Transportation Cost and Benefit Just as a consumer needs accurate information on the full ownership and operating costs

of a vehicle they are considering purchasing, society needs an accurate accounting of the full benefits and costs of alternatives when making transportation policy and investment choices.

Transportation Demand Management

A common problem with TDM planning is that most people are only familiar with a limited number of strategies. Often, a committee is formed to develop a TDM plan, and each member has a pet strategy: ridesharing, telecommuting, congestion pricing, transit improvement, bicycling. The committee spends all its timing arguing over which is the "right" strategy, and concludes that none can "solve" the transportation problems. It is important that TDM planning begin with a review of the full range of strategies and a realistic understanding of what each can achieve. A package of strategies can be developed that work together. Although most TDM strategies can only affect a limited amount of total trips and solve a small portion of transportation problems, a comprehensive package can have large impacts, providing significant benefits to consumers and society

Transportation Price Reforms

Many people are surprised that the packages we propose include only a modest increase in fuel taxes. A far greater impact on vehicle travel is achieved by implementing distance-based vehicle insurance, which converts vehicle insurance from a fixed cost into a variable cost by having insurance companies prorate premiums by vehicle mileage. The more you drive, the more you pay, which more accurately reflects a vehicle's insurance compensation costs. Our report, Distance-based Vehicle Insurance; A Practical Strategy for More Optimal Pricing, describes how this would be implemented and the benefits that result

Transportation Equity
Whos Roads? Defining Bicyclist's and Pedestrian's Right to Use Public Roadways examines one particular equity issue, whether it is fair that non-motorists use public roads although they do not pay vehicle user taxes that fund highways. The report points out that the local roads that are used most by

cyclists and pedestrians are funded by local taxes, which residents pay regardless of their travel behavior. Roadway cost studies can be used to estimate the costs imposed by various modes. This analysis indicates that people who drive less than average tend to overpay their roadway costs, while those who drive more than average tend to underpay.

New Perspectives
Comparing Emission Reduction Strategies, gives a specific example of how a comprehensive analysis framework can be used to evaluate policy alternatives. It concludes that technical solutions, such as vehicle efficiency and alternative fuel mandates, tend to solve just one or two problems at a time, and often exacerbate other problems if they encourage even more vehicle travel. A comprehensive analysis tends to recognize the greater total benefits resulting from TDM solutions. A Critical Evaluation of Electric Vehicle Benefits examines the full benefits and costs associated with electric powered vehicles.

be promoting sustainable economic development by removing constraints on latent demand in development corridors at local, provincial, national and regional level and be providing the catalyst for private investment, be structured to encourage public passenger transport and to discourage excessive private passenger transport in urban areas, allow for seamless intermodalism, be financed through a combination of user charges and private/public sector investments, provide adequate accessibility together with safety and security within the constraints of social affordability, incorporate technological advances which promote and enhance the role of transport in the economy and development, and be structured to ensure environmental sustainability and internationally accepted standards.

At the national level, the Department of Transport (DoT) will establish a forum to improve the coordination of infrastructure planning for all modes of transport. The MINCOM structure will promote coordination across national and provincial functions, whilst structures will be developed to provide for coordination between DoT and Transnet. Provinces will be encouraged to develop and participate in structures for provincial/local authority co-ordination.