Economics and Finance

Pricing transportation infrastructure, either to achieve a desired outcome or to raise revenue, is a concept dating back to early-and mid-20thcentury economics and transportation scholarship. Different approaches to pricing (e.g., area-wide pricing, vehicle miles traveled, express lanes, etc.) have been adopted in parts of Europe and Asia; some strategies cover all road users, some only passenger vehicles, and others only commercial and goods movement vehicles. Pricing, as a revenue source, has recently gained momentum in the U.S., driven by federal legislation (MAP-21; FAST Act) and state...

In recent years, economic, environmental, and social forces have quickly given rise to the “sharing economy,” a collective of entrepreneurs and consumers leveraging technology to share resources, save money, and generate capital. Shared mobility—the shared use of a vehicle, bicycle, or other low-speed travel mode—is an innovative transportation strategy that enables users to have short-term access to a transportation mode on an as-needed basis. Business-to-consumer services, such as Zipcar and car2go, and peer-to-peer carsharing and shared ride services, such as Getaround, Turo, Lyft, and...

Under the right conditions -- serious traffic congestion, a permissive regulatory environment, and frequent and reliable transit services -- rail transit investments can powerfully shape cities and regions. Rail transit’s city‐shaping powers are due to market forces and policy interventions. By enhancing accessibility (the ability of those living, working, or shopping rail near stops to quickly reach desired destinations) rail services increase the value and desirability of properties in and around stations. Market pressures by themselves rarely produce transit oriented development. To...

This paper considers the optimization of public infrastructure systems, recognizing that these systems serve multiple user classes. Under the guidance of a policy-making body, the analyst chooses both the system design, including its layout and control, and the prices to be charged for the service. The goal of the optimization is to maximize society's welfare recognizing that the system's performance will in general depend on the system's demand, and vice versa. The optimization problem is first formulated in its full complexity. Under defined circumstances, the problem decomposes into...