Joseph P Schwieterman

Survey of Current High-Speed Rail Planning Efforts in the United States

Characteristics of the corridors being considered by state and regional agencies for high-speed rail service (HSR) in the United States were surveyed. Through use of a data set of 21 systems at various stages of development, the study shows that initiatives under way involve 64 corridors, tracks of 21 freight railroads, and 15,552 unique mi of route. Findings show that these corridors reach 163 of the 250 largest metropolitan areas in the continental United States. More than 87% of the existing railroad mileage identified for high-speed service is operated by freight-oriented railroads, with 74% being single track. The choice of technology and the need to acquire nonrailroad land to support the development of corridors differ sharply between interstate and intrastate routes. These and other findings illustrate the many opportunities—and challenges—facing proponents of HSR throughout the country.

A hedonic price assessment of airline service quality in the US

This paper explores the relationship between carrier reputations for service quality and the price of air travel in the U.S. market. Using a sample of 1July-August 1995 published air fares, it demonstrates that airlines establish prices on the basis of 23 service characteristics ranging from ticketing restrictions to flight frequency and travel requirements. The residual price differences between carriers represent, at least in part, the varying reputations of carriers for service quality. They reflect the anticipated differences in quality of those characteristics difficult to assess at the point of purchase. A hedonic approach is found to be an important new tool for exploring price discrimination and product differentiation in deregulated markets.

Carsharing: Review of Its Public Benefits and Level of Taxation

With the increase in carsharing (sharing of motor vehicles through memberships in non- and for-profit enterprises) has come extensive analysis of the environmental, economic, and social benefits that result from vehicle-sharing programs. Although the research suggests that the public benefits are significant, public policy has not always supported the sectors growth, particularly in taxation. In this study a cross-section analysis of taxation rates in 82 U.S. cities was performed to foster understanding of the implications of taxation on the sectors expansion. Findings showed that taxes on carsharing services generally exceeded local taxes on sales, as well as taxes on other forms of passenger transportation. Nationally, the average tax was 17.93% for 1-h reservations and 14.08% for 24-h reservations. By comparison, sales taxes in cities with carsharing services averaged just 8.06%. In seven of the 25 largest cities in the studys sample, taxes on 1-h reservations exceeded 30%. Such taxation resulted in an estimated 11.7% reduction in carsharing use and a proportional drop in net social benefits. Such social losses can be avoided with policies that provide targeted tax waivers for neighborhood carsharing organizations that compile information (assembled and certified by a third party), which shows that the organizations provide services that meet clearly articulated criteria, and that the organizations generate significant benefits to the community at large. Several major cities, including Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; and Portland, Oregon, have created definitions for such organizations, which are used to exempt them from certain taxes.With the increase in carsharing (sharing of motor vehicles through memberships in non- and for-profit enterprises) has come extensive analysis of the environmental, economic, and social benefits that result from vehicle-sharing programs. Although the research suggests that the public benefits are significant, public policy has not always supported the sector’s growth, particularly in taxation. In this study a cross-section analysis of taxation rates in 82 U.S. cities was performed to foster understanding of the implications of taxation on the sector’s expansion. Findings showed that taxes on carsharing services generally exceeded local taxes on sales, as well as taxes on other forms of passenger transportation. Nationally, the average tax was 17.93% for 1-h reservations and 14.08% for 24-h reservations. By comparison, sales taxes in cities with carsharing services averaged just 8.06%. In seven of the 25 largest cities in the study’s sample, taxes on 1-h reservations exceeded 30%. Such taxation resulted in an estimated 11.7% reduction in carsharing use and a proportional drop in net social benefits. Such social losses can be avoided with policies that provide targeted tax waivers for neighborhood carsharing organizations that compile information (assembled and certified by a third party), which shows that the organizations provide services that meet clearly articulated criteria, and that the organizations generate significant benefits to the community at large. Several major cities, including Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Illinois; and Portland, Oregon, have created definitions for such organizations, which are used to exempt them from certain taxes.

Competition from the Curb: Survey of Passengers on Discount Curbside Bus Operators in Eastern and Midwestern U.S. Cities

To foster a greater understanding of the composition and preferences of travelers served by discount curbside bus operators, this study summarizes the results of a survey of such passengers. The study compares the characteristics of passengers using the two largest operators, Bolt-Bus and Megabus, with those using conventional bus lines such as Greyhound. Surveys were administered in the three most heavily served curbside bus markets in the East and Midwest of the United States—six cities in total—and the result was a cumulative sample of 1,025 responses. Curbside bus service was shown to have generated much new travel, with newly generated trips accounting for 22.0% of all passengers. In the East, however, curbside bus service is taking many travelers from passenger trains. More than a third of those surveyed (34.0%) report that they would have ridden trains had curbside buses not been available. In all markets surveyed, ridership heavily comprised passengers in the group 18 to 25 years of age and was overwhelmingly made up of passengers traveling for pleasure or personal matters rather than for business. When the findings are interpreted broadly, they support the notion that the curbside bus phenomenon is not primarily the result of a shift in market share from conventional bus lines. The evidence instead suggests that curbside bus service should be regarded as a new mode that attracts most of its passengers from commercial flights, trains, and private automobiles and that it has grown dramatically, despite the relative lack of business travelers.

RESEARCH ARTICLE: The Decline and Recovery of Intercity Bus Service in the United States: A Comeback for an Environmentally Friendly Transportation Mode?

The intercity bus sector in the United States (US) has experienced a dramatic recovery in recent years due to the expansion of new curbside operators—express operators linking major cities that do not use traditional stations. Curbside operators such as BoltBus, DC2NY Bus, and Megabus are infusing new life into this once-struggling sector, particularly in the Midwest and Northeast. This study explores two aspects of the changing role of the intercity bus. First, it evaluates the extent to which intercity bus service diminished after 1960 and its subsequent recovery starting in 2006. Drawing on newly collected data from 11,400 arrivals and departures from a representative sample of US cities between 1960 and 2010, it shows that US cities lost more than three quarters of their intercity bus services before the recovery began. Secondly, it shows how recent growth of curbside-bus operators is reducing fuel consumption by about 11 million gallons annually and reducing carbon emissions by an estimated 242 million pounds. This is the equivalent benefit of removing 23,114 vehicles from the road or having 66,041 people convert from conventional to hybrid cars. These findings suggest that the sectors recovery has significant and perhaps underappreciated environmental benefits. It also suggests that further expansion by the sector, nurtured by public policy, could be an effective strategy to promote more energy-efficient intercity travel.

The S-Curve of Technological Adoption: Mobile Communication Devices on Commuter Trains in the Chicago Region, 2010–2015

Urban transit riders’ use of mobile communication devices has grown markedly in recent years. Studies evaluating the usage of these devices have generally focused on only one or two points in time, limiting their ability to describe long-range trends. To foster insights into this issue, this study evaluated data from 15,531 passenger observations collected on 156 commuter trains on the metropolitan commuter rail system of Chicago, Illinois, from 2010 through 2015. The data show that the rate of technological usage is following an S-shaped pattern among passengers. The share of passengers using mobile communication devices at observed points grew sharpest during the first three years, rising from 25.6% in 2010 to 47.8% in 2013, a compounding annual rate of 23.1%. Between 2013 and 2015, the share rose to 56.2%, an annualized rate of just 8.4%. Over the five-year period, the share of passengers conducting visually-oriented activities on their devices increased at a faster rate than usage as a whole, whereas the share of passengers engaged in audio-only tasks has dropped. Multiple regression analysis shows that the rate of device usage on trains is highest on outbound trips (traveling away from downtown) and positively related to the income associated with the route traveled, with differences of more than five percentage points between lines of varying levels of affluence.