The rebirth of rail transit in the US over the past two decades has resulted in a rail transit’s re-emergence as an integral part of both the physical and economic landscapes of many US cities. Currently fifty-four separate rail transit systems are operated in the US (see Appendix A)....

What explains transit ridership? The answer to this simple question is both obvious and complex. Public transit systems carry large shares of person travel in older, larger metropolitan areas around the globe, but in most places – old and new, large and small – transit is losing...

Since 1923 motor fuel taxes have been the principal instrument by which revenues are raised for the construction and maintenance of the California highway system. Fuel takes are distinguished from most other taxes because they have been conceived of as a "user fee" rather than as a general tax....

Freight transportation plays a vital role in the economy of the nation and the state of California in particular. The value of total freight shipments originating in California in 1997 is estimated $638.5 billion, 10.6 percent of all US shipments by value. This represents 706.5 million tons of...

As populations and economies expand, increasing quantities of natural resources are extracted and processed, more goods are moved, more people travel, more energy is used, and more wastes are generated. One outcome is over 800 million motor vehicles operating in the world today, consuming around...

The debate over electric vehicles (EVs) pivots largely on issues of market demand: Will consumers purchase a vehicle that provides substantially less driving range, yet can be refueled at home, than an otherwise comparable gasoline vehicle? And what role do other unique attributes of EVs play in...

This study looks at the relationships among land use; the mobility of disabled and elderly recipients of public home healthcare; the mobility of their homecare workers; and how much care those homecare workers provide. The findings are based on nearly 1,300 survey responses from clients and...

In this dissertation economic values time of are estimated as a function of public transportation infrastructure. These results provide insight into the value of improvements in transportation infrastructure that can be useful to policymakers who need to consider the value of time saved when...

Traffic congestion is a classic externality, especially pervasive in urban areas. The theoretical and empirical relationships governing it have been thoroughly studied. As a result, most urban economists and a growing number of other policy analysts agree that the best policy to deal with it...

California law requires many employers to offer commuters the option to choose cash in lieu of any parking subsidy offered. This report presents case studies of eight firms that have complied with California’s cash-out requirement. For the 1,694 employees of the eight firms, the number of...