Citation

Hanson ME. Transp. Res. Rec. 1993; 1396: 61.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1993, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

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Abstract

Economic incentives are an important determinant of mode choice. Nonmotorized and mass transit modes are placed at a particular disadvantage in the United States and elsewhere by the subsidies provided in the form of the externalities of private motorized travel, which are not included in user fees. In addition, there are transfers at the local government level in the form of property and other taxes used to pay for roads under local jurisdiction. The nature and magnitude of these incentives for private motorized travel are described on the basis of existing literature. The literature on the social costs of highway use is limited. Few comprehensive treatments exist that attempt to include all social costs. Research on specific areas of social costs is also uneven. Some areas, such as the costs of highway crashes, are well treated (although without distinction between societal and social costs), and others, such as the costs of water pollution, are quite limited. Research recommendations are proposed to better understand these incentives and to develop economically efficient user fees that would encourage greater use of nonmotorized modes.

Record URL:
http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1993/1396/1396-012.pdf

Language: en