Dr. Allison C. de Cerreño discussed the New York City/New York State Congestion Commission's five alternatives for achieving traffic congestion relief at a forum entitled "NYC2030 Congestion Pricing Issues: Down to the Wire." The forum was organized by New York New Visions and by the American Institute of Architects' Planning & Urban Design Committee and Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. The forum featured a presentation of the five alternatives that are the subject of public hearings prior to a final commission vote on January 31, 2008.
Linda M. Spock, Visiting Practitioner at the NYU Wagner Rudin Center for Transportation Policy & Management, has produced a new report documenting and synthesizing the experience of a dozen transit agencies that have implemented or tried to implement programmed fare increases -- those that occur on a regular and/or inflation-related basis as opposed to an "as-needed" basis. The transit agencies ranged widely in size, mission, and location, from New Jersey to the San Francisco Bay area. Often, they didn't know others' experiences with similar fare approaches. But taken together, according to the November, 2007, report, their experiences "suggest the importance of clearly communicating the need for regular fare increases to transit customers in the context of agencies' efforts to maintain service, constrain costs, and address customer needs and concerns.
"In short," the report continues, "customers appear to be willing to pay increasingly higher fares on a regular basis if they feel they clearly benefit from reliable transit service, the agency does its 'fair share' in contributing to the most efficient and cost effective operation possible, and the fare increases are small and predictable."
Ms. Spock has served as the NYU Wagner Rudin Center's Visiting Practitioner since 2001. A respected transportation expert, she played a key role in establishing E-ZPass as a regional electronic toll collection system. Following an 11-year career at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, she began her own consulting firm and has been Principal since 1994, conducting research,writing, and project coordination for individual agencies, multi-agency groups, and national and international organizations.
The Rudin Center was established in 1996 at the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and named in September, 2000, in recognition of a generous gift to New York University in support of the Center. It is currently led by the Center's Director, Allison L. C. de Cerreno, Ph.D. Its mission is to provide the tools for strengthening institutions and leadership within and across all modes of transportation, and for encouraging innovative thinking, discourse, and action on urban transportation policy, regionally, nationally, and internationally.
To read the full report, please click below.
After heavy rain delayed New York City's subway network on Aug. 8, 2007, Dr. Allison C. de Cerreño, Director of NYU Wagner Rudin Center for Transportation Policy & Management, spoke with Newsweek's Sarah Kliff about the issues facing New York City's public transit system, how to prevent future situations like this, and what this type of event says about the broader, national public transportation system.
Citing the challenge of falling tax revenue and growing costs, NYU Wagner Rudin Center for Policy and Management Director Allison C. de Cerreño said in an interview with Bloomberg News that a fare increase is necessary. She suggested that future increases take place according to a regular schedule.
"Whether it's this year or next year, at some point they are going to have to raise fares,'' she said in the article published July 25, 2007. ``It's going to be helpful if they can find a way to raise fares on a more regular basis.''
New York's MTA announced plans to increase the transit fare to close the budget gap of about $965 million on July 25.
In anticipation of Mayor Bloomberg's Earth Day announcement of his PlaNYC proposal, NYU Wagner Rudin Center's Director, Dr. Allison C. de Cerreño discusses congestion pricing, one of the elements of the proposal, in a radio interview for American Public Media's program, Marketplace.
To listen, please click here.
On May 17, 2007, the NYU Wagner Rudin Center for Transportation Policy & Management with University Transportation Research Center, Region 2 will host a Visiting Scholars and Practitioners seminar entitled, Hypermotorization in China: Is there No Way Back?" featuring Dr. Lee Schipper, Director of Research of EMBARQ, World Resources Institute Center for Sustainable Transport.
By any definition, China's urban transport is becoming less sustainable. Congestion, traffic accidents and fatalities, as well as urban air pollution from the transport sector have all been increasing over the past two decades. What makes urban transport in China particularly vulnerable to problems is high population density. The speed of China's motorization is at the root of the problem. Hypermotorization is defined as the development where private car ownership outpaces public and private infrastructure's support. Dr. Schipper's presentation will address China's urban transport challenges and how rapidly growing car use and fuel consumption affect quality of life and sustainability issues for Chinese cities.
The seminar will be held at the NYU Wagner Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management, the Puck Building, at 295 Lafayette Street (at Houston), 2nd floor from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. (12:00 - 12:30 registration and refreshments). To register for this free event, please email seminars@utrc2.org or visit www.utrc2.org.