To suggest that transit involves "social engineering" and automobile use does not is just plain silly.
Several years ago I had the occasion to review several dozen studies in which economists have attempted to develop estimates of the full social cost of automobile use, including both the usual measurable costs (highway construction, etc.) and, by indirect methods, the broader social costs. These also were put in the framework of internalized costs (those borne by the motorist) and externalized costs (those borne by others, or by society at large). These studies, on average, found that the external costs of driving in a metropolitan area at rush hour are about $0.60 cents per mile (externalized costs for "metropolitan rush hour" driving are higher than those in other categories because of both the higher congestion costs and the higher marginal costs of increasing peak highway capacity). Given the social costs (financial and otherwise) that we have become accustomed to since September 10, 2001 due to our petroleum addiction, we might conclude that the social costs are even quite a bit higher than $0.60 per mile. This figure of $0.60 per mile was found to constitute about 7 to 10 times the internalized cost. While this can't directly be denominated a subsidy (since motorists pay some portion of the externalized costs thru taxes etc), looked at thru the prism of "market pricing" it suggests that because the motorist only pays 10 to 15 percent of the actual driving cost out-of-pocket, the amount of motoring will vastly exceed the "socially optimal" amount. Further, because much of the internalized cost is fixed cost (vehicle cost, insurance cost, repair cost), the pricing is even more off kilter. As an economist would say, motorists "purchase" automobile use under a regime of extraordinary market failure. To me, then, it is not valid to support the status quo by declaring that people "choose" to drive the amount they do. The question is what level of driving motorists would choose if they had to pay "market" price. If the externalized cost were internalized (e.g., by a gasoline tax of $10 per gallon -- $0.50 per mile times 20 miles per gallon), it would be interesting, to say the least, to see what sort of changes in regional development patterns, automobile use, and support for transportation alternatives we would see over time. Chuck Holtman Prospect Park -----Original Message----- Message: 10 Date: Wed, 16 Oct 2002 10:27:48 -0700 (PDT) From: phaedrus <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [Mpls] New Taxpayers League Billboards To: Jim MCGUIRE <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- Jim MCGUIRE <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I've seen the billboard from the Taxpayers League > "Light Rail Brought to you by Big Government" which > I found highly amusing. It left me wondering who > built the roads... > > The latest one, which I haven't seen (I'm told it's > in Blaine) is shaped like a ballot box. It has four > "candidates" that you can "vote" for: > > Roads (Republican) > Rail (Democrats) > Don't Know (Independence) > Bikes (Green) > > There's a big check mark by "Roads". Again I'm left > wondering. Isn't the Taxpayers' League primarily > opposed to government spending? Wouldn't the > cheapest answer be "Bikes"? This came out of some research I did for a sideline conversation on this topic, but I suppose it's relevant for the list. - - - begin excerpt - - - Minnesotans use just under 3 billion gallons of gas a year with a .20/gallon gas tax which provides about 590 million dollars a year. According to the Mn/DOT website, gas tax and tab fees are constitutionally dedicated to roads and bridges and by law must be spent on highways: http://www.dot.state.mn.us/information/funding2002/fundingfacts.html Transportation Revenues for Mn/DOT in 2001: (http://www.dot.state.mn.us/trafficeng/otepubl/trivia01/2001budget.jpg) Total: $2.1B User Fees: Motor Vehicle Registration: $441M Motor Fuel Tax: $588M Drivers License: $21M Federal Funds: For Local Roads: $105M For Highway: $378M Other: $84M State Funds General Funds: $105M General Fund Transfer: $168M (to cover reduction in motor vehicle registration cost) I don't know where to put it: Investment and other: $168M Bonds: $42M Transportation Expenditures for Mn/DOT in 2001 Total: $2.1B Local Government Roads and Bridges: $672M State Highways: $1218M Public Safety: $84M Transit: $63M Rail: < $21M Aeronautics: $63M I'm pretty sure that county and local governments also pay something for roads. On Mn/DOT figures alone: Road Expenditures = $1,890M User Fees = $1,050M Remaining from other sources = $840M (One revenue source I was wondering about is truckers - does that go to the federal government? Part of that $378M may come from that...) So, soley looking at Mn/DOT which receives all the gas and tab fees, around $840 million dollars a year is spent to subsidize Minnesota roads. Somewhere around $84 million is spent on transit and rail. Again, we're not talking local or county expenditures, I don't think we're talking policing, and we're not even touching on cleaning up the mess of pollutants. - - - end excerpt - - - I'd be interested in seeing similar figures for all other sources of public funding for roads, public transit, and bicycle lanes/walkways. - Jason Goray, Sheridan, NE _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
