Environmental and Urban Economics - Commuting Cost ArithmeticWhen people work in the suburbs, will they save many gallons of gasoline if they move to the center city? Yes, they will be closer to their center city friends and stores but they will still need to reverse commute by car to their … [Read more...]
Demographics + Transportation Costs + Lower Crime = More Urbanization
WSJ: Suburbs a Mile Too Far for Some Demographic Changes, High Gasoline Prices May Hasten Demand for Urban LivingMessrs. Boseman and Wells embody trends that are dovetailing to potentially reshape a half-century-long pattern of how and where Americans live: The drivable suburb -- that bedrock … [Read more...]
CTA “Super Station” Mothballed
Photo by flickr user mss2400 Thanks, DBM for the tip: Faced with runaway costs, the CTA and City Hall slammed the emergency brakes Wednesday on ambitious plans to build a "super station" in downtown's Block 37 to speed express trains to both Chicago's airports.A combined $213 million has been … [Read more...]
Want Density? Turn the Free Market Loose
Matthew Yglesias - What Price Density The solution, as Ryan Avent says, is to build denser communities. We ought to build more transit infrastructure, of course, but it's cheaper to use what we already have more intensively. And, of course, it's more practical to build new infrastructure if there's … [Read more...]
CATO Podcast: Transportation
Today, I was listening to CATO's Daily Podcast about transportation with Samuel Staley of the Reason Foundation. I started listening to him talk about the best ways to plan highway systems and said to myself, "Oh boy, here we go again another so-called "free-market" person talking about how the … [Read more...]
Airport Protectionism?
Richard's Real Estate and Urban Economics Blog - Federalism and TaxisTaxicabs in the Washington area are regulated by various jurisdictions--DC cabs may not pick up fares in Virginia and Maryland, Virginia cabs can't get passengers in the District and Maryland, and District Cabs are forbidden … [Read more...]
Free Market Impostors
I subscribe to the CATO Institute's Daily Dispatch email. I enjoy ready the daily briefings of current events from a free-market perspective. But, once in a while, my capitalist stomach turns when they mention transit, usually accompanied by a quote from Randal O'Toole. Usually he bashes some … [Read more...]
Roads: US vs Europe
Pick Your Road: The U.S. vs. Europe, by Bryan CaplanIn the U.S., we have low gas taxes, low car taxes, few tolls, strict zoning that leads developers to provide lots of free parking, low speed limits, lots of traffic enforcement, and lots of congestion.In Europe (France and Germany … [Read more...]