Concepts Of Transportation Economics

Transportation is the world's largest invisible industry. Modern society is completely dependent on transportation to sustain its way of life, and it is all around us constantly. Yet the economics of transportation is a mystery to most people. Why do air fares rise and fall? Why do urban transit systems struggle to survive and require such large public subsidies? Why does freight transport cost more to move in one direction than an equal distance in another? Why is the government so heavily involved in transportation? Concepts of Transportation Economics provides explanations to these queries and many more, as well-renowned experts in the field, Barry E Prentice and Darren Prokop interpret the unique dynamics underlying transportation through the lens of applied economics, and demonstrate that the operations of transportation are completely logical and obvious once the concepts that underlie business decisions and consumer reactions are explained.

This new edition of the seminal textbook The Economics of Urban Transportation incorporates the latest research affecting the design, implementation, pricing, and control of transport systems in towns and cities. The book offers an economic framework for understanding the societal impacts and policy implications of many factors including congestion, traffic safety, climate change, air quality, COVID-19, and newly important developments such as ride-hailing services, electric vehicles, and autonomous vehicles. Rigorous in approach and making use of real-world data and econometric techniques, the third edition features a new chapter on the special challenges of managing the energy that powers transportation systems. It provides fully updated coverage of well-known topics and a rigorous treatment of new ones. All of the basic topics needed to apply economics to urban transportation are included: Forecasting demand for transportation services under various conditions Measuring costs, including those incurred by users and incorporating two new tools to describe congestion in dense urban areas Setting prices under practical constraints Evaluating infrastructure investments Understanding how private and public sectors interact to provide services Written by three of the field’s leading researchers, The Economics of Urban Transportation is essential reading for students, researchers, and practicing professionals in transportation economics, planning, engineering, or related disciplines. With a focus on workable models that can be adapted to future needs, it provides tools for a rapidly changing world.

The Routledge Handbook of Transport Economics offers the first state of the art overview of the discipline of transport economics as it stands today, reflective of key research and policy. Transport is an important area of study and one which is problem rich, stimulating a great deal of debate in areas which impact on everyday lives. Much of this focuses on the practicalities of the modern-day phenomenon of mass movement and all of the issues which surround it. The discipline of economics is central to this debate, and consequently the study and application of transport economics has a chief role to play in seeking to address subjects relating to major transport issues. It can be argued that at the very heart of any transport issue or problem lies the underlying economics of the situation – understand that and you alleviate the problem. Featuring contributions from world-leading scholars and practitioners from across the globe, all of the chapters within this book are written from a practical perspective; theory is applied and developed using real-world examples. The book examines concepts, issues, ideas and practicalities of transport provision in five key topic areas: public transport public transport reform economic development and transport modelling transport and the environment freight transport. A real strength of the book is in linking theory to practice, and hence the ‘economics’ that are examined in this text are not the economics of the abstract, but rather the economics of everyday living. Practical and insightful, this volume is an essential reference for any student or researcher working in all areas of transport provision, ranging from planning, appraisal, regulation and freight; and for all practitioners looking to develop their professional knowledge and who are seeking professional accreditation.

This book is designed to provide an analytical approach to transport economics with reference to the development of both national and EU transport policy.

'This Handbook is a stellar compilation of up-to-date knowledge about the important topics in transport economics. Authors include the very best in the field, and they cover the most important topics for today's research and policy applications. Individual chapters contain sound, readable, well referenced explanations of each topic's history and current status. I cannot think of a better place to start for anyone wanting to become current in the field or in any of its parts.' – Kenneth Small, University of California-Irvine, US Bringing together insights and perspectives from close to 70 of the world's leading experts in the field, this timely Handbook provides an up-to-date guide to the most recent and state-of-the-art advances in transport economics. The comprehensive coverage includes topics such as the relationship between transport and the spatial economy, recent advances in travel demand analysis, the external costs of transport, investment appraisal, pricing, equity issues, competition and regulation, the role of public–private partnerships and the development of policy in local bus services, rail, air and maritime transport. This Handbook is designed both for use on postgraduate and advanced undergraduate courses and as a reference for anyone working in the field. It also complements the textbook Principles of Transport Economics.

First Published in 1997. This book contains a set of readings which convey clearly the fundamental concepts, theory and methodologies essential for the teaching and study of transport economics. The papers were carefully selected by seven prominent and experienced professors of transport economics for their usefulness in teaching. As such, most of the twenty-seven papers included in the book deal with timeless and fundamental subjects in transport economics and have been evaluated by many instructors as being effective papers for teaching. The book is organised into six parts: Transport Demand, Transport Cost, Pricing, Infrastructure, Regulation and Market Structure, and Project Evaluation.

'In the 3rd edition of Transport Economics Button draws together the burgeoning literature in transportation economics. It is a comprehensive standalone text covering all aspects of the field including new sections on logistics and congestion pricing. It should be required reading for every student of transportation and on the library shelf of all transportation researchers and practitioners, an excellent book.' David Gillen, University of British Columbia, Canada Acclaim for the second edition: 'To the literature in the field of transport economics, this is a most welcome addition. Primarily a textbook on theory, it also contains many references to applied studies. . . The book is written in a lucid style and consequently is easy to read and understand.' J.P. Hanlon, Transport 'It is admirably structured, with an introductory chapter placing transport in its economic context and relating transport and location economics.' Urban Studies 'This book is written in a clear, easy to understand style. It is essential reading for those studying for the Institute's Transport Economics examination as well as for undergraduate and postgraduate students of the subject. . . The book offers good value for money and is strongly recommended to anyone with an interest in transport economics.' M.R. Cairns, Transport ' . . . this book does read very much like a textbook; it explains economic concepts clearly, often in both words and mathematical equations, and identifies their relevance in the transport field. . . Transport Economics does provide a good basis with which to understand most of the issues behind what is one of the fastest moving areas of environmental activity in an area where most books will be out of date almost as soon as they are written anyway.' Marcus Enoch, Environmental Politics Transport Economics is a thoroughly revised edition of a well-established textbook which applies economic analysis to transport issues. Each chapter has been carefully reworked and includes new material dealing with the regulation of transport markets. The theoretical content is supported with considerable empirical evidence drawn from a wide range of international sources. Although aimed primarily at university students, this volume is accessible to non-specialists who have an interest in transport economics. It has no modal bias but rather examines in general terms the many aspects of the demand for, and supply of, transport together with the various methods of government intervention needed to ensure that social and environmental criteria are attained. This successful and widely adopted textbook has been meticulously revised and updated for the third edition. As the best intermediate text currently available, it will be welcomed by students, policymakers and all those concerned with the supply of transport services.