Transportation Costs

It’s time to reform transportation pricing to reduce traffic congestion, crashes, and pollution, and improve non-auto travel options. Raise my prices, please!

February 13, 2024 - Todd Litman

During the last 120 years, our mobility increased by an order of magnitude, but so did associated costs. Are we better off? Could we do better?

July 8, 2020 - Todd Litman

A recent study claiming that transportation costs in Houston, among other expenses, raise the cost of living almost to the same level as living in New York City. Some took exception to the study's methodology.

January 29, 2020 - E21

The extra costs of automobile dependency turn assumptions about affordability on their head, according to a recently published report by the Citizens Budget Commission.

January 21, 2020 - Texas Monthly

Transportation planning decisions often involve trade-offs between various economic impacts, including direct user costs, and various external costs imposed on other people. All of these impacts should be considered in planning analysis.

December 23, 2019 - Todd Litman

(Not very far.)

June 27, 2019 - Curbed New York

Compared with European averages, U.S. and Canadian residents spend 30-50 percent more money and time on transport due to dispersed, automobile-dependent development.

June 8, 2016 - City Observatory

Writing for New Geography, Fannis Grammenos expresses skepticism that more compact cities are more affordable cities. In fact, Grammenos argues that just the opposite is true.

March 16, 2016 - New Geography

Put another way, Shoup's case against parking requirements is that they make life harder for the poor.

March 4, 2016 - The Washington Post

Certain intersections stand to gain from losing their traffic lights. According to this study, cities can save money and improve safety by uninstalling signals in low-traffic zones.

May 7, 2015 - CityLab

Transportation system users rate inaffordability as a top concern, but conventional planning ignores this issue. Increasing transport affordability requires changing planning practices to favor more affordable modes and more accessible development.

February 25, 2013 - Todd Litman

A new study released on Friday, coinciding with National Bike to Work Day, finds that bicyclists in the United States save at least $4.6 billion a year by riding instead of driving, reports Tanya Mohn.

May 22, 2012 - Forbes

Sarah Laskow reports on a new study by the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) that seeks to rethink how affordable housing is defined to incorporate transportation costs.

February 7, 2012 - Good

David Levinson poses some possible answers, such as inaccurate project scopes, insufficient economies of scale, and an increase in safety standards.

December 5, 2011 - The Transportationist

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan talks with PBS about the department's new approach of integrating transportation and housing policy.

October 5, 2010 - PBS

A new website created by the Center for Neighborhood Technology calculates how much an average household in your neighborhood would spend on transportation, with results for cars and public transit.

September 14, 2010 - Governing Magazine

Philip Langdon argues that if the U.S. is going to shift toward compact, less resource-consuming patterns of development, Americans will have to rely increasingly on mass transit - so it better work.

September 3, 2010 - New Urban Network

A Freakonomics blogger has trouble finding an affordable bike in Portland, and looks into the reasons why.

August 21, 2009 - The New York Times: Freakonomics Blog

In a recent blog I emphasized the value of using smart growth policies to increase household affordability and support regional economic development. In his blog, “Planning Foreclosures,” Samuel Staley reaches a very different conclusion.

March 23, 2009 - Todd Litman

A new report warns that an aging Canadian population will drive up infrastructure costs in public transit, water management, and roads and sidewalks.

February 17, 2009 - Canada.com