The net incidence of transit subsidies: a case study

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the net incidence of government subsidies to a transit system (i.e., the net impact of who pays and who benefits from transit subsidies). Rather than considering the U.S. transit subsidy program in the aggregate, the net incidence of subsidies to a particular transit system — Tidewater Regional Transit (TRT) — is analyzed. The paper concludes that the net incidence of the TRT subsidy program is progressive. Furthermore, the paper provides a methodology that can be used for investigating the net incidence of government subsidies to other transit systems.     

Productivity and returns to scale of container ports

This is an empirical analysis of the performance of the five major container ports of the East Coast of the United States: Boston, New York-New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Hampton Roads. The data through 1978 indicate wide disparities in the productivity of these facilities. They also suggest that container ports exhibit significant returns to scale throughout the range of observation, that is up to 15 Mt a Year. These findings indicate that a national policy of developing small ports is not economically attractive, and that specific investments should be made most carefully.     

The Wheel Shimmy Problem: Its Relationship to Wheel and Road Irregularities

The equations of motion are derived for a single wheel steerable pneumatic tire system. Included in this system are a built-in wheel wobble and wheel-tire irregularities which produce oscillation of the normal load. Special emphasis is placed on the dynamic characterization of the tire cornering force and aligning torque. The results show that the built-in wheel wobble causes a steady shimmy which is large when the wheel rotation frequency is close to the natural shimmy frequency. The results also show that a normal load oscillation which has a frequency approximately twice the natural shimmy frequency causes a decrease in shimmy stability.     

Communication innovations,urban form and travel demand: Some hypotheses and a bibliography

Hypotheses are developed about the effects of telecommunication advances on urban growth patterns and urban travel demands. It is suggested that CBD (central business district) office employment might decentralize if telecommunications could effectively substitute for short inter-office business trips and that job decentralization would alter journey-to-work patterns and the viability of certain public transit systems. Major research questions are raised and keyed to an extensive bibliography.     

Assessing communicative rationality as a transportation planning paradigm

Communicative rationality offers a new paradigm for transportation planning. Drawing on the literature and lessons from transportation planning practice, this paper describes the characteristics of a “communicative” form of transportation planning and compares them with conventional practices. A communicative rationality paradigm would place language and discourse at the core of transportation planning. The paper argues that it would lead to greater attention to desired transportation ends (goals), better integration of means and ends, new forms of participation and learning, and enhanced deliberative capacity. The paper explains the implications of this paradigm for the role of the transportation planner, the purpose of planning, the planning process, communicative practices, problem framing, and the nature of planning analysis. The paper concludes with an assessment of communicative rationality's ability to promote more effective transportation planning. It seeks to create a dialogue that will support the investigation of new transportation planning processes. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Running for the 7:45: The effects of public transit improvements on commuter stress

This research project took advantage of the implementation of a major mass transit improvement by New Jersey Transit which provided a "one-seat ride" into New York City for many commuters who previously had to transfer in Hoboken in order to take Port Authority Trans Hudson (PATH) trains into New York City. The creation of this new service provided a natural experiment in which some riders switched to the new route, while others continued to use their previous route. We studied psychological and psychophysiological responses to these commuting options, using a quasi-experimental, pre-post change, field research design.We found that riders on this new line had lower levels of stress, as multiply measured, than they had earlier, before the advent of this new train, or than did other riders currently using the Hoboken-PATH option. The stress effects seemed to be mediated by the time of the trip – that is, the reduced trip time of the new, direct service seemed to be a primary factor in the reduced stress to riders. Predictability of the trip was also inversely correlated with stress, but did not distinguish between the commuter groups. These results were largely replicated with a student group who rode the same lines acting as simulated commuters.     

Parking subsidies and travel choices: Assessing the evidence

This article reviews empirical studies of how employer-paid parking affects employees' travel choices. A strong effect is found: parking subsidies greatly increase solo driving. When employers reduce or remove parking subsidies, a significant number of solo drivers shift to carpools and/or transit. This conclusion is based on studies of parking subsidies in a variety of circumstances, including central city and suburban areas, private and public employers, and clerical and professional employees. Three measures are developed to compare changes in commute patterns: changes in the share of solo drivers. changes in the number of autos driven to work per 100 employees, and the parking price elasticity of demand for solo driving. The studies reviewed here show that 19 to 81 percent fewer employees drive to work alone when they pay for their own parking. Because 90 percent of American commuters who drive to work receive employer-paid parking, these findings are significant for designing transportation policies to reduce air pollution, traffic congestion, and energy consumption.