Feebates, footprints and highway safety

This paper presents an analysis of a market-based policy aimed at encouraging manufacturers to develop more fuel efficient vehicles without affecting the car buyer's choice of vehicle size. A vehicle's size is measured by its "footprint", the product of track width and wheelbase. Traditional market-based policies to promote higher fuel economy, such as higher gasoline taxes or gas guzzler taxes, also induce motorists to purchase smaller vehicles. Whether or not such policies affect overall road safety remains controversial, however. Feebates, a continuous schedule of new vehicle taxes and rebates as a function of vehicle fuel consumption, can also be made a function of vehicle size, thus removing the incentive to buy a smaller vehicle. A feebate system based on a vehicle's footprint creates the same incentive to adopt technology to improve fuel economy as simple feebate systems while removing any incentive for manufacturers or consumers to downsize vehicles.

• Record URL:
  • http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6VH8-4VP176T-3/2/942da5d12f90ec9274c2722b248253db
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/13619209
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Abstract reprinted with permission from Elsevier
• Authors:
  • Greene, David L
• Publication Date: 2009-8

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 375-384
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment
  • Volume: 14
  • Issue Number: 6
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 1361-9209
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/13619209

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Fuel conservation; Highway safety; Policy analysis; Taxes; Vehicle size
• Uncontrolled Terms: Feebates; Rebates
• Subject Areas: Energy; Highways; Vehicles and Equipment;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01138155
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, ATRI
• Created Date: Aug 12 2009 12:46PM