Topics in the Economics of Traffic Congestion

本研究的目的是分析与城市交通经济理论相关的四个主题。鉴于市中心重大新交通项目的巨额成本，以及政治上对此类项目的反对，目前城市交通政策的趋势是更有效地利用现有能力。这主要需要在城市交通网络的出行方式、时间和连接之间进行重新分配。现有运力利用效率低下的主要原因是，城市汽车出行定价过低，因为司机不会为他们强加给他人的拥堵买单。其中三个主题涉及拥堵收费的各个方面。第一个问题是：如果采用有效的拥堵收费，通行费将占城市交通网络建设和运营成本的多大比例？第二章分析了有效的停车政策，分析了应该为停车提供多少空间，以及应该如何设定费用。第三个主题考虑了在主要大都市机场使用拥堵收费的一些实际方面，以取代目前在飞机上征收的基于重量的着陆费制度。最后一个主题调查个人如何在时间和空间上协调他们的日常安排(休闲和工作活动)，目的是评估政府鼓励更灵活的工作时间的政策的可取性。

The purpose of this research is to analyze four topics related to the economic theory of urban transportation. Given the huge costs of major new transportation projects in downtown areas, as well as the political opposition to such projects, the current trend in urban transportation policy is to utilize existing capacity more effectively. This entails primarily demand reallocation across travel modes, time of day, and links of the urban traffic network. The dominant cause of the inefficient utilization of existing capacity is that urban car travel is underpriced because drivers do not pay for the congestion they impose on others. Three of the topics concern various aspects of congestion pricing. The first asks the question; If efficient congestion pricing is employed, what proportion of the costs of constructing and operating an urban traffic network will be covered by tolls? The second examines efficient parking policy by analyzing how much space, both on- and off-street should be provided for parking and how should fees be set. The third topic considers some practical aspects of the use of congestion pricing at major metropolitan airports to replace the current system of weight- based landing fees levied on airplane. The final topic investigates how individuals coordinate their daily schedules (leisure and work activities) over time and space, with the aim of assessing the desirability of government policy to encourage more flexible working hours.