-----------

              VTPI NEWS

               -----------

               Victoria Transport Policy Institute

               "Efficiency - Equity - Clarity"

               -------------------------------------

               Summer 2012    Vol. 12, No. 3

               -----------------------------------

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.

                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



NEW VTPI DOCUMENTS

====================

"Local Funding Options for Public Transportation"
(http://www.vtpi.org/tranfund.pdf )

This paper, submitted for presentation at the TRB Annual Meeting, describes
the results of a study that evaluated potential local funding options to
help finance public transit improvements. It evaluates seventeen options
according to eight criteria, a somewhat larger set of options and more
systematic evaluation than most previous studies of this type. Each option
has disadvantages and constraints. As a result, the overall conclusion of
this study is that a variety of funding options should be used to help
finance the local share of public transit improvements to insure stability
and distribute costs broadly.



"Safer Than You Think! Revising the Transit Safety Narrative"
(http://www.vtpi.org/safer.pdf )

Public transportation is a safe form of travel. Total per capita traffic
casualties tend to decline as public transit travel increases in a
community. However, many people have the misimpression that transit is
dangerous, and so are reluctant to use it or support transit service
expansion in their communities. Various factors contribute to this excessive
and irrational fear, including conventional traffic safety messages, heavy
media coverage of transit-related crashes and crimes, and the nature of
public transit, which requires travel with strangers in confined spaces.
There is much that public transit agencies can do to change the narrative to
emphasize the overall safety of public transit travel, to improve
passengers� sense of security, and to provide better guidance concerning how
passengers and communities can enhance public transport safety and security.



"Smart Congestion Relief: Comprehensive Analysis Of Traffic Congestion Costs
and Congestion Reduction Benefits" (http://www.vtpi.org/cong_relief.pdf )

This report critically evaluates the methods used to measure traffic
congestion impacts, and applies a more comprehensive evaluation framework to
various congestion reduction strategies. Current evaluation methods tend to
exaggerate congestion costs and roadway expansion benefits, and
underestimate the overall long-term impacts and benefits of pricing reforms,
public transit improvements and land use policy reforms. The results
indicate that more comprehensive evaluation can help identify more efficient
and equitable congestion reduction solutions.

                  *    *    *    *    *



UPDATED DOCUMENTS

=================

Below are recently updated VTPI documents.



�If Health Matters: Integrating Public Health Objectives in Transportation
Planning� (http://www.vtpi.org/health.pdf)

This report investigates various ways that transportation planning decisions
affect public health, and how planning practices can better incorporate
public health objectives. Conventional planning tends to consider some
public health impacts, particularly traffic accident risks and pollution
emissions measured per vehicle-kilometer, but generally ignores the
additional accidents and pollution emissions caused by increased vehicle
mileage, and health problems resulting from less active transport (reduced
walking and cycling activity). This tends to undervalue strategies that
reduce total vehicle travel and increase transport system diversity. This
study identifies various �win-win� strategies that help improve public
health and achieve other planning objectives.

                  *    *    *    *    *



PUBLISHED ELSEWHERE

===================

�Changing North American Vehicle-Travel Price Sensitivities: Implications
For Transport And Energy Policy� (
<http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2012.06.010>
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2012.06.010), published in �Transport
Policy�.

There is a growing interest in transportation pricing reforms to help
achieve various policy objectives including reduced traffic congestion,
accidents and pollution emissions. Their effectiveness is affected by the
price sensitivity of vehicle fuel consumption and travel, measured as
elasticities (percentage change in consumption caused by a percentage change
in price). Lower elasticities imply that price reforms are relatively
ineffective at achieving objectives, high prices significantly harm
consumers, and rebound effects are small so strategies that increase vehicle
fuel efficiency are relatively effective at conserving fuel. Higher
elasticities imply that price reforms are relatively effective, consumers
can respond relatively easily, and rebound effects are relatively large.
Some studies found that US price elasticities declined during the last
quarter of the Twentieth Century but recent evidence suggests that vehicle
travel has since become more price sensitive. This article examines evidence
of changing vehicle fuel and travel elasticities, and discusses policy
implications. This article is based on the longer report, "Changing Vehicle
Travel Price Sensitivities: The Rebounding Rebound Effect"
(http://www.vtpi.org/VMT_Elasticities.pdf ).



"Reducing Carbon Emissions through TDM Strategies - A Review of
International Examples" for Transportation Demand Management in Beijing
(http://tdm-beijing.org/files/International_Review_Executive_Summary.pdf )
for Transport Demand Management in Beijing � Emission Reduction in Urban
Transport (http://www.tdm-beijing.org ). This report discusses promising TDM
options for Chinese cities. It describes international examples of effective
transport policy reforms including London, Singapore, New York, Berlin,
Seoul, San Francisco and others.



"Transforming Urban Mobility In Mexico: Towards Accessible Cities Less
Reliant on Cars" Institute for Transportation and Development Policy"
(http://mexico.itdp.org/wp-content/uploads/Transforming-Urban-Mobility-in-Me
xico.pdf ).

This study was conducted by the Institute for Transportation and Development
Policy M�xico with support from the British Embassy in Mexico and the UK
Prosperity Fund. It hopes to promote the development of sustainable cities
and thereby increase quality of life for its inhabitants.



"Regional Transit Local Funding Options - Draft Technical Analysis"

(http://www.crd.bc.ca/regionalplanning/transportation/documents/CRD_LocalTra
nsitFundingOptionsReport_18June2012-web.pdf )

This report describes the results of a study commissioned by the Victoria
Regional Transit Commission to identify and evaluate potential local funding
options to help finance major public transit improvements in the Capital
Regional District. This research included literature reviews, public surveys
and focus groups, and analysis.



"Transport, The Environment And Public Health: Classic Papers On
Non-Motorised Travel" (
<http://www.e-elgar.com/bookentry_main.lasso?currency=US&id=14642>
http://www.e-elgar.com/bookentry_main.lasso?currency=US&id=14642)

This book edited by Stephen P. Greaves and Jan Garrard includes Todd
Litman�s report, "The Economic Value of Walkability"
(http://www.vtpi.org/walkability.pdf ).



"What's It Worth? Comprehensive Evaluation of Bicycling Benefits"
(http://www.vtpi.org/velocity2012.pdf ), presentation at the VeloCity
Conference in Vancouver.



"What solutions to curb congestion in emerging countries? � Comments" (
<http://ecomobility.tv/forums/topic/what-solutions-to-curb-congestion-in-eme
rging-countries?replies=2#post-426>
http://ecomobility.tv/forums/topic/what-solutions-to-curb-congestion-in-emer
ging-countries?replies=2#post-426 )



Recent Planetizen Blogs ( <http://www.planetizen.com/blog/2394>
http://www.planetizen.com/blog/2394 ):

'Be Careful With Statistics' (http://www.planetizen.com/node/58169 )

'Land-Use Regulation, Income Inequality and Smart Growth'
(http://www.planetizen.com/node/57754 )

'The Ecological Value of Lawns' (http://www.planetizen.com/node/57354 )

'New Understanding of Traffic Congestion'
(http://www.planetizen.com/node/57017 )



Let�s be friends.  Todd Litman regularly posts on his Facebook page (
<http://www.facebook.com/todd.litman> http://www.facebook.com/todd.litman).
Befriend him now!

                  *    *    *    *    *



BEEN THERE, DONE THAT

========================

VeloVillage Conference  presentation
(http://www.scribd.com/doc/99751654/Win-Win-Strategies-for-Healthier-Communi
ties ) and video

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB1ZIr650G0&feature=youtu.be ).



USEFUL RESOURCES

=================

"Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities"
(http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/167122.aspx ) Chapter 16 of TCRP Report 95
of "Traveler Response to Transportation System Changes." This 500-plus page
report discusses the transportation and health impacts that result from
various types of non-motorized transportation improvements and programs,
including sidewalks, bicycle boulevards, regional path and bikeway systems
and marketing. Impacts are quantified to the extent possible, and the report
includes extensive references, photos and a set of PowerPoint slides.



"Collection of Cycle Concepts"
(http://www.cycling-embassy.dk/2012/05/10/cycle-concepts2012 ). This
attractive book by the Cycling Embassy of Denmark provides extensive
information on how to improve cycling.



"TR News" (http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/167474.aspx ) May-June issue is
devoted walking and cycling issues

"Best Design Practices for Walking and Bicycling in Michigan"
(www.michigan.gov/documents/mdot/MDOT_Research_Report_RC1572_Part6_387521_7.
pdf ). This report provides guidance in the design of nonmotorized
improvements that have been shown to reduce crashes. A summary matrix is
provided that provides a general comparison of the potential crash
reduction, potential mobility impacts, and cost of each best practice.



"Valuation Of Travel Time Savings In Bicycle Trips"
(http://www.vti.se/en/publications/valuation-of-travel-time-savings-in-bicyc
le-trips ). This study indicates that many people value walking or cycling
for enjoyment and exercise and so will choose these modes even if they take
longer than driving.



"2010 Bike Commuting Data" ( <http://www.bikeleague.org/news/acs2010.php>
http://www.bikeleague.org/news/acs2010.php )

uses data from the 70 U.S. cities largest cities to show that communities
which have improved bicycling conditions have experienced increased bicycle
transportation.



"Creating Walkable and Bikeable Communities: A User Guide to Developing
Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plans"
(http://www.ibpi.usp.pdx.edu/media/IBPI%20Master%20Plan%20Handbook%20FINAL%2
0(7.27.12).pdf ) by Portland State University�s Center for Transportation
Studies is designed to help communities strategically plan for bicycle and
pedestrian transportation.



"Urban Bikeway Design Guide" (http://www.c4cguide.org ) by the National
Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) is a toolkit for
designing safer streets for bicyclists published.



"Good For Busine$$ - The Benefits Of Making Streets More Walking And Cycling
Friendly"
(http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/GoodforBusinessFI
NAL_Nov.pdf ). This discussion paper by Rodney Tolley explores the benefits
to retailers, residents and councils of improving walking and cycling
conditions, based on international case studies.



"Complete Streets: Policy Analysis 2011"
(http://www.completestreets.org/webdocs/resources/cs-policyanalysis.pdf )

summarizes more than 350 complete streets policies approved by communities
across the United States and identifies best practices.



"Local Policies And Practices That Support Safe Pedestrian Environments; A
Synthesis Of Highway Practice"
(http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/nchrp_syn_436.pdf ) describes
the regulatory, administrative, and financial tools used to provide safe
pedestrian environments.



"Bicycle Road Safety Audit Guidelines and Prompt Lists" (
<http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/tools_solve/fhwasa12018/fhwasa12018.pdf
>
http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/tools_solve/fhwasa12018/fhwasa12018.pdf
) by the Federal Highway Administration Office of Safety provides
information on principles of the safety of cyclists and potential issues
affecting cyclists.



"Amenity or Necessity? Street Standards as Parking Policy"
(http://transweb.sjsu.edu/PDFs/research/1001-2-street-standards-street-width
-parking-policy-investigation.pdf ) concludes that requiring wide
residential streets to provide on-street parking is not justified for
safety, nor by consumer demands since many households would not choose to
pay for parking if it were unbundled, and so represents a hidden subsidy of
automobile ownership and use.



"SF Better Streets" (http://www.sfbetterstreets.org ) provides information
for residents on how to improve street designs and maintenance.



"Operations Benefit/Cost Analysis Desk Reference"
(www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/fhwahop12028/fhwahop12028.pdf ) by the
U.S. Federal Highway Administration includes basic background information on
benefit/cost analysis, including basic terminology and concepts, intended to
support the needs of practitioners just getting started with B/C analysis,
who may be unfamiliar with the general process.



"Walkability Workbook" (
<http://www.walklive.org/project/walkability-workbook/>
http://www.walklive.org/project/walkability-workbook) is a set of documents
and slideshows that provide everything needed to organize community
walkability workshops and conducting walkability audits, developed by the
Walkable and Livable Communities Institute.



"Better Urban Mobility in Developing Countries: Problems, Solutions and Good
Practices" (http://www.uitp.org/publications/brochures/Dev-Countries-uk.pdf
)

This brochure, provides concrete solutions and good practices for more
efficient transportation management in developing countries.



"World�s Largest Development Banks pledge $175 Billion for the Creation of
More Sustainable Transport"
(http://www.itdp.org/news/worlds-largest-development-banks-pledge-175-billio
n-for-the-creation-of-mor ) provides good news for anybody who wants to see
more efficient and equitable transport systems in developing countries.
Thanks to efforts by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy
(ITDP), the eight largest development banks have pledged $175 Billon to
support more sustainable transport worldwide.



"International Fuel Prices 2010/2011"
(http://www.giz.de/Themen/en/dokumente/giz-en-IFP2010.pdf ) by
<http://www.giz.de/fuelprices> www.giz.de/fuelprices , provides an overview
of the retail prices of gasoline and diesel in over 170 countries.



"ITDP: End Fossil Fuel Subsidies, Promote Sustainable Development"
(http://www.itdp.org/news/end-fossil-fuel-subsidies-promote-sustainable-deve
lopment and http://priceofoil.org/fossil-fuel-subsidies/international ) and
"Implementing Energy Subsidy Reforms : An Overview Of The Key Issues"
(http://go.worldbank.org/5QBSGWMK60 ) discuss how and why to reduce
government subsidies of gasoline and diesel fuels.

"IMF: Environmental Tax Reform: Principles from Theory and Practice to Date"
(http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.aspx?sk=26049.0 ) by the
International Monetary Fund recommends a system of upstream taxes on fossil
fuels, combined with refunds for downstream emissions capture, to
internalize costs and reduce carbon and local pollution emissions.



"How Much Do Drivers Pay For A Quicker Commute? New Evidence Suggests That
It's Less Than We Think"
(http://daily.sightline.org/2012/08/01/how-much-do-drivers-pay-for-a-quicker
-commute ), the latest column in the Sightline Institute's, "Dude: Where Are
My Cars?" (http://daily.sightline.org/blog_series/dude-where-are-my-cars)
indicates that even modest tolls tend to significantly reduce vehicle trips.
This is consistent with my study, "Changing Vehicle Travel Price
Sensitivities: The Rebounding Rebound Effect"
(http://www.vtpi.org/VMT_Elasticities.pdf ).



"Traffic Forecasts Ignoring Induced Demand: a Shaky Fundament for
Cost-Benefit Analyses"
(http://www.ejtir.tbm.tudelft.nl/issues/2012_03/pdf/2012_03_02.pdf ). shows
that ignoring induced vehicle traffic significantly affects cost-benefit
results.



"TOD 205 - Families and Transit-Oriented Development: Creating Complete
Communities for All"
(http://reconnectingamerica.org/assets/PDFs/20120620TODandFamiliesfinal.pdf
).



"Methodology for Determining the Economic Development Impacts of Transit
Projects" (http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/tcrp/tcrp_w56.pdf )
investigates the productivity increases associated with agglomeration
economies, economies of scale and density, caused by transit improvements.



"Residential On-Site Carsharing And Off-Street Parking Policy"
(http://transweb.sjsu.edu/PDFs/research/1001-1-residential-carsharing-offstr
eet-parking-policy-san-francisco.pdf ) identifies factors that affect the
success of on-site carsharing.



"Contemporary Approaches to Parking Pricing: A Primer"
(http://www.parking.org/media/129582/fhwa%20parking%20pricing%20primer.pdf )
by the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, discusses advances in parking
pricing policy, parking technology, and strategies for gaining public
acceptance for parking policy reforms.



�Impact of Parking Supply and Demand Management on Central Business District
(CBD) Traffic Congestion, Transit Performance and Sustainable Land Use
(http://www.dot.state.fl.us/research-center/Completed_Proj/Summary_TE/FDOT_B
DK77_977-07_rpt.pdf )

This Florida Department of Transportation report evaluates various parking
management strategies suitable for reducing parking problems in large city
central business districts.



"Urban Traffic Calming and Health: A Literature Review"
(http://www.ncchpp.ca/175/publications.ccnpps?id_article=686 ) examines
traffic calming effects on collisions, air quality, noise, and active
transportation.



"Sustainable Transport, Mobility Management and Travel Plans"
(http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9780754679394 ) by Professor Marcus Enoch
analyzes travel plans from various perspectives and offers specific
recommendations for policy reforms and program implementation.



"Evaluating The Fiscal Impacts Of Development, Part I - Final Report and
User�s Manual"
(http://www.costofsprawl.org/Evaluating-Fiscal-Impacts-of-Development-Part-I
.pdf ) describes the New Hampshire Cost of Sprawl Impact Model which
evaluates the financial impact on local governments related to new
development and ways to reduce costs through smart growth policies.

                  *    *    *    *    *



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 Litman
Victoria Transport Policy Institute ( <http://www.vtpi.org/> www.vtpi.org)
litman@...

facebook.com/todd.litman
Phone & Fax 250-360-1560
1250 Rudlin Street, Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, CANADA �Efficiency - Equity -
Clarity�



--------------------------------------------------------
To search the archives of sustran-discuss visit
http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=014715651517519735401:ijjtzwbu_ss

================================================================
SUSTRAN-DISCUSS is a forum devoted to discussion of people-centred,
equitable and sustainable transport with a focus on developing countries
(the 'Global South').

Hi,

I've just signed the following petition "Government of Maharashtra, Brihunmumbai Municipal Corporation: Stop the Coast Road project" and wanted to see if you could help by adding your name.

Our goal is to reach 100 signatures and we need more support. You can read more and sign the petition here:

https://www.change.org/en-IN/petitions/government-of-maharashtra-brihunmumbai-municipal-corporation-stop-the-coast-road-project

Thanks!
Rishi

Remember Yacov Zahavi of the World Bank and famous his "Travel-Time Budget"? In a nutshell it read like this: The research showed that…

a) most of the world spends about an hour a day in travel
b) most commutes are under half an hour, and
c) Families spend about 12-15% of their disposable income for mobility.

What's the point in our present discussion context?  Well, it's a question really.

 

As we talk about time spent/misspent with things that on the surface are supposed (at least in part) to be useful -- such as Twitter, Facebook, et al -- do we in fact have, individually and as groups, our own Time Budget for these kinds of "information commuting" activities.

 

From a personal point of view I may be protected because I put a high value (?!) on my personal time, to which I can add a pretty low threshold for wasting my time.  So I think personally I am OK.  Thus far.

 

But back to Zahavi, which is far more interesting than my personal case: There must be analysts who are working with this, and it would be interesting to know a bit more about them.  It can be argued that the social media are themselves a form of mobility.

 

In the meantime I muddle on and post this reflection to Facebook, Twitter and one or two other hopefully somewhat efficient places..

 

Eric Britton

    

P Avant d'imprimer, pensez à l'environnement