Social Cost Accounting of Private Autos and Public Transit
If we get the prices right, will more people use transit?
Mark A. Delucchi
“Redefining, Reevaluating & Reinventing Transit”UCLA Conference Center, Lake Arrowhead
October 14-16, 2001
First…
• The question loosely put: is travel by private auto “subsidized” more than is travel by transit?
• Different ways of doing the accounting -- e.g., “full-cost” vs. efficient pricing -- give quantitatively but not conclusively different results
Preview of results
• Generally, no matter what the accounting system or the details of the analysis, average “subsidies” to transit are at least as large as average “subsidies” to auto use
• Hence, “getting the prices right” might actually make autos more attractive
Full-cost versus efficient pricing
FULL-COST PRICING
• Identify and quantify in dollars all costs (resources, impacts) of each mode
• Set prices to recover full costs across all users
EFFICIENT PRICING
• Eliminate market imperfections where possible (results in long-run marginal cost pricing)
• If imperfections remain, use first-best alternatives (e.g., Pigovian taxes, Ramsey prices, lump-sum transfers)
Modes and cost categories
MODES
• Private gasoline autos
• Electric vehicles
• Transit Buses
• Light rail transit
• Heavy rail transit
COST CATEGORIES• Air pollution• Oil use, water pollution• Noise• Congestion• Accidents• Highway and service costs• Parking• Government subsidies
External costs and subsidies for different passenger transport modes
(cents per vehicle mile, except last row is cents per passenger mile) [Numbers in brackets are my best estimates]
Cost item Gas auto Electric autoTransit bus Light rail Heavy railAir pollution [2.0] 0.8 to 13 1.5 [20.0] 5.4 to 123 5? 5?
Oil use, water pollution [0.8] 0.3 to 1.5 0.4 [4.0] 1.5 to 8.7 1? 1?
Noise [0.2] 0.01 to 2.0 0.15 [2.0] 0.5 to 10.0 1? 1?
Congestion 4.0 4.0 8.0 n.e. n.e.
Accidents 2.5 2.5 3.5 2? 2?
Marginal highway and service costs 0.1 0.1 1.5 0 0
Unpriced parking [1?] 0 to 8 [1?] 0 to 8 0 0 0
Inefficient highway user taxes andfees, meant to cover highway costs
-2.7 0 0 (exempt fromfuel taxes)
0 0
Government subsidy: operating costsminus fares, operating+rolling-stockcosts minus fares, totaloperating+capital costs minus fares
0 0 339, 398, 465
[398]
685, 1137, 2800372, 797, 1177
Extra private costs relative to gas auto 0 0 to 16 [8] see subsidy see subsidy see subsidy
Total cents per vehicle-mile [8] 5 to 28 [18] 9 to 25 359 to 620 [437]694 to 2,809 381 to 1,186
Passengers per vehicle assume 1.0 assume 1.0 11 (average) 26 (average) 22 (average)
Total cents per passenger-mile[8] 5 to 28 [18] 9 to 2533 to 57 [40]27 to 108 17 to 53
Government subsidies(cents/vehicle-mile)
Gasauto
Electricauto
Transitbus
Lightrail
Heavyrail
0.0 0.0 339,398,465*[398]
685,1137,2800*
372,797,
1177*
*Operating costs minus fares, operating+rolling stock costs minus fares, total operating+capital costs minus fares
Air pollution costs(cents/vehicle-mile)
Gasauto
Electricauto
Transitbus
Lightrail
Heavyrail
0.8 to13
[2.0]
1.5 5.4 to123
[20]
5? 5?
Oil-use and water-pollution costs(cents/vehicle-mile)
Gasauto
Electricauto
Transitbus
Lightrail
Heavyrail
0.3 to1.5
[0.8]
0.4 1.5 to8.7
[4.0]
1? 1?
Noise costs(cents/vehicle-mile)
Gasauto
Electricauto
Transitbus
Lightrail
Heavyrail
0.01 to2.0
[0.2]
0.15 0.5 to10
[2.0]
1? 1?
Congestion costs(cents/vehicle-mile)
Gasauto
Electricauto
Transitbus
Lightrail
Heavyrail
4.0 4.0 8.0 n.e. n.e.
Note: congestion charges may cover infrastructure costs
Accident costs(cents/vehicle-mile)
Gasauto
Electricauto
Transitbus
Lightrail
Heavyrail
2.5 2.5 3.5 2? 2?
Marginal highway, service costs(cents/vehicle-mile)
Gasauto
Electricauto
Transitbus
Lightrail
Heavyrail
0.1 0.1 1.5 0.0 0.0
These are maintenance and service costs, not capital costs
Unpriced parking costs(cents/vehicle-mile)
Gasauto
Electricauto
Transitbus
Lightrail
Heavyrail
0 to 8
[1?]
0 to 8
[1?]
0 0 0
Inefficient highway user fees(cents/vehicle-mile)
Gasauto
Electricauto
Transitbus
Lightrail
Heavyrail
-2.7 0.0 0.0* 0.0 0.0
*Exempt from fuel tax
Extra private costs(cents/vehicle-mile)
Gasauto
Electricauto
Transitbus
Lightrail
Heavyrail
0 0 to 16
[8]
seesubsidy
seesubsidy
seesubsidy
Total “subsidies” per vehicle-mi(cents/vehicle-mile)
Gasauto
Electricauto
Transitbus
Lightrail
Heavyrail
5 to 28
[8]
9 to 25
[18]
359 to620[437]
694 to2,809
381 to1,186
Total “subsidies” per person-mi(cents/passenger-mile)
Gasauto
Electricauto
Transitbus
Lightrail
Heavyrail
5 to 28
[8]
9 to 25
[18]
33 to 56
[40]
27 to108
17 to 54
1 ppv 1 ppv 11 ppv 26 ppv 22 ppv
ppv = persons per vehicle (average data)
Conclusion
• Full-cost pricing or efficient pricing of all modes is not likely to get people out of cars, and may in fact get people into cars
• Of course, it is possible to set prices to get people out of their cars; however, prices that do this generally won’t be full-cost or efficient
• These findings are limited: they don’t tell us about the efficiency of transit in any particular market, and don’t say much about the importance or desirability of transit (or pricing) in general