PRINCIPLES OF URBAN TRANSPORTATION PRICING

SOME OF THE FUNDAMENTAL ECONOMIC PRINCIPLES THAT UNDERLY THE PRICING OF URBAN PASSENGER TRANSPORTATION SERVICES ARE DISCUSSED. THIS IS DONE PRIMARILY IN THE CONTEXT OF PRIVATE AUTOMOBILE TRANSPORTATION, ALTHOUGH MANY OF THESE PRINCIPLES RELATE AS WELL TO THE PROBLEMS OF MASS TRANSIT. ABSTRACTS ARE DRAWN FROM ALL THOSE PRACTICAL PROBLEMS, WHICH ARE ADMITTEDLY BOTH IMPORTANT AND INTRACTABLE, THAT ARISE WHEN ONE ATTEMPTS TO IMPLEMENT ANY GENERAL SET OF GUIDELINES GOVERNING THE APPROPRIATE PRICING OF TRANSPORTATION SERVICES, ESPECIALLY THE DIFFICULTIES OF MEASURING THE APPROPRIATE MAGNITUDES FOR TOLLS AND ROADWAY EXPENDITURES AS WELL AS THE DIFFICULTIES OF COLLECTING TOLLS THAT SHOULD IN PRINCIPLE VARY WITH TIME OF DAY AND THE PARTICULAR POINT OF TRAVEL. THE SUBJECT IS THUS RESTRICTED TO A PURE THEORY OF TRANSPORTATION PRICING. THE CURRENT ANALYSIS INVOKES WHAT WOULD ORDINARILY BE CALLED MODELS OF TRANSPORTATION PRICE SITUATIONS, A MODEL BEING A HIGHLY SIMPLIFIED REPRESENTATION OF THE REALITY WITH WHICH ONE WANTS TO DEAL.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrr/1964/47/47-006.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Strotz, Robert H
• Publication Date: 1964

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: References;
• Pagination: pp 113-121
• Monograph Title: Traffic congestion as a factor in road-user taxation
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Record
  • Issue Number: 47
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Economics; Mathematical models; Prices; Private transportation; Public transit; Theory; Tolls; Transportation; Urban transportation
• Candidate Terms: Highway economics
• Uncontrolled Terms: Models; Transportation systems
• Subject Areas: Economics; Finance; Planning and Forecasting; Transportation (General);

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00200905
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Oct 17 1994 12:00AM