Economics of Urban Transportation

This new edition of the seminal textbook The Economics of Urban Transportation incorporates the latest research affecting the design, implementation, pricing, and control of transport systems in towns and cities. The book offers an economic framework for understanding the societal impacts and policy implications of many factors including congestion, traffic safety, climate change, air quality, COVID-19, and newly important developments such as ride-hailing services, electric vehicles, and autonomous vehicles.

Rigorous in approach and making use of real-world data and econometric techniques, the third edition features a new chapter on the special challenges of managing the energy that powers transportation systems. It provides fully updated coverage of well-known topics and a rigorous treatment of new ones.

All of the basic topics needed to apply economics to urban transportation are included:

• Forecasting demand for transportation services under various conditions
• Measuring costs, including those incurred by users and incorporating two new tools to describe congestion in dense urban areas
• Setting prices under practical constraints
• Evaluating infrastructure investments
• Understanding how private and public sectors interact to provide services

Written by three of the field’s leading researchers, The Economics of Urban Transportation is essential reading for students, researchers, and practicing professionals in transportation economics, planning, engineering, or related disciplines. With a focus on workable models that can be adapted to future needs, it provides tools for a rapidly changing world.

Kenneth A. Small is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of California at Irvine, USA.

Erik T. Verhoef is Professor of Spatial Economics at VU Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Robin Lindsey is Professor in the Operations and Logistics Division at the Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia, Canada.