Transportation Policy & Planning – Page 6

THE ACCESS ALMANAC: Auto Insurance Redlining In The Inner City

Paul Ong

One of the most controversial issues related to automobile insurance is the accusation of “redlining,” or charging higher premiums in low-income, minority neighborhoods. Insurance companies base premiums on accident rates, which are higher in some neighborhoods. However, why those neighborhoods experience higher risks may not be part of the equation. Traffic volumes vary across the urban landscape. Some areas are exposed to disproportionately high levels of externally generated trips. These increase accident frequencies in those areas, exposing local residents to higher-than-average chances of involvement in a crash. Insurance companies compensate for the higher accident rate by charging residents higher insurance premiums.

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2017-05-30T22:32:22+00:00Categories: ACCESS 25, Fall 2004|Tags: Equity in Transportation, Transportation Policy & Planning|

Keeping Children Safe in Cars

Jill Cooper

Child-safety seats baffle parents, even the most technologically oriented and safety-conscious ones. Selecting the right seat is complicated because seat types change as a child grows. Seats and harnesses must be assembled and installed in the car, and that can be tricky or nearly impossible depending on the car’s age and model. Finally, securing a child in the seat can be challenging, even if she cooperates. If the child is sleeping, wiggly, or impatient, it can be extremely trying. Securing the child and, for some, installing the seat may be repeated several times a day.

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2017-05-30T22:33:05+00:00Categories: ACCESS 24, Spring 2004|Tags: Transportation Policy & Planning, Transportation Safety|

Director’s Report: The University of California Transportation Center: 15 Years of Accomplishment

Elizabeth Deakin

UCTC has just turned fifteen; so it seems an appropriate time to assess our accomplishments. Clearly, our most important products have been transportation professionals. We’ve supported over a thousand students, nearly all of them now working for state and local transportation agencies and as transportation specialists in the private sector. We’ve helped educate over a hundred PhDs, many of whom are now transportation faculty members at universities across the US. And we’ve sponsored several dozen conferences, training sessions, and seminars for practicing professionals here in California and beyond.

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2017-05-30T22:44:56+00:00Categories: ACCESS 23, Fall 2003|Tags: Planning History, Transportation Policy & Planning|

Trends And Policy Choices: A Research Agenda

Elizabeth Deakin

The US faces significant challenges in transportation as its population grows and as it adapts its lifestyles to new technologies. Well-planned research will shed light on the issues while helping transportation systems contribute to a more productive economy, a stable and high-quality environment, and high quality of life.

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2017-05-30T22:45:59+00:00Categories: ACCESS 23, Fall 2003|Tags: Transportation Policy & Planning|

THE ACCESS ALMANAC: Transportation Costs And Economic Opportunity Among The Poor

Evelyn Blumenberg

A widely cited report says transportation costs are increasing and comprise a much larger share of expenditures in lower-than in higher-income households. The report, Transportation Costs and the American Dream, published by the Surface Transportation Policy Project in 2001, blames automobiles and says that rising transportation costs are hindering home ownership. However, the facts do not support this conclusion. Expenditure data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s (BLS) Consumer Expenditure Survey reveal that low-income households actually spend slightly less than high-income households on transportation, a pattern that has held since the early 1980s. Figure 1 shows the distribution of expenditures for all households and compares them with households in the bottom income quintile. The graph shows transportation expenses are, indeed, a significant expenditure for everyone, but that low-income households spend a slightly smaller percentage on transportation than all households (and a higher percentage on housing).

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2017-05-30T22:46:12+00:00Categories: ACCESS 23, Fall 2003|Tags: Equity in Transportation, Jobs‚ Economy‚ and Transportation, Transportation Policy & Planning|

Are SUVs Really Safer Than Cars?

Tom Wenzel and Marc Ross

Last spring's Senate hearings on Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards made much about the increased risk Americans would face if forced to give up their SUVs for vehicles that weigh less. To find out whether that risk is real, and whether SUVs really are safer than cars, as some have alleged, we analyzed highway fatality data. Our findings came as a surprise. Suv 2We focused on “driver death rates,” a concept of risk developed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. However, our analysis differs from the Institute’s in two important ways. First, we examine risk not only to drivers of vehicles of a particular type, but also to drivers of vehicles that crash with that vehicle type. Second, we limit our study to recent models having sold enough vehicles to permit statistical analysis.

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2022-10-11T19:36:40+00:00Categories: ACCESS 21, Fall 2002|Tags: Transportation Policy & Planning, Transportation Safety|

Rethinking Traffic Congestion

Brian D. Taylor

Traffic congestion and cities, it seems, go hand in hand. Everyone complains about being stuck in traffic; but, like the weather, no one seems to do anything about it. In particular, traffic engineers, transportation planners, and public officials responsible for metropolitan transportation systems are frequently criticized for failing to make a dent in congestion. But is traffic congestion a sign of failure? Long queues at restaurants or theater box offices are seen as signs of success. Should transportation systems be viewed any differently? I think we should recognize that traffic congestion is an inevitable by-product of vibrant, successful cities, and view the “congestion problem” in a different light.

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2017-05-30T22:49:14+00:00Categories: ACCESS 21, Fall 2002|Tags: Congestion, Transportation Policy & Planning|

Complications At Off-Ramps

Michael Cassidy

You're driving along the freeway when suddenly everything slows down. A crash? A sudden overload of cars joining the freeway from on-ramps up ahead? Maybe. Sometimes the cause never reveals itself to you—inexplicably, everything just starts moving again. If this happens every day in the same spot, you may develop a theory or two as to why it happens. Would it occur to you that the congestion might be caused not by too many cars getting on the freeway but by too many cars trying to get off? For decades, traffic engineers have been managing freeway congestion by using meters to restrict the rates that vehicles enter the freeway from on-ramps. A metering scheme can often keep cars moving faster on the freeway, and sometimes can even reduce traveler delay systemwide. Realizing these benefits requires metering that is suitably designed, but traffic engineers disagree about what constitutes a suitably designed plan.

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2017-05-30T23:08:24+00:00Categories: ACCESS 21, Fall 2002|Tags: Technology & Innovation, Transportation Policy & Planning|

Reforming Infrastructure Planning

David E. Dowall

Among the peculiarities of American governments is their tacit belief that infrastructure never dies. A capital project, they assume, needs only its initial investment. Once built, there’s no need for anything like a depreciation account or a maintenance budget. Later, if a shortage of capital funds prevents replacement or even long-deferred maintenance, the facilities just wear out or rust away. As a consequence, major infrastructure across America is falling into decay. In regions facing rapid growth, future prospects for sustaining modern standards in transportation, schools, hospitals, water supplies, waste disposal, parks, museums, and the like are mighty dim.

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2017-05-30T23:09:59+00:00Categories: ACCESS 20, Spring 2002|Tags: Transportation Policy & Planning|

THE ACCESS ALMANAC: The Freeway-Congestion Paradox

Chao Chen and Pravin Varaiya

Traffic congestion on a freeway sets in once the density of vehicles exceeds a certain critical number. Above that, both vehicle speed and vehicle ﬂow drop precipitously. Well-designed ramp meters can limit the number of vehicles entering a freeway, so that critical density is not reached, congestion is avoided and, paradoxically, both speed and ﬂow increase. This double gain of reduced travel time and increased ﬂow far exceeds any improvements that can be achieved by constructing more freeway lanes.

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2017-05-30T23:10:43+00:00Categories: ACCESS 20, Spring 2002|Tags: Congestion, Transportation Policy & Planning|