version of this file that we could circulate in Spanish -- there are quite a few groups here who would be willing to do this -- the situation described is all too familiar to many of us. In particular, one of the large networks has its regular monthly meeting on Thursday and we would be happy to take a Spanish version there for everyone to sign. Best Lake Ciudad Viva (Santiago, Chile) ----- Original Message ----- From: "ITDP" To: Sent: December 5, 2000 10:19 AM Subject: [sustran] [Fwd: (50 Years) Alert: Panama - stop WB/IFC project] > This highway really stinks. I encourage everyone to send their letters. > > Best, > Walter Hook > > -- > Access ITDP's New Website: www.ITDP.org > The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy > 115 W. 30th Street - Suite 1205 - New York, NY 10001 - USA > tel: (212) 629-8001 fax: (212) 629-8033 > > From sustran at po.jaring.my Thu Dec 7 13:10:44 2000 From: sustran at po.jaring.my (SUSTRAN info services) Date: Thu, 07 Dec 2000 12:10:44 +0800 Subject: [sustran] fwd: Clean Air Initiative in East Asian Cities - the first announcement of the regional workshop in Bangkok, Feb. 7-9, 2001 Message-ID: <3.0.6.32.20001207121044.007be100@relay101.jaring.my> There were attachments with this message but sustran-discuss does not handle attachments so if you need more details on this please contact the organisers mentioned below. Paul ---------- >From: Jxie@worldbank.org >Subject: Clean Air Initiative in East Asian Cities - the first announcement of the > regional workshop in Bangkok, Feb. 7-9, 2001 >To: >Cc: ndiaz@worldbank.org, Mschwartz@worldbank.org >Date: Tue, 5 Dec 2000 15:01:18 -0500 > > >Friends, You are welcome to join us in the workshop. Please help post the >announcement wherever appropriate. > > ***** > First Announcement and Call for Participation > > Regional Workshop > Fighting Urban Air Pollution: From Plan to Action > > Organized by > Bangkok Metropolitan Authorities (BMA) > in Collaboration with > the Bangkok Air Quality Management Project > > Co-sponsored by > The World Bank, Asian Development Bank, AusAID, and Ford Motor Company > through > the Clean Air Initiative in East Asian Cities > > Bangkok, Thailand > February 7-9, 2001 > > >Background > > Human exposure to air pollution has caused thousands of cases of premature >death and respiratory illness in urban areas. This is particularly acute among >the urban poor in many developing countries. East Asia is one of the regions >suffering the most from urban air pollution. > > In many East Asia cities, governments have already recognized that a high >concentration of air pollution is threatening public health, productivity in >urban areas, and the quality of life. Fighting air pollution has become a top >priority of government policies as well as that of many donor agencies' >assistance strategies. For instance, in recent years the Government of Bangkok >attaches a high priority to reducing vehicular emissions of the city. The World >Bank has also identified air pollution as one of key environmental issues in its >recent Environmental Strategy for East Asia and proposed to expand urban >environmental projects to include cross-sectoral collaboration on urban air >quality management throughout the region. > > Most studies and projects to date on urban air quality management have >looked at the problem from a sectoral perspective. An integrated, >multidisciplinary, and action-oriented approach involving the public and private >sectors would provide the political-technical interface needed for municipal >governments to be more effective. This, therefore, calls for the involvement of >the Clean Air initiative in East Asian Cities. The goal of the Initiative is to >assist developing country governments in the region to effectively manage urban >air quality and protect public health. By bringing together stakeholders, both >public and private, the Initiative will help build a consensus for actions. > >Objectives of the Workshop > >? to foster discussions and the exchange of experiences among cities and >different stakeholders and promote air pollution reduction action planning and >project preparation in the host city Bangkok and other participating cities >? to encourage the establishment of a team of focal points representing >relevant government agencies, civil society groups, the private sector, and >donor agencies to fully develop the Clean Air Initiative and coordinate future >activities > >Organizers and Sponsors > > The workshop will be organized by the Bangkok Metropolitan Authorities in >collaboration of the Bangkok Air Quality Management Project and co-sponsored by >the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, AusAID, and Ford Motor Company through >the Clean Air Initiative in East Asian Cities. Other donor agencies and private >companies are welcome to join in the workshop and/or the Clean Air Initiative in >East Asia Cities as a soponsor. > >Participants > > The workshop will be attended by participants representing government >agencies and civil society groups in selected cities in Thailand, the >Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and China as well as representatives and >experts of international organizations, donor agencies, and the private sector. > >Language > > The workshop will be conducted in English and Thai. Simultaneous >translation between English and Thai will be provided. > >Contact Persons > >For the registration of local participants and local logistics, please contact: >(tbd) > >For the registration of international participants, please contact >Ms. Nelvia Hayme Diaz >Environment and Natural Resources Division >World Bank Institute, The World Bank >1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. >Phone: 202-458-9277, Fax: 202-676-0977, E-mail: ndiaz@worldbank.org >or Ms. Maria Rosa Schwartz >Phone: 202-473-8782, Fax: 202-676-0977, E-mail: mschwartz@worldbank.org > >For general information on the workshop, presentations, and sponsorships, please >contact >Mr. Jian Xie, World Bank Institute, The World Bank >1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. >Phone: 202-473-2766, Fax: 202-676-0978, E-mail: jxie@worldbank.org > > ***** >The preliminary program with registration form and a brief introduction to the >Clean Air Initiaitve in East Asian Cities are attached. > > >(See attached file: CAI-EA Jan 2001 Workshop Announcement.doc) > >(See attached file: EA CleanAir - Program Brief.doc) > >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- >Jian Xie >Environmental Specialist >Environment and Natural Resources >World Bank Institute >The World Bank, Rm J4-009 Phone: 202-473-2766 >1818 H Street, N.W. Fax: 202-676-0978 >Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A. E-mail: jxie@worldbank.org >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- > From litman at vtpi.org Thu Dec 14 23:13:33 2000 From: litman at vtpi.org (Todd Litman) Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2000 06:13:33 -0800 Subject: [sustran] VTPI Fall Newsletter Message-ID: <3.0.5.32.20001214061333.00e7e6d0@pop.islandnet.com> ----------- VTPI NEWS ----------- Victoria Transport Policy Institute "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" ------------------------------------ Fall 2000 Vol. 3, No. 3 ---------------------------------- The Victoria Transport Policy Institute is an independent research organization dedicated to developing innovative solutions to transportation problems. The VTPI website has many resources addressing a wide range of transport planning and policy issues. VTPI also provides consulting services. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ VTPI ONLINE TDM ENCYCLOPEDIA ============================ Our "Online TDM Encyclopedia" is now posted at http://www.vtpi.org/tdm. It is significantly upgraded from previous draft editions. The official release will occur in the next few weeks. This is a unique and comprehensive resource for Transportation Demand Management (TDM) planning and analysis. It is a practical tool for identifying and evaluating innovative solutions to transportation problems. The Encyclopedia provides the following information on more than three-dozen TDM strategies: ? A description. ? How the strategy can be implemented. ? Travel impacts. ? Benefits and costs. ? Equity impacts. ? Applications (where it is most appropriate). ? Stakeholders. ? Barriers to implementation. ? Best practices ? Case studies. ? References and resources (many accessible directly through the Internet). Each strategy is evaluated in terms of its ability to help achieve various objectives, including congestion reduction, road and parking facility savings, consumer savings and choice, road safety, environmental protection, efficient land use, community livability, and five equity objectives. The Encyclopedia also has general information about TDM planning and evaluation, information on transportation price elasticities, how land use impacts travel behavior, equity analysis, an extensive bibliography, and much more. New information is added regularly, and several additional chapters are under development. You Can Help ------------ The Encyclopedia is an ongoing project. Please review any chapter dealing with a TDM subject you are familiar with, and send us your comments and suggestions for improvement. Also, please let other transportation professionals know about the Encyclopedia. Thanks to the many colleagues who have already helped with this project! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NEW REPORTS =========== The following new documents are now posted at our website: http://www.vtpi.org. * "An Economic Evaluation of Smart Growth and TDM: Social Welfare and Equity Impacts of Efforts to Reduce Sprawl and Automobile Dependency" (currently in draft form). This paper evaluates transportation and land use policies (Sprawl, Smart Growth, Automobile Dependency and Transportation Demand Management) with respect to economic criteria, including consumer choice, efficiency, equity, competition, and government neutrality. This analysis indicates that existing market distortions contribute to automobile dependency and sprawl. This suggests that in a more efficient and neutral market, consumers would choose to drive less than they do now, and be better off overall as a result. The analysis indicates that Smart Growth and TDM can help correct market distortions, thereby increasing social welfare and equity. The paper evaluates specific criticisms of Smart Growth and TDM, including claims that such policy reforms are ineffective, harmful to consumers, increase traffic congestion and air pollution, require wasteful transit investments, increase regulatory burdens, and reduce affordability and opportunity. * "Estimation Of Generated Traffic By New Developments: Current Practice And Possible Improvements Based On Bangkok Experience" by Shihana Sulaiha Mohamed and Kazunori Hokao (posted with permission.) This paper reviews current methods used to estimate generated traffic caused by new developments such as housing, shopping centres, conventional centres, hospitals, etc. It describes three case studies in Bangkok. It critiques current traffic generation prediction models that are based on standard ITE methods and data, and recommends better approaches that take into account additional demographic, economic and geographic factors. It indicates that these improved practices are particularly important for use in developing countries. * "Response to Mark Delucchi's "Should We Try to Get the Prices Right?", with Allen Greenburg Mark Delucchi's article "Should We Try to Get the Prices Right?" (Access, Number 16, Spring 2000) provides useful insights concerning the role of price reforms in addressing transportation problems. We agree with many points he raises. However, we believe that Delucchi is overly pessimistic about the desirability and feasibility of transportation price reforms. We believe that there are many opportunities to correct transportation market distortions in ways that achieve a combination of economic, social and environmental objectives. We disagree with some specific assumptions, claims and conclusions in Delucchi's article. * "How Canadian Climate Change Emission Reduction Analysis Undervalues TDM" The report "Transportation and Climate Change: Options for Action" summarizes Canadian government research to evaluate transportation emission reduction options. The methodology that was used has significant errors that tend to undervalue transportation demand management. 1) It assumes that any reduction in automobile travel represents a cost to consumers, even if travel reductions result from positive incentives such as improved travel choices or financial rewards for the use of alternative modes. 2) It ignores additional benefits from strategies that reduce total vehicle traffic, and additional costs from strategies that increase vehicle traffic. The analysis does not take into account impacts on traffic congestion, road and parking facility costs, consumer costs, and total crash rates (the report discusses per-kilometer crash rates, but not the effects of changes in total vehicle use). 3) It assumes that reductions in vehicle use have negative effects on productivity and employment. This paper discusses these problems, and shows how they undervalued distance-based vehicle insurance and registration fees as an emission reduction strategy. * "Why ICBC Should Offer Distance-Based Pricing" There is a better way to price vehicle insurance that benefits consumers, increases road safety, and reduces traffic problems. It's called "Distance-Based" or "Pay-As-You-Drive" insurance pricing. This article describes how distance-base pricing works. It argues that the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) should complete its research on this concept and implement a pilot project to test its feasibility. Although directed at ICBC, similar arguments apply in other insurance markets. * "Distance-Based Vehicle Insurance Feasibility, Costs and Benefits; Comprehensive Technical Report" This is a detailed study of the benefits, costs, equity impacts and feasibility of distance-based insurance pricing. It includes claim/ mileage data showing a strong relationship between insurance claims and annual vehicle mileage, indicating that insurance pricing must be distance-based to accurately represent crash risk and claim costs. The paper evaluates different distance-based pricing options. It discusses how each would impact vehicle travel, crash rates, consumer costs, vehicle affordability, congestion, emissions, and equity objectives. It examines implementation requirements, including mileage data collection using annual odometer audits. This research indicates that distance-based insurance is justified on several grounds; could provide significant economic, social and environmental benefits; is technically feasible; and there is strong consumer demand for this price option. * "Transportation Land Valuation; Evaluating Policies and Practices that Affect the Amount of Land Devoted to Transportation Facilities" This is the first-year report of a three-year project that explores the relationships between transportation, land use and taxation. It investigates how current land tax and regulatory practices affect the amount of land devoted to roads and parking facilities, and how this affects transport patterns. The study will develop ways to measure the amount of land devoted to transport facilities, examine how this varies under different circumstances, estimate the value of this resource, evaluate how tax and regulatory policies treat this land, and analyze whether current practices are optimal in terms of various economic and social objectives. * "The Potential for Further Changes to the Personal Taxation Regime to Encourage Modal Shift", by The Open University/WS Atkins/Napier University (posted with permission). This is a preliminary report on UK research that evaluates tax reforms to encourage more sustainable commuting. It includes a review of current tax policies related to commuting benefits, and analysis of various alternatives. The analysis indicates that targeted tax policies can encourage more efficient commuting and help achieve sustainable transportation objectives. "Divorce Your Car" Book Review The new book, "Divorce Your Car" by Katie Alvord argues that our relationship with automobiles requires intensive therapy. Like other self-help guides, it helps readers understand the dynamics of their unhealthy affiliations. Some motorists may find that it provides the encouragement they need to dump their attractive, but sometimes abusive, mechanical partners. "Wheel Life Columns" "Wheel Life" is a weekly newspaper column written by VTPI staff Todd Litman and Suzanne Kort and published in the Victoria Times Colonist. Recent columns are now posted at the Greater Victoria Cycling Coalition website: http://www.gvcc.bc.ca. PUBLISHED ELSEWHERE The following articles were published in peer-reviewed journals. "Transportation Market Reforms for Sustainability," Transportation Research Record 1702, Transportation Research Board (www.nationalacademies.org), 2000, pp. 11-20. This paper describes possible market reforms to encourage more efficient and equitable transportation. It summarizes our research for the report "Road Relief; Tax and Pricing Shifts for a Fairer, Cleaner, and Less Congested Transportation System in Washington State." "Evaluating Carsharing Benefits," Transportation Research Record 1702, Transportation Research Board (www.nationalacademies.org), 2000, pp. 31-35. This paper describes our research on carsharing impacts. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OTHER NEWS: =========== BC VEHICLE EMISSION REDUCTION OPTIONS ------------------------------------- VTPI participated in development and review of the discussion paper, "Options to Reduce Light Duty Vehicle Emission in British Columbia." It is available at http://www.fin.gov.bc.ca/tbs/emissions.htm. This paper evaluates 22 emission-reduction options, including feebates, fuel efficiency standards, distance-based vehicle insurance, and fuel tax increases. This has generated considerable discussion concerning the merits of these options in the BC press. TAX EXEMPT TRANSIT PASSES ------------------------- Employer Provided Tax-Exempt Transit Benefits means that employers can provide income tax exempt transit benefits to their employees. This is allowed in the U.S., but not in Canada. A report submitted to the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance examines the benefits that would result (based in part on research preformed three years ago by VTPI). It is available at: English: http://www.cutaactu.on.ca/HofC2000.pdf French: http://www.cutaactu.on.ca/CdesC2000.pdf CENTRE FOR SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION ------------------------------------- VTPI director Todd Litman has been appointed a boardmember of the Canadian Centre for Sustainable Transportation. The Centre's mission is to provide leadership in achieving sustainable transportation in Canada. It is currently involved in a number of research and education projects, including a workshop to develop a long-term Canadian Sustainable Transportation Action Agenda (Moving Canada's Transportation Towards Sustainability: the Post-Kyoto Challenge), to be held Tuesday, February 6, 2001 in Vancouver, BC. For information see http://www.cstctd.org. BACK TO SCHOOL -------------- Along with his 8- and 11-year-old children, VTPI director Todd Litman has returned to school. Starting this term he was accepted as a PhD candidate at the University of Victoria Department of Geography. His dissertation will explore how current transportation and land use policy affects the amount of land devoted to transportation facilities (particularly roads and parking), and whether such policies are economically and socially optimal. The "Transportation Land Valuation" paper described above reports on the first year's research. PRESENTING AT TRB ----------------- Todd Litman will present the following papers at the Transportation Research Board 80th Annual Meeting in January. For more information visit http://nationalacademies.org/trb/meeting. "You CAN Get There From Here; Evaluating Transportation Choice," Session 334, Recent Research on Transportation Choice and Access, sponsored by Committee on Social and Economic Factors, Wednesday, January 10, 8:00-9:30, Hilton, Lincoln West Room. "Overview of Walkability Evaluation," Session 385, Walkability Research: Audits, Indicators, and Level of Service, Sponsored by Committee on Pedestrians and Committee on Highway Capacity and Quality of Service Wednesday, January 10, 2:30 p.m.-4:15 p.m., Shoreham, Diplomat. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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 mailing list. And please pass this newsletter on to others who may find it useful. Sincerely, Todd Litman, Director Victoria Transport Policy Institute "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" 1250 Rudlin Street Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada Phone & Fax: 250-360-1560 E-mail: litman@vtpi.org Website: http://www.vtpi.org From Brian.Williams at unchs.org Fri Dec 15 07:01:03 2000 From: Brian.Williams at unchs.org (Brian.Williams@unchs.org) Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2000 01:01:03 +0300 Subject: [sustran] Brian Williams/UNCHS/NBO/UNO is out of the office. Message-ID: I will be out of the office starting 12/08/2000 and will not return until 01/04/2001. I will respond to your message when I return. From litman at vtpi.org Sat Dec 16 04:31:24 2000 From: litman at vtpi.org (Todd Litman) Date: Fri, 15 Dec 2000 11:31:24 -0800 Subject: [sustran] European Transport Pricing Initiative Newsletter Message-ID: <3.0.5.32.20001215113124.00ea4990@pop.islandnet.com> Pricing Urban Transport Welcome to the first issue of the European Transport Pricing Initiative Newsletter! Issue No. 1, December 2000 Road User Charging - The Solution? Road pricing is one of the key issues to be addressed in European transport. It could prove to be an important tool in achieving a reduction in urban road traffic and associated environmental nuisance, but there may be problems of public and political acceptance. International case studies, e.g. in Singapore and Hong Kong, have shown that acceptability is greater where the revenues are seen to be clearly fed back into developing public transport and road systems. The European Commission is supporting a number of major research projects on transport pricing in an effort to compile a body of practical information and guidance which will assist public authorities in planning, implementing and operating successful transport pricing schemes. Europe's Sounding Board on Transport Pricing The European Transport Pricing Initiative (ETPI) will act as a forum for the latest research, debating and consensus-building activities in urban transport pricing. The principal focus of ETPI is currently the eight cities involved in the four-year PRoGRSS project and CUPID, which will support the PRoGRSS cities and undertake cross-city evaluation studies. However, other projects, such as EUROPRICE (http://www.europrice-network.org), which provides a political platform, and other initatives and networks are encouraged to interact with and contribute to the forum. ETPI will make use of various media, of which this biannual newsletter is just one. Position papers, a website (http://www.transport-pricing.net) and other sources of information will also be used. **************** CUPID _ At the Heart of the Matter The CUPID project consortium will provide the cities with practical advice on selecting, designing, implementing and monitoring road pricing strategies. It will also have the task of preparing an in-depth assessment of all eight schemes, including: * user response and acceptance * enforcement * financial feasibility * institutional settings * privacy and technical aspects linked to infrastructure and equipment * the wider impacts on EC policy * social and economic effects This will be used as the basis for a set of policy recommendations for implementing transport pricing schemes in urban areas. It will be aimed at assisting local/regional authorities in the development of such strategies as well as influencing policy development at national and EU levels. CUPID will make a major contribution to the European/international debate on urban transport pricing policy options. It will disseminate progress updates and results from the demonstration sites, as well as the conclusions of the thematic network experts. The CUPID project team comprises research organisations and policy advisors from the UK (TTR), Italy (ISIS), Germany (TUD), Norway (SINTEF) and Portugal (TIS.pt). Further information on CUPID is available from Jo Baker at Transport & Travel Research Ltd, tel: +44 (0) 1543 416416, fax: +44 (0) 1543 416681, email: ttr@compuserve.com **************** Making PRoGRSS Eight cities across Europe - Rome, Trondheim, Edinburgh, Copenhagen, Genoa, Gothenburg and Helsinki and Bristol - will spend the next four years developing and implementing a range of road pricing concepts and technologies as part of the PRoGRSS project. The project aims: "to demonstrate and evaluate the effectiveness and acceptance of integrated urban transport pricing schemes to achieve transport goals and raise revenue". The cities will work with key groups to develop and assess the political, economic and social framework required for implementing urban transport pricing schemes. Their approach will be firmly practical as they explore issues which have tended in the past to be neglected by researchers. These include the social acceptance of road user charging schemes, as well as their effectiveness in achieving environmental and revenue raising objectives. The project also aims to develop good practice guidelines for electronic road pricing equipment and concepts. Commenting on the project, Councillor Helen Holland, Executive Member for the Environment, Transport and Leisure at Bristol City Council (UK) said, "The key to success in this field is to explore public opinion and to design schemes which will serve the needs of business and residents. The public needs to see the benefits in real terms _ better public transport and a cleaner, safer environment. We welcome the involvement of PRoGRSS as it is taking very positive steps to tackle these issues." Further information on PRoGRSS is available from Barbara Davies at Bristol City Council, tel: +44 (0) 117 903 6709, +44 (0) 117 903 6540, email: barbara_davies@bristol-city.gov.uk **************** Road Pricing - Frequently Asked Questions There are three critical issues which cities need to address early on in the development of road pricing projects: a) Where will the finances come from to cover the set-up costs? b) How do we achieve public acceptability of road pricing? c) How should we assess and evaluate the impacts of road pricing projects? Brief answers are provided below. More detailed answers to these and other questions will be included on the project website http://www.transport-pricing.net. Other questions may be answered in future newsletters; please contact the CUPID co-ordinator if there are issues you would like to see addressed. A. How do we achieve public acceptability of road pricing? The challenge for the city authority of implementing an urban pricing project, which is acceptable to the transport user, is considerable. People regard public roads as "free" goods and any attempt to charge for this commodity needs to overcome strong emotional resistance. The 6 issues below need to be addressed if resistance is to be minimised and confidence in urban pricing as a fair and effective means of achieving positive benefits is to grow. a) Both politicians and the public must understand the urgent need to find solutions to traffic problems in cities. Transport pricing needs to be _sold_ as an effective and appropriate solution and the messages used to promote marginal cost pricing should focus on the social and environmental benefits, e.g. improved air quality, reduction in congestion and increased safety. b) The public needs to be aware that their travel behaviour has a key role to play in achieving the benefits listed above. The city authorities therefore need to understand the values as well as the expectations of the transport users. This is true throughout the duration of the project, but particularly early on. A crucial phase is when transport users adjust their behaviour for the first time. It must be clear to them that their attempts to support commonly shared values are having an effect. c) Revenues must be allocated in advance to funding alternative modes of transport. The concepts of traffic restraints and road charging will be much more acceptable if combined with transport and environmental improvements. The availability of high quality alternatives to the private motor car will help achieve lasting changes in travel behaviour. d) The charge level and the amount to be re-invested in public transport need very careful consideration. In a cost-benefit-analysis of the scheme the individual should perceive that the financial burden imposed by the pricing initiative is, at least, balanced by the benefits they are gaining. In addition, individuals should feel that they are being treated equally in comparison with others. Hypothecation of the revenues should result in a guaranteed level of mobility for all. Indeed it may be biased towards some disadvantaged groups thereby supporting equity amongst the population. e) Public acceptability comes from confidence in the effective operation of the scheme, the use of the revenues and the fairness and anonymity of the system. Right from the start, it should be clear to the public who has overall responsibility for the scheme, for its design and implementation, for charging and accounting, for revenue allocation - and for defects and deficiencies. Commitment will be reinforced through early and credible communication, as well as positive experiences of the system in operation. f) A communications strategy comprising a series of intelligent and focused PR activities, which gets underway at the initial stages of the project is imperative if public acceptance and adoption of the scheme are to be achieved. B. Where will the finances come from to cover the set-up costs? The costs of establishing a road user charging scheme are considerable and include the expense of infrastructure and personnel as well as lead-in costs whilst the scheme is being developed, such as public consultation, media campaigns, and legal/planning costs. Given the sensitivity of the issue, it is advisable for the local authority to be seen to control any scheme and to closely regulate private sector input. There are a number of ways, however, in which the private sector can be encouraged to contribute to the scheme and help offset set-up costs: Option 1: Full Public Private Partnership The local authority and private company establish a separate, joint entity which will both implement the road pricing scheme and develop complementary measures such as public transport schemes. However it is unlikely to be acceptable socially until the concept of road pricing is well established. A further concern is that the private sector partner, as beneficiary of the tolls collected, may promote the use of the private car in order to maximise revenues. Option 2: Partial Public Private Partnership This is a more acceptable approach in which the local authority administers the overall scheme and the private sector invests in selected elements and benefits from the revenues raised. For example, the road pricing scheme could be privately developed and leased to the local authority at a fixed rate. The income would cover the leasing costs and subsidies for an improved private-public transport system. The disadvantage is that the private sector will be less likely to accept risk transfer where it has less control over the revenue stream. Option 3: Privately financed publicly operated scheme In this more conventional approach, the local authority develops the scheme on its own initiative and raises private finance to support identified elements of the overall scheme such as the road pricing system and the public transport scheme, which may be delivered by different contractors. Once again, care needs to be taken to make sure that private sector partners are not encouraged to promote car travel by ensuring that toll revenues go directly to the local authority. Option 4: Public sector investment A road pricing scheme will incur significant start-up costs before it becomes viable. Only when these costs are met will any operating surplus be released to support infrastructure investment. A publicly funded approach might be acceptable in a city like Singapore, but is less appropriate in a major European city where road pricing strategies need to be underpinned by investment in transport infrastructure. Only by introducing a low level fee to raise revenues for the development of infrastructure and increasing fees to a level capable of demand management once infrastructure is in place might this become a viable option. C. How should we assess and evaluate the impacts of road pricing? Road pricing for transport is expected to have a substantial impact on many aspects of the urban area. Many of these impacts are complex and interlinked. Major benefits will be anticipated by some stakeholders in terms of environmental improvements, whilst others will be concerned about the impact of pricing on economic performance. The CUPID team is developing a generic framework for the evaluation of urban pricing schemes to be published later this year. It will be applied in the 8 PRoGRSS cities, and will be refined during the life of PRoGRSS, benefiting from the feedback of local experts and the experience of implementation. A final version of the framework will be re-issued towards the end of the CUPID project. Both versions will be made freely available on http://www.transport-pricing.net. The framework will cover a comprehensive range of issues including * acceptance * capacity * transport patterns * quality of service * resource consumption * pollution/nuisance * safety * costs * time * regional development * health * employment * legal Impacts * assessment/evaluation The framework has been developed according to the MAESTRO GUIDELINES, which were developed with EC support, to provide a multi-sector generic set of guidelines for the assessment of transport pilot/demonstration projects. The guidelines can be downloaded from http://www.europrojects.ie/maestro. **************** PRoGRSS - One project, eight cities The eight PRoGRSS cities are each at various stages of development, but by co-operating and using the project network to transfer information and experiences, are looking forward to making rapid progress. The stage of development of each of the cities is shown in Figure 1 below. A short description of each city follows. Figure 1 _ Status of PRoGRSS cities with respect to urban road pricing Bristol (UK) Bristol is at the leading edge of assessment of road pricing and financing strategies in the UK. A number of pilot studies have already taken place, along with extensive consultation. Building on this political foundation the city will be seeking to implement a full pricing system for the centre of the city. Copenhagen (Denmark) Copenhagen is at the stage of initiating debate on the urban pricing concept and aims to use the demonstration in PRoGRSS as the basis for developing this debate. The demonstration will use Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) based pricing technology to demonstrate a number of pricing strategies with 500-1000 users paying real fees. Edinburgh (UK) Edinburgh has been carrying out the hearts and minds exercise with regard to urban road pricing for sometime. They are now developing initial scheme ideas and assessing potential operational frameworks. During PRoGRSS they aim to develop this issue further and build up public and political commitment to the concept leading to a trial of the initial concept. Genoa (Italy) Genoa, like Rome, has existing access control in its historic centre. The work carried out in a previous European funded project has provided a sound understanding of the pricing regimes that could be used to further control traffic in this historic core. PRoGRSS will demonstrate some of these strategies and stimulate debate around a wider pricing concept for the city. Gothenburg (Sweden) and Helsinki (Finland) Gothenburg and Helsinki will be developing and modelling a number of pricing strategies that could be used in their cities. Gothenburg will complement this with a pricing scheme demonstration using pricing technologies based on GNSS. Rome (Italy) Rome has an existing access control area which requires payment for annual permits. A system of electronic enforcement is already in place. This electronic access control system provides the basis for a pricing system to be realised in the centre of the city. Trondheim (Norway) Trondheim has probably more practical experience of road pricing than any other city in Europe. The city_s initial toll ring was established in 1991 and developed further in 1998. The initial focus was on the promotion of road pricing evaluation of an electronic ticketing system and the city is now building on its experience to use the system for demand management, integrating the tolling system with the public transport and parking payment systems. Scrutinising the Options Table 1 shows a matrix of the potential pricing concepts and technology combinations that will be trialled in each of the cities. Table 1 _ Pricing concepts and technologies across the PRoGRSS sites Scheme concept Road pricing technology basis Paper based Electronic tag Video Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) Cordon (per trip) Zone (per trip) Time based Distance based The most basic concept is a pricing cordon where vehicles are charged per trip across the cordon boundary. This can be further developed into a zone system where each trip across a zone boundary is charged. These charges may vary according to times of day and different vehicles or user types. This kind of concept is being used in Trondheim, Bristol, Edinburgh, Rome and Genoa. An alternative is to charge vehicles in line with the time spent or distance travelled in the charging area. Again this charge can be differentiated according to the time of day or user. Rome is looking at this concept through its closed access control system and Copenhagen will also analyse this type of charging through its GNSS system. The technologies that can be used range from paper based systems with manual enforcement through electronic based systems to GNSS systems. A system using radio-based tags with smart card payment is considered the current state of art however GNSS systems may provide a more flexible solution in the near future. All these systems are being trialled. By working through a range of cities at different stages of development, PRoGRSS will provide a strong basis for demonstrating and evaluating a range of innovative pricing concepts and technologies. **************** Are you a legal expert?? For our next EPTI-workshop in April 2001 we are looking for legal experts in the area of road pricing. Are you an expert in this area or do you know somebody who is? Are you interested in sharing knowledge and have discussions in your area with cities and researchers? Then please contact Manolo de la Fuente, e-mail: cupid@tis.pt **************** This newsletter is produced as part of the European Transport Pricing Initiative (ETPI). ETPI acts as a forum for the latest research, debating and consensus-building activities in transport pricing and will track developments in the 8 PRoGRSS cities and the CUPID thematic network. The Initiative is funded by the European Commission. For further information on ETPI or CUPID, contact Jo Baker at Transport & Travel Research Ltd, tel: +44 (0) 1543 416416, fax: +44 (0) 1543 416681, email: ttr@compuserve.com Further information on PRoGRSS is available from Barbara Davies at Bristol City Council, tel: +44 (0) 117 903 6709, +44 (0) 117 903 6540, email: barbara_davies@bristol-city.gov.uk For subscribing or un-subscribing to this newsletter via e-mail, new ideas and interesting tips for the next newsletter, please contact Manolo de la Fuente at TIS.pt, tel: +351 (21) 359 30 20, fax: +351 (21) 359 30 21, e-mail: cupid@tis.pt. We like to thank IMAGITA Newsletter (mail@imagita.dk) for its help. For more information on CUPID, PRoGRSS and transport pricing issues, visit: http://WWW.TRANSPORT-PRICING.NET Sincerely, Todd Litman, Director Victoria Transport Policy Institute "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity" 1250 Rudlin Street Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, Canada Phone & Fax: 250-360-1560 E-mail: litman@vtpi.org Website: http://www.vtpi.org From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Tue Dec 19 10:52:10 2000 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Alexander Barter) Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2000 09:52:10 +0800 Subject: [sustran] fwd: Singapore incentives for greener cars Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0A00920E@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> The Straits Times Interactive http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/primenews/story/0,1870,11567,00.html 19 Dec 2000 COE, road tax for green cars fixed Details available now will help put electric and 'hybrid' vehicles on the road here as early as next year By Leslie Koh MOVES to put green cars on local roads have shifted into higher gear, now that the authorities have worked out the road tax and COE schemes for electric and hybrid vehicles. Electric cars will be registered according to their power rating as their engine sizes do not correspond to those of normal cars. Hybrid cars with two types of engines will pay according to either their power rating or engine size, whichever is higher. In releasing the details yesterday, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and the Environment Ministry also passed the ball to the distributors' court. For many years, not knowing how green cars would be treated and taxed, as well as their high price, had kept importers from bringing them in. But last month, the Government announced a long-awaited rebate of 20 per cent of a green car's open-market value (OMV), effective for three years starting next January. And yesterday, it released details about what road taxes and certificate of entitlement (COE) green car owners will pay from next year. For instance, an electric car with a maximum power output of 57.5 kW will be treated as the equivalent of a 1,600-cc car and thus will require its owner to buy a category A COE and pay similar road taxes. Hybrid cars will be subjected to the same formula unless the COEs and road taxes calculated according to their petrol-driven engines are higher, in which case owners will pay the higher charges. Both types of green cars will also get road tax rebates - 10 per cent for hybrid cars and 20 per cent for electric ones. But there will be no discount for Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) charges. One of the first green cars that Singapore will see next year is the often-touted Toyota Prius, the world's first mass-produced hybrid car. The 1.5-litre Prius costs about $32,000 in Japan, but industry observers estimate it is unlikely to sell for less than $100,000 here. Toyota distributor Borneo Motors yesterday confirmed that it would bring in the Prius 'sometime' next year. Calling the latest details 'comprehensive', marketing director William Choo said that he was waiting for the Japanese maker to churn out models for the Singapore market. Distributors will still have to clear the last hurdle - LTA's safety and pollution requirements. Copyright ? 2000 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. Distributed for the purpose of education and research. Dr Paul Barter Visiting Fellow Department of Geography National University of Singapore 1 Arts Link, Singapore 117570 Tel: +65-874 3860; Fax: +65-777 3091 E-mail: geobpa@nus.edu.sg From rlm at transport.ucl.ac.uk Wed Dec 20 02:44:28 2000 From: rlm at transport.ucl.ac.uk (Roger Mackett) Date: Tue, 19 Dec 2000 17:44:28 +0000 Subject: [sustran] Reducing car use for short trips Message-ID: <3.0.6.32.20001219174428.00a12910@pop-server.ucl.ac.uk> POTENTIAL FOR MODE TRANSFER OF SHORT TRIPS Recently we at the Centre for Transport Studies at University College London completed a project with this title for the UK Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. The reports on the project can be obtained from: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/transport-studies/shtrp.htm. The objective of the project was to contribute to UK Government policy to encourage walking, cycling and the use of the bus instead of the car for short trips (less than 5 miles or 8 kilometres). The approach adopted in this research was to identify a number of short trips by car and then discuss with those making them, the alternatives which they might adopt. A two-stage survey procedure was adopted. The first stage involved collecting information on all trips made over a two-day period in five areas of the country (London, Leeds, Ipswich, Hereford and Dorset). The second stage involved detailed discussions about alternatives for the short car trips made during the two days by some of those who made short car trips. The surveys were carried out by Steer Davies Gleave in the second half of 1998. The 377 in-depth interviews about short trips by car have been analysed to establish why the car was used, what alternatives were perceived and what would induce a change to the alternatives. Alternatives to the car were identified for nearly 80% of short car trips, with business and work trips the least likely to transfer, and taking children to school the most likely. Of all the short trips by car, it seems that about 31% could transfer to walk, 31% could go by bus and 7% could be cycled. The single policy intervention that the respondents said would do most to attract them out of their cars would be to improve bus services which could attract up to 21% of car drivers, particularly increasing route coverage and frequency. There is little in the nature of specific policy intervention that could encourage more walking or cycling, so it would require personal initiative. Hence there is a need to make car drivers more aware of the benefits of walking and cycling. The main findings of this work are available in two main reports: one reviewing existing data and the literature in this field, and the other describing the results of the surveys. They can be obtained via the UCL website at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/transport-studies/shtrp.htm. The executive summaries of these two reports can be obtained separately from this website, since the reports are rather long. (The executive summaries are included in the full reports). A brief factsheet containing the main findings from the surveys has been produced. A paper presented at the European Transport Conference (ETC) held in Cambridge in September 2000 can also be accessed. The files are all portable document (pdf) files that can be read using Adobe Acrobat software. Comments on the work and suggestions for further dissemination are welcome. Roger Mackett ______________________________________________________________________ Professor Roger Mackett Centre for Transport Studies University College London Gower Street London WC1E 6BT Great Britain Tel: (+44) 020 7679 1554 (Please note new number) Fax: (+44) 020 7679 1567 (Please note new number) e-mail: rlm@transport.ucl.ac.uk ______________________________________________________________________ Professor Roger Mackett Centre for Transport Studies University College London Gower Street London WC1E 6BT Great Britain Tel: (+44) 020 7679 1554 (Please note new number) Fax: (+44) 020 7679 1567 (Please note new number) e-mail: rlm@transport.ucl.ac.uk ______________________________________________________________________ Professor Roger Mackett Centre for Transport Studies University College London Gower Street London WC1E 6BT Great Britain Tel: (+44) 020 7679 1554 (Please note new number) Fax: (+44) 020 7679 1567 (Please note new number) e-mail: rlm@transport.ucl.ac.uk ______________________________________________________________________ Professor Roger Mackett Centre for Transport Studies University College London Gower Street London WC1E 6BT Great Britain Tel: (+44) 020 7679 1554 (Please note new number) Fax: (+44) 020 7679 1567 (Please note new number) e-mail: rlm@transport.ucl.ac.uk From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Sat Dec 23 15:44:10 2000 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Alexander Barter) Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2000 14:44:10 +0800 Subject: [sustran] SUSTRAN website problems Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0A00922A@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> Dear friends and colleagues Just a short to note to say that the http://www.malaysiakini.com/sustran address for the SUSTRAN Network website is currently not working - it shows a very old version. The more up-to-date and user-friendly version of the SUSTRAN Network site can be found at http://www.geocities.com/sustrannet. Apologies for not having produced a new News Flash in several months. I have been moving to a new job and dealing with other ongoing projects as well. I intend to return to putting out a News Flash every two months or so next year. So you can all start sending me your news again! Season's greetings, happy Christmas and Aidilfitri salaams to everyone. Dr Paul A. Barter Visiting Fellow, Department of Geography National University of Singapore 1 Arts Link, Singapore 117570 Tel: +65-874 3860; Fax: +65-777 3091 E-mail: geobpa@nus.edu.sg (I'm also known as A Rahman Paul Barter) PS I am still volunteer contact point for SUSTRAN Network information services http://www.geocities.com/sustrannet But for all other SUSTRAN Network matters please contact the NEW SECRETARIAT: Dr Bambang Susantono and Ms Moekti H. Soejachmoen Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia and the Pacific (SUSTRAN Network) c/o Pelangi Indonesia, Jl. Danau Tondano No. A-4, Jakarta 10210, Indonesia. Tel. +(62 21) 573 5020, 571 9360, Fax +(62 21) 573 2503 kuki@pelangi.or.id or bsantono@pelangi.or.id From geobpa at nus.edu.sg Sat Dec 23 18:47:29 2000 From: geobpa at nus.edu.sg (Paul Alexander Barter) Date: Sat, 23 Dec 2000 17:47:29 +0800 Subject: [sustran] Earth Car Free Day 2001 Message-ID: <2C9E855D35B9D01198190020AFFBE8CB0A00922F@exs04.ex.nus.edu.sg> Friends I have just been made aware of a big push for an "Earth Car Free Day 2001". There is a lot more detail at http://ecoplan.org/carfreeday/EarthCFD/ec_index.htm but here is a brief summary gleaned from here and there on the site. ------------ Earth Car Free Day 2001 will be held on Thursday, April 19th. This represents the first collaboration between The Commons and the Earth Day Network. The main goal of Earth Car Free Day 2001 is to see if we can get together with an expanding collection of international networks and groups around the world who are working in different ways on the issues of sustainable transport in our cites -- and try to focus their attention on a collective rethink via the device of organizing a car free day. The Earth Day Network The Earth Day Network bring a great deal to this challenging planetary venture with its strong international eco-networks and its thirty years of successful Earth Day projects . If ever there were an occasion when "think global, act local" had any meaning, Earth Car Free Day 2001 has to be one of them. The Earth Day team will be making a major effort to extend the CFD to activate and bring in other soft transport and eco-groups. The Commons and Car Free Days The Commons Car Free Day Consortium grew out of the group's 1988 Car Free Cities program, and in particular out of the international cooperation that began with the announcement of the Thursday Car Free Day action plan in Toledo Spain in 1994. From the beginning, The Commons have practiced a "Big House" approach to CFD organization, celebrating diversity and active local commitment above all. The joint February 2000 program with the City of Bogota won the Stockholm Challenge Prize. ------------------------ Dr Paul A. Barter Visiting Fellow, Department of Geography National University of Singapore 1 Arts Link, Singapore 117570 Tel: +65-874 3860; Fax: +65-777 3091 E-mail: geobpa@nus.edu.sg (I'm also known as A Rahman Paul Barter) PS I am still volunteer contact point for SUSTRAN Network information services http://www.geocities.com/sustrannet But for all other SUSTRAN Network matters contact the NEW SECRETARIAT: Dr Bambang Susantono and Ms Moekti H. Soejachmoen Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia and the Pacific (SUSTRAN Network) c/o Pelangi Indonesia, Jl. Danau Tondano No. A-4, Jakarta 10210, Indonesia. Tel. +(62 21) 573 5020, 571 9360 Fax +(62 21) 573 2503 kuki@pelangi.or.id or bsantono@pelangi.or.id