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 auto
Transit bus
Light rail
Heavy rail
Air 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
[1?] 0 to 8
[1?] 0 to 8
0
0
0
-2.7
0
0 (exempt from
fuel taxes)
0
0
Government subsidy: operating costs
minus fares, operating+rolling-stock
costs minus fares, total
operating+capital costs minus fares
0
0
339, 398, 465
685, 1137, 2800
372, 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 25
Unpriced parking
Inefficient highway user taxes and
fees, meant to cover highway costs
[398]
33 to 57 [40]
27 to 108
17 to 53
Government subsidies
(cents/vehicle-mile)
Gas
auto
0.0
Electric Transit
auto
bus
0.0
339,
398,
465*
[398]
Light
rail
Heav y
rail
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)
Gas
auto
0.8 to
13
[2.0]
Electric Transit
auto
bus
1.5
5.4 to
123
[20]
Light
rail
Heav y
rail
5?
5?
Oil-use and water-pollution costs
(cents/vehicle-mile)
Gas
auto
0.3 to
1.5
[0.8]
Electric Transit
auto
bus
0.4
1.5 to
8.7
[4.0]
Light
rail
Heav y
rail
1?
1?
Noise costs
(cents/vehicle-mile)
Gas
auto
0.01 to
2.0
[0.2]
Electric Transit
auto
bus
0.15
0.5 to
10
[2.0]
Light
rail
Heav y
rail
1?
1?
Congestion costs
(cents/vehicle-mile)
Gas
auto
4.0
Electric Transit
auto
bus
4.0
8.0
Light
rail
Heav y
rail
n.e.
n.e.
Note: congestion charges may cover infrastructure costs
Accident costs
(cents/vehicle-mile)
Gas
auto
2.5
Electric Transit
auto
bus
2.5
3.5
Light
rail
Heav y
rail
2?
2?
Marginal highway, service costs
(cents/vehicle-mile)
Gas
auto
0.1
Electric Transit
auto
bus
0.1
1.5
Light
rail
Heav y
rail
0.0
0.0
These are maintenance and service costs, not capital costs
Unpriced parking costs
(cents/vehicle-mile)
Gas
auto
Electric Transit
auto
bus
0 to 8
0 to 8
[1?]
[1?]
0
Light
rail
Heav y
rail
0
0
Inefficient highway user fees
(cents/vehicle-mile)
Gas
auto
-2.7
Electric Transit
auto
bus
0.0
*Exempt from fuel tax
0.0*
Light
rail
Heav y
rail
0.0
0.0
Extra private costs
(cents/vehicle-mile)
Gas
auto
0
Electric Transit
auto
bus
0 to 16
[8]
Light
rail
Heav y
rail
see
see
see
su bsid y su bsid y subsid y
Total “subsidies” per vehicle-mi
(cents/vehicle-mile)
Gas
auto
Electric Transit
auto
bus
Light
rail
Heav y
rail
5 to 28 9 to 25 359 to
620
[8]
[18]
[437]
694 to
2,809
381 to
1,186
Total “subsidies” per person-mi
(cents/passenger-mile)
Gas
auto
Electric Transit
auto
bus
Light
rail
Heav y
rail
5 to 28
9 to 25 33 to 56
27 to
108
17 to 54
26 ppv
22 ppv
[8]
[18]
[40]
1 pp v
1 pp v
11 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