Global oil prices have risen markedly over the past 18 months, generating considerable speculation regarding their economic and social impacts. Cities that are highly dependent on petroleum for urban transport are likely to be most adversely affected by rising oil prices. Yet there has been...

How much do people with limited resources pay for cars, public transit, and other means of travel? How does their transportation behavior change during periods of falling employment and rising fuel prices? This research uses in-depth interviews with 73 adults to examine how rising transportation...

This paper investigates the level of mobility that is socially optimal, that is, the amount and mix of transport activity that consumers would choose in an efficient market that reflects the principles of efficient pricing, consumer options and optimal planning. It discusses market principles,...

Strong public and political support for mass transit in the U.S. is based on lofty goals, including congestion reduction, economic development, aesthetics, sustainability, and much more. Yet, as is the case in many areas of public policy, the pursuit of multiple and broad objectives, however...

One of the main unanswered questions in the field of urban economics is to which extent subsidies to public transit are justified. We examine one of the main benefits of public transit, a reduction in car congestion externalities, the so-called congestion relief benefit, using quasi-natural...

Public transit subsidy represents a transfer of income from taxpayers to transit users. Such transfers raise questions regarding their effects, particularly equity. Our research focuses on social equity, and concerns the distribution of transit subsidies among socio-economic groups. Accordingly,...

Universities, like other types of public and private institutions, when located in a city, have both positive and negative impacts on the area where they are situated. On the one hand, they contribute to the prestige of the area; on the other hand, they are large generators/attractors of traffic....

The provision of public transit is thought to reduce travel time losses that are due to car congestion. For this reason, it is economically justified to subsidise public transit from a welfare perspective as it creates a congestion-relief benefit. The main goal of this paper is to quantify the...

Perhaps the most disturbing trend in American public transit during the 1990s has been the alarming ridership declines among the nation's largest operators. Between 1989 and 1993, anual ridership in the nation's largest urban areas declined by 680 million passengers, almost 10 percent, while...

Perhaps the most disturbing trend in American public transit during the 1990's has been the alarming ridership declines among the nation's largest operators. Between 1989 and 1993, annual ridership in the nation's largest urban areas declined by 680 million passengers, almost 10 percent, while...