Road User Charging: Issues and Policies


Book Description

Due to factors such as congestion and pollution there is increased public and academic interest in road user charging. Until now the debate has focused on the economic theory of road user charging. However, a cogent economic case does not necessarily ensure public acceptance and subsequent implementation. This book seeks to provide an academic account of how such schemes might be implemented. It deals with how the decision-making process should be undertaken in order to secure political and public acceptability. This book bridges the gap between economic theory and public policy making and suggests policy options as a means of combating road traffic congestion in urban areas. The book includes a chapter on the Central London congestion charging scheme detailing the various factors which have resulted in its successful implementation. This is essential reading for academics, advanced students of transport, economics, public policy and the environment, and policy makers at the international, national and local levels.




Sustainable Transport for Chinese Cities


Book Description

Based on papers presented at a workshop on the green transport agenda and its implications for Chinese cities, organised by the World Conference on Transport Research Society in September 2010, this volume reviews the challenges facing urban transport internationally and in China.




Investment and the use of Tax and Toll Revenues in the Transport Sector


Book Description

Transport infrastructure developments will depend increasingly on the level of user charges. One reason is the ongoing liberalization of the EU transport sector, especially for air and rail. Another is the trend towards implementing tolls and other user charges on roads. It is expected that user charges will progressively replace government subsidies for infrastructure expansion and maintenance. Revenues from user charges may also be used to cross subsidize other transport modes. The surplus anticipated on urban roads could be used to fund infrastructure and operation of public transport and/or non-urban roads.This book brings together both the theory and the current practice of user charges, tolls and revenue use in European countries. It examines public finance aspects such as earmarking, as well as public management aspects of different pricing and revenue use principles. A set of guidelines is developed for a better use of toll and tax revenues. The set of guidelines is tested with a new cost benefit tool in case studies that cover France, Germany, Norway , Switzerland and the UK.Research in Transportation Economics is now available online at ScienceDirect — full-text online of volumes 6 onwards.




Environmental Taxation Law


Book Description

The theoretical arguments for environmental taxes and other types of economic instruments for environmental protection have been discussed extensively in the literature. Rather less well discussed has been the extremely complex form that such instruments have in fact taken in practice. Environmental Taxation Law: Policy, Contexts and Practice examines the legal implications of introducing environmental taxes and other economic instruments into the regulatory framework of UK law. In doing so, it analyzes and explains the difficulties of grafting environmental taxes onto the complexities of existing regulatory structures, not all of which, of course, were originally devised with environmental considerations in mind. Although the focus of the book is the UK's pioneering implementation of a web of distinct yet interrelated policy measures, it locates the UK's taxes and instruments not simply in their broader context of market and environmental regulation, but also in the contexts of European and international law.




Transport, Demand Management and Social Inclusion


Book Description

Social inclusion/exclusion has only recently emerged in transport-related discourse. Despite the apparent absence of a transport policy framework for social inclusion/exclusion, there has been some movement towards a greater understanding of the social aspects of transport in the research sphere. This book brings together some of this research, focusing on ethnicity - an area that has, so far, had little discussion in the traditional transport literature, thereby contributing to the exploration of the interface between transport and social exclusion. In particular, it examines the contribution that demand management measures can make to the reduction of the negative impacts of road-based transport. It questions whether methods such as road user charging and work place parking can be used as instruments for social inclusion, and analyses the potential negative impacts of these schemes if sufficient attention is not paid to ethnicity issues.




Road Pricing: Theory, Empirical Assessment and Policy


Book Description

Road pricing (tolls, etc.) as a means of generating revenue for infrastructure investment has become a major policy option in both Europe and North America. It can also be used as a policy in the management of traffic demand and flow, environmental objectives, and optimal resource allocation as regards the size of investments. Road pricing is assumed to be able to solve many problems simultaneously -- congestion control, pollution reduction, and investment financing. This volume assembles and assesses theoretical knowledge, empirical results and experiences of actual road pricing. In addition, the impact of new information technology on future policy formulation is considered.




Megacity Mobility


Book Description

World population growth and economic prosperity have given rise to ever-increasing demands on cities, transportation planning, and goods movement. This growth, coupled with a slower pace of transportation capacity expansion and deteriorated facility restoration, has led to rapid changes in the transportation planning and policy environment. These stresses are particularly acute for megacities where degradation of mobility and facility performance have reached alarming rates. Addressing these transportation challenges requires innovative solutions. Megacity Mobility grapples with these challenges by addressing transportation policy, planning, and facilities in a multimodal context. It discusses innovative short- and long-term solutions for meeting current and future mobility needs for the world’s most dynamic cities by addressing the influence of urban land use on mobility, 3D spiderweb transportation planning, travel demand management, multimodal transportation with flexible capacity, efficient capacity utilization driven by new technologies, innovative transportation funding and financing, and performance-based budget allocation using asset management principles. It discusses emerging issues, highlights potential challenges affecting proposed solutions, and provides policymakers, planners, and transportation professionals a road map to achieving sustainable mobility in the 21st century. Zongzhi Li is a professor and the director of the Sustainable Transportation and Infrastructure Research (STAIR) Center at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). Adrian T. Moore is vice president of policy at Reason Foundation in Washington, D.C., with focuses on privatization, transportation and urban growth, and more. Samuel R. Staley is the director of the DeVoe L. Moore Center in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy at Florida State University.




Managing Urban Traffic Congestion


Book Description

Offers policy-oriented, research-based recommendations for effectively managing traffic and cutting excess congestion in large urban areas.




Road User Charging


Book Description

Due to factors such as congestion and pollution there is increased public and academic interest in road user charging. Until now the debate has focused on the economic theory of road user charging. However, a cogent economic case does not necessarily ensure public acceptance and subsequent implementation. This book seeks to provide an academic account of how such schemes might be implemented. It deals with how the decision-making process should be undertaken in order to secure political and public acceptability. This book bridges the gap between economic theory and public policy making and suggests policy options as a means of combating road traffic congestion in urban areas. The book includes a chapter on the Central London congestion charging scheme detailing the various factors which have resulted in its successful implementation. This is essential reading for academics, advanced students of transport, economics, public policy and the environment, and policy makers at the international, national and local levels.




Travel Demand Management and Road User Pricing


Book Description

Throughout the world, traffic levels are increasing and, in urban areas, these increasing levels have led to pressures on the road networks which are causing serious economic, environmental and social problems. This book examines the full range of 'push and pull' Travel Demand Management measures. This covers areas of regulatory, pricing, planning and persuasive policies to encourage individuals to make their trips in off-peak periods, by a different mode or to find another way of carrying out the trip purpose. Applying such measures can result in a more efficient transport system, improved environmental conditions and improvements in safety as well as revenue generation for use on alternative transport systems. The editors conclude with a summary of findings within the book and suggestions for best future practice.