City Economics - Congestion and Mass Transit

City Economics

Congestion and Mass Transit

We know that at certain times of day, traffic is horrible. This is because there are too many drivers trying to use the same stretch of road. These two chapters address different ways to manage congestion. Chapter 4 talks a lot about congestion pricing. Some cities, such as New York have actually tried to implement this.  This article in the "Gothamist" (Links to an external site.)  tries to address arguments against congestion pricing in New York. Chapter 5 explores how and if mass transit can alleviate congestion.

Chapter 4: Congestion

Costs of Congestion

· Waiting costs

· Schedule-delay costs

· Equilibrium

Approaches to Congestion

· Come as you please

· Reservations

· Congestion Pricing

· Pigouvian Taxes

· Transfers

· Optimal toll for drivers of different incomes

· Consumer surplus

· Expansion of road capacity and Downs’ Law of Peak-Hour Expressway Congestion

 

Chapter 5: Mass Transit

Tradeoff between scheduling costs and capacity

Why mass transit works best for low-income people

Density and mass transit

BART study

MARTA study

Gregariousness

Congestion pricing with mass transit fares

· Four conditions for optimal fares

· Second best reasoning

Governance

· Private versus public mass transit (Great Britain)

· Schedule jockeying, route swamping and curb rights

· Inefficient taxes and deadweight losses