Heavy goods vehicle taxation in the United Kingdom

Heavy goods vehicle taxation has been the subject of considerable debate in U.K. over the past 15 years. There have been a number of attempts to relate the taxes paid by heavy goods vehicles to the public costs incurred to provide road track for their use. This paper reviews critically the position taken in the last public account of allocation procedures and also outlines recent modifications to the approach. It is suggested that the allocation of public costs is sensitive to some of the assumptions made and that this may result in an over-estimation of the costs associated with road haulage activities. A number of comparative calculations are made using data from both 1975/76 and more recent years to examine this hypothesis.     

Road-pricing attempts in the United States

This paper focuses on the attempts which have been made to introduce road pricing in the United States. It considers the reasons why such attempts have failed to progress beyond the discussion stage, looking in particular at the political and institutional problems of implementation. The practicality of fiscal restraint policies tied to parking charges is considered as an alternative. Finally, consideration is given to ways of circumventing some of the major problems standing in the way of implementing fiscal traffic-restraint policies and the role the federal administration can play in policy formulation.     

The growing gap in pedestrian and cyclist fatality rates between the United States and the United Kingdom,Germany, Denmark,and the Netherlands, 1990–2018

ABSTRACT

Using official national data for each country, this article calculates trends in walking and cycling fatalities per capita and per km in the USA, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark. From 1990 to 2018, pedestrian fatalities per capita fell by 23% in the USA vs. 66%–80% in the other countries; cyclist fatalities per capita fell by 22% in the USA vs. 55%–68% in the other countries. In 2018, pedestrian fatality rates per km in the USA were 5–10 times higher than in the other four countries; cyclist fatality rates per km in the USA were 4–7 times higher. The gap in walking and cycling fatality rates between the USA and the other countries increased over the entire 28-year period, but especially from 2010 to 2018. Over that 8-year period, per-capita fatality rates in the USA rose by 19% for pedestrians and 11% for cyclists; per-km fatality rates rose by 17% for pedestrians and 33% for cyclists. By comparison, fatality rates either fell or remained stable in the four European countries. We reviewed the relevant literature to identify factors that might help explain the much lower walking and cycling fatality rates in Europe compared to the USA. Possible explanatory factors include better walking and cycling infrastructure; lower urban speed limits; fewer vehicle km travelled; smaller and less powerful personal motor vehicles; and better traffic training, testing, and enforcement of traffic regulations. We recommend that the USA consider implementing an integrated package of mutually reinforcing safety measures such as those that have been successfully implemented in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany to reduce pedestrian and cyclist fatality rates.     

Transportation education in the United States

Abstract

In the last decade the importance of attitude‐related residential self‐selection has frequently been recognized. In addition people can theoretically self‐select them with respect to other location choices, such as job locations, with respect to travel behaviour, or with respect to the exposure to transport externalities such as noise and congestion. In this paper, we argue that insights into self‐selection processes might significantly improve our knowledge on location choices, travel behaviour and transport externalities. We elaborate on options for self‐selection and briefly formulate methodologies for research into self‐selection.     

Commercialising the management and maintenance of trunk roads in the United Kingdom

Public funding of new infrastructure from money raised through taxes or borrowing has been questioned globally in recent years. One alternative solution has been to finance major capital projects through Build, Operate & Transfer (BOT) schemes. In the United Kingdom, the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) has become established as the procurement method of choice for many projects and services in central and local government. It is a natural development of other changes in government administration which have been introduced over the past few years. Projects delivered in this way enable government to become a buyer of services on behalf of the public rather than a direct provider of those services to the public, taking advantage of private sector management skills and resources in their delivery. The PFI has demonstrated its ability to deliver value for money solutions in projects across a range of capital-intensive public services, but the greatest success in delivering projects has been in the transport sector. This paper outlines how the British Government's Highways Agency has restructured and commercialised the management and maintenance of the strategic road network for which it is responsible, and how it has been at the forefront of developing successful privately financed projects. The paper explains the Agency's particular version of BOT – Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) projects. These projects are delivering new and improved road construction and maintenance, providing better services to users of the country's strategic road network and achieving significant value for money savings for taxpayers.     

对美国几个城市地铁和水下隧道的观感

文章通过对美国地下空间的实地考察,扼要地介绍了两点内容(1)结合城市建设,修建地下铁道;(2)立足战备,修建水下隧道.这些内容可供我国开发地下空间时参考.     

Taxicab operating characteristics in the United States

In 1982, a national survey of U.S. taxicab operators was conducted. This survey sought to assess the economic, operational and organizational status of the industry and to determine how these characteristics have been changing in response to rising costs and an economic recession. Two results of this survey are reported in this paper; the size structure and the organization of the industry. Both of these characteristics show that it has recently been undergoing two fundamental changes. These are the rapid switch away from employees as drivers to independent contractor drivers and decreasing average company size.     

Light rail transit in the United States

In recent years interest in light rail transit has grown substantially in the United States. The concept of LRT is increasingly viewed as a possible answer to the search for a less costly rail transit technology that could reduce America's dependency on the private automobile and put the country on the road to a more secure, self-sufficient energy future. The paper reviews recent LRT developments in four American cities, two of which have undertaken to rehabilitate and upgrade their existing surface street railway systems, and the other two have embarked upon construction of entirely new light rail systems.     

Mass transportation needs and financing in the United States

The U.S. Department of Transportation (1974) recently completed a comprehensive study of mass transportation needs and methods for financing these needs. Using information from the 1974 National Transportation Study, the study determined the level of capital and operating funds that would be required to implement the 1972–90 long-range plans and 1972–80 short-range programs of the states and urbanized areas. It then analyzed various funding mechanisms at state and local levels for financing their portions of these plans and programs.It was found that urban areas, in general, not only plan to stabilize transit fares in the face of rising costs, but also intend to put $ 23.6 billion into capital investments through 1980 and an additional $ 34.6 billion through 1990. Of the total $ 58.2 billion in capital expenditures by 1990, 63% would be expended by the nine largest urbanized areas; 27.8% by the New York area alone. Rail transit and commuter railroad costs would account for 90% of the nine largest urbanized areas.States and localities would be able to carry the financial burden of mass transportation improvements, even if the proposed 1980 programs were implemented in their entirety, given current levels of Federal assistance. However, there would have to be a substantial financial commitment from the states and localities and some hard decisions made by them about public expenditure priorities, fare policies, and taxation levels, and policies to discourage automobile usage. This underscores the need for careful review of their overall plans and programs by state and local officials before making financial commitments.     

A carbon footprint analysis of railway sleepers in the United Kingdom

This paper provides an assessment of the lifecycle Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions associated with the four most common sleeper (railroad tie or cross-tie in North America) types present in the UK rail network. It estimates the embodied material, process and transport emissions linked with the lifecycle activities of construction, relay/renewal and end-of-life of these variants at low and high traffic tonnage. The analysis suggests that at low traffic loads, the softwood sleepers perform the best over the whole simulated-period. At high traffic loads, the concrete sleepers outperform all other variants in terms of lifecycle CO₂e emissions, followed by hardwood, softwood and steel. Regardless of the scenario examined, the steel sleepers perform the worst due to the carbon intensive nature of their manufacturing process. This performance gap is amplified at high traffic loads, as their service life is excessively compromised. The analysis reveals that the end-of-life pathway of timber is a critical determinant of its footprint. Results suggest that the impact of disposing of these sleepers results in their footprint being magnified. Nevertheless, if a minimum of 50% follows the combustion pathway with subsequent heat recuperation, then a GHG reduction potential of between 11% and 18% of their footprint is feasible. From a whole-lifecycle cost lens, for higher tonnage routes, the choice of concrete sleepers results in considerable financial savings. If the infrastructure manager was to install sleepers with stiff under sleeper pads (USPs), it may achieve additional economic and GHG savings, with potential for increasing the latter using recycled carbon-neutral USPs.     

Consideration of high-speed rail service in the United States

A number of states have placed high-speed rail service on their institutional agendas in recent years. Analysis of why some states have been giving serious consideration to the possibility of high-speed rail service while other states have not examined economic and political forces, as well as the transportation problem environment and established transportation commitments. States paying serious attention to high-speed rail service tend to have large populations and large land areas, two of the most fundamental aspects of the transportation task environment.     

美国公路公示速度的种类及特点

文章重点介绍了美国公路的公示速度概念和种类、基本速度原则及超速范围,分析了提高公示速度的原因,并针对美国公路公示速度的特点,探讨了中美两国在公路设计速度、设计理念和公示速度管理方式上的差别,同时提出了美国公路公示速度的借鉴学习要点。     

Joint development at transit stations in the United States

Joint development, as the term is generally used in connection with transit systems in the United States, is real estate development that is closely linked to public transportation services and station facilities, and takes advantage of the market and locational advantages provided by them. Research conducted by LEK Associates for the Urban Mass Transportation Administration (UMTA) suggests that, in addition to helping shape urban growth and land development, joint development is also a surprisingly effective means of increasing transit system ridership and farebox revenues, as well as a source of increasingly significant revenues from the sale or lease of air rights.The completion of nine joint development projects in as many different cities, started under the former Urban Initiatives Program, for example, net additional annual ridership might reach 12000000 one-way trips. Net additional annual farebox revenues might reach over $9000000. This added revenue would be sufficient to repay the $62 million combined UMTA/transit operator investment in the nine projects, exclusive of the costs of the basic transit system improvements around which the projects are planned, in less than six years.Among transit authority-administered joint development programs examined in a separate study, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has had the most success in generating significant value capture income. For example, the cumulative revenue realized by WMATA from just six joint development projects in the Washington, DC region, through September 1983 exceeded $ 6.9 million. Projections through fiscal year 1986 indicate cumulative revenues approximating $ 28 million will be received from developer leases.     

Local organization of transportation planning activities in the United States

This study provided an examination of the alternative means used by Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) to carry out transportation planning activities in different areas of the U.S.A. This has been done by first developing a general profile of the nature and functions of the MPOs in the 100 largest regions in the U.S. and by an in‐depth analysis of seven regions. The purpose of these activities was to examine similarities and differences between MPOs and to identify factors that appear to lead to the effectiveness or non‐effectiveness of MPOs in different areas. From the analysis, it is evident that there are wide differences between MPOs in their organization, function, and degree of effectiveness in carrying out transportation planning. These differences do not appear to be related to any structural characteristics of MPOs, but rather are the result of past history and the attitudes of people involved.     

The cost of general aviation accidents in the United States

Very few studies examine the costs associated with general aviation accidents. Given the large number of general aviation operations as well as the large number of fatalities and injuries attributed to general aviation accidents in the United States, understanding the costs to society is of great importance. This study estimates the costs associated with general aviation accidents in the United States. The direct costs are estimated and the indirect costs are estimated via the human capital approach in addition to the willingness-to-pay approach. The average annual accident costs attributed to general aviation are found to be $1.64 billion and $4.64 billion (2011 US$) utilizing the human capital approach and willingness-to-pay approach, respectively. These values appear to be fairly robust when subjected to a sensitivity analysis.     

Energy efficiency,technological change and the dieselization of agriculture in the United States

This study focuses on the increase in the relative importance of diesel fuel consumption on farms in the United States over the 1971–1989 period. Four factors are identified as being central to the observed trend. These include the relative efficiency of diesel powered equipment versus gasoline powered equipment, technological changes that have impacted energy efficiency, the trend towards larger farms, and the enhanced energy conservation by farmers as a result of the adoption of reduced tillage practices.     

Evaluating the efficiency of the Essential Air Service program in the United States

Essential Air Service (EAS) is a federally funded program in the United States that provides connecting, commercial air service between rural communities and their nearest large or medium commercial hub airport. During fiscal year 2010, $170 million dollars were spent to provide this service to 107 communities in the US. However, with significant variations in subsidies to each airport (ranging from $427,757 to $3,082,403) and marked differences in passengers served, there are serious concerns regarding the overall efficiency of the EAS program. The purpose of this paper is to use data envelopment analysis integrated in a geographic information system for evaluating service efficiencies at the community level. Policy implications and strategies to improve the EAS program are discussed.