The Great Transport Debate

At a time when transport is high on the political agenda and government decision-making is being vigorously scrutinised, there is a need for an incisive and accessible analysis of the key policy issues. This book is a highly readable introduction to the transport debate from two experts in the field. The authors celebrate the advantages of a modern transport system, but argue that years of poorly conceived and executed transport policy have resulted in Britain’s transport system being far worse than it should be. They show that a substandard transport system creates economic, social and environmental costs, but demonstrate how these can be addressed through affordable and politically deliverable changes. Using a refreshingly novel approach, Shaw and Docherty use the familiar idea of the journey as the basis for their discussion. The book follows members of the Smith family as they uncover a wide array of transport issues, including why the problems we all encounter as we travel around actually come about; which policy trade-offs were responsible for creating them in the first place; what impacts we all have to suffer as a result; and what we can do to fix them. This lively and engaging approach will make the book ideal for a wide readership.

A major concern of all decision makers has been to ensure that there are clear benefits from transport investment proposals. The travel time savings are clear, but the wider economic developments have presented enormous difficulty in terms of both theoretical arguments and empirical evidence. This book reviews the history of the debate and argues that the agenda has changed. These issues are presented together with a major analytical investigation of macroeconomic models, evaluation in transport and microeconomic approaches. The final part of the book presents a series of case studies for road, rail and airport investment schemes, particularly focusing on the economic development aspects.

This title was first published in 2000. With an emphasis on land-based passenger transport - particularly rail and road - this collection assesses the implications for regulation and competition of integrated transport policies. Contributions to the volume trace the evolution of transport policy, focus on the pricing of infrastructure, examine the effectiveness of competition and the adequacy of the regulatory framework in the United Kingdom.

This book explores the impact of an influential idea – sustainable development – on the institutions and practices governing use of land. The new edition adds a Foreword by Professor John Forester as well as a substantial chapter by the authors in which they reflect on the arguments propounded in the book in the light of subsequent events.

In a new and critical analysis, this book explores the impact of an influential idea - sustainable development - on the institutions and practices governing use of land. It examines the paradox that in spite of increasing attention to sustainability, land use conflict is as ubiquitous and intense as ever.

The UK fuel tax protests of September 2000 generated considerable debate about fuel prices and taxation and put transport in the media spotlight. Away from the immediate events and debates surrounding the protests, the experience offered the opportunity for longer-term lessons on transport to be gained. The editors of this volume, Glenn Lyons and Kiron Chatterjee, saw the opportunity to get fresh insight into car dependence and conducted a large-scale travel behaviour survey to find out how car users coped when restricted in being able to buy petrol. This book presents their findings and collects together articles written by other researchers on a range of topics including fuel taxation, transport pricing, policy acceptability, travel behaviour and goods distribution.