The Selfish Automobile

A good overview of the cost of cars in terms of money, space, and time at Planetizen. Transportation costs are already unaffordable (>20% of household income) for the lowest income 40% of the US, and drivers only pay a minority of automotive costs directly.  Over the last half of the 20th century, the proportion of household income dedicated to transportation doubled.  Cars use ~20x as much spacetime (s*m^2) as bikes for the same commute, and ~200x as much as a pedestrian.  Interestingly the direct car costs mentioned are only about half what AAA estimates ($4100 vs. $8500 per year).

Do Roads Pay for Themselves?

A study from the US Public Research Interest Group (PDF) on transportation funding the US.  The short answer is that only about half of highway funds come from “user fees” like the gas tax and vehicle registration fees.  The rest is payed out of bonds, property taxes and other government revenues.

Whose Roads?

A summary of research looking at how road infrastructure is funded (PDF) from VTPI.  Only about half of road funding comes from “use” fees like the gas tax and vehicle registration fees.  The other half comes from general tax revenues.  Ultimately this means that non-motorized road users, whose impacts on road infrastructure are very low, overpay significantly and end up subsidizing motorists.

Links for the week of November 28th, 2009

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Continue reading Links for the week of November 28th, 2009

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