Economics and Finance

Transit Oriented Development and Commercial Gentrification: Exploring the Linkages

Chapple, Karen
Loukaitou-Sideris, Anastasia
Gonzalez, Silvia R.
Kadin, Dov
Poirer, Joseph
2018

As central cities in California continue their renaissance, commercial gentrification is often identified by residents as a concern. For many, commercial gentrification means the intrusion of new businesses that force out a favorite food shop or a longstanding retail store because of higher rents. For others, it means an influx of hip cafés, trendy retail boutiques, and gourmet fast food restaurants - places that change the fabric of their familiar neighborhood, for better or for worse. For many merchants, commercial gentrification can have implications for economic survival, as increased...

The Equity Challenges and Outcomes of California County Transportation Sales Tax

Albrecht, Maxwell
Brown, Anne
Lederman, Jaimee
Taylor, Brian D.
Wachs, Martin
2017

This report examines equity among local option sales tax (LOST) measures for transportation in California between 1976 and 2016. Since the first was enacted in 1976 in Santa Clara County (Silicon Valley), 76 LOST measures have appeared on county ballots, 48 of which (63%) were approved by voters. These measures have proven to be popular methods to finance transportation system construction, operations, and maintenance over the past four decades, increasing in number even after a 1995 ruling in Santa Clara County Local Transportation Authority v. Guardino required that LOSTs secure two-...

Public Transportation and Industrial Location Patterns in California

Chatman, Daniel
Xu, Ruoying
Park, Janice
Le, Kim
2016

Public transit investments are a large and growing share of all transportation investments in the state of California, and such critical investments should be evaluated partly on their economic benefits. Taking such benefits into account could alter investment, service, and service restructuring decisions taken by transit agencies in the state. The relationship of public transportation to economic productivity, and spatial patterns of industrial location, is understudied. This project investigated how changes in rail transit service in California metropolitan areas (Los Angeles, the San...

Local Option Transportation Taxes in the United States (Part One:

Goldman, Todd
Corbett, Sam
Wachs, Martin
2001

This study examines the extent to which states have devolved one of the most fundamental decisions in transportation policy—whether to use taxation powers to fund transportation improvements—to local and regional governments. The purpose of the study is to generate a baseline of knowledge on “local option transportation taxes” in all fifty states. We have examined the laws that states have used to authorize these taxes, the extent to which local areas have adopted them, and how the revenues are used and governed. This is not a study of local transportation finance in general. Local...

Financing Transportation in California: Strategies for Change (Final Draft)

Adams, Matthew
Hiatt, Rachel
Hill, Mary C.
Russo, Ryan
Wachs, Martin
Weinstein, Asha
2001

Quality of life in California depends in many ways on the freedom of people and goods to move safely from place to place when they want to do so, in a timely manner, at reasonable cost, and with reasonable choices among modes and routes of travel. However, our desire for mobility must be tempered by due concern for the natural and built environment, and like all aspects of public policy, the provision of mobility must be framed by realistic consideration of available financial resources. This report examines the system by which California raises money for transportation and assesses its...

A Report on the Future of Electric Aviation

Seeley, Brien A., MD
Seeley, Damon
Raka, Jasenka, PhD
2020

UC Berkeley has long been known as the home of important societal movements. In early October 2019, the electric aircraft movement came to UC Berkeley (UCB) courtesy of UCB’s Institute for Transportation Studies (ITS) and the College of Engineering. At what some have called the “Woodstock of Aviation”—the Sustainable Aviation Symposium (SAS) convened leaders of that movement from across the globe for two full days in UC’s Pauley Ballroom to explore how to solve important societal-enviro-economic issues in transportation with breakthroughs and innovations in high-tech physics, chemistry and...

Small and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (SB/DBE) Issues in Caltrans Contract and Bid Process

Tommelein, Iris D. PhD
Gazzaniga, Tyler
2022

This Preliminary Investigation document, on one hand, outlines challenges encountered by SB/DBEs in the process of getting certified, entering into a contract, executing on projects or delivering services, and sustaining or growing their business. On the other hand, it summarizes OCR’s current ongoing efforts that are aiming to expand contracting with SB/DBEs. Along the way it identifies opportunities that warrant more in-depth investigation for OCR to target its programming and resource allocation as it aims to reduce obstacles or otherwise improve the ability of SBs/DBEs to successfully...

MAKING DO: How Working Families in Seven U.S. Metropolitan Areas Trade Off Housing Costs and Commuting Times

Cervero, Robert
Chapple, Karen
Landis, John
Wachs, Martin
Duncan, Michael
Scholl, Patricia Lynn
Blumenberg, Evelyn
2006

This report explores how working families in seven major metropolitan regions (Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas–Ft. Worth, Los Angeles, New York City, the San Francisco Bay Area, and Baltimore–Washington) tradeoff housing and commuting costs, and how their tradeoffs differ from those of wealthier families. It is organized into five sections. Beyond this brief introduction, the report consists of five parts. Section 2 introduces the PUMS (Public Use Microdata Sample) database, upon which this analysis is based, and presents the procedures used to identify the seven case study metropolitan regions....

Earmarking in the U.S. Department of Transportation Research Programs

Brach, Ann
Wachs, Martin
2005

US Department of Transportation research funds historically have been awarded on the basis of competition and merit review. Over the last fifteen years, however, transportation research programs have seen dramatic growth in earmarking, a practice in which Congress designates research funds for specific institutions named in legislation. This paper discusses driving forces for and potential risks associated with this practice and presents data on earmarking trends from five USDOT agencies.

Low-Income Student Bus Pass Pilot Project Evaluation: Final Report

McDonald, Noreen
Librera, Sally
Deakin, Elizabeth
Wachs, Martin
2003

In August 2002, AC Transit began offering free bus passes to low-income middle and high school students. At the same time, the agency reduced the cost of its monthly youth pass from $27 to $15. This dramatic reduction in costs for student riders resulted from a grassroots advocacy campaign that successfully focused local political attention on school transportation in an area where school busing had largely been eliminated for middle school and high school students. The creation of the program drew together state and local elected officials, youth advocates, schools, and transportation...