Road Pricing

Jenny Jones of the UK Green Party is running for mayor in the 2012 London election. She set out plans for a road pricing scheme that would cover the whole of London with a sliding price structure, charging £5 to travel around Zone 6 but up to 10 times that to travel into the city centre.

Road pricing levies people for the noise, danger and pollution they cause, and for the public road space they monopolize, and helps finance government in lieu of other taxes. Clean air, quiet, safety and public streets are parts of "the commons" and anyone who uses or abuses the commons should compensate the greater community.

Take a look at her road pricing policies here: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23911543-id-raise-congestion-charge-to-pound-50-says-green-who-would-be-mayor.do .

Also, below is info on a Toronto conference on this issue. Half the people in the old city of Toronto don't have cars, yet we have to suffer the endless noise, danger, pollution of other people's cars. Right-pricing road use will encourage complete streets where urban areas become walkable neighbourhoods linked by transit, bike and pedestrian paths and cars aren't needed.

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Transport Futures - Mobility Pricing Conference

Thursday, February 3, 201, Metropolitan Hotel, Toronto, Ontario

www.transportfutures.ca/mobility

Transporting people and goods presents society with several challenges: congestion, urban sprawl, smog, climate change, safety and health impacts to name a few. International research and experience has demonstrated that transport-based user fees can be set by government in order to modify driver behavior, raise earmarked revenue for sustainable transportation infrastructure and assist in making bureaucracies more efficient, transparent and accountable to the public. However, these worthy objectives are not easy to achieve and lead to several complex questions:

· Is the current tax generation system more equitable than paying for government services when they are consumed (as is considered normal when purchasing private goods and services)?

· Why do citizens view user fees as inequitable or as a double tax – be it for transportation, health, education or other government services?

· How can parking fees, transit fares, gas taxes and road tolls be established to ensure equity and efficiency? How do they compare with other taxes that are not directly linked to transportation (e.g. regional sales taxes, income tax)?

· What role does politics play when setting mobility prices?

We will answer these questions – and many more -- with the assistance of these American and Canadian experts:

· Dr. Lisa Schweitzer, School of Policy, Planning, & Development, University of Southern California

· Dr. Keith Neuman, Environics Research Group Ltd.

· Dr. David King, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation, Columbia University

· Dr. Richard von Haefen, Center for Environmental & Resource Economic Policy, North Carolina State University

· Mr. Peter Mills, Perrin Thorau & Associates

· Professor Harry Kitchen, Department of Economics, Trent University

· Dr. Jeff Casello, School of Planning & Department of Civil Engineering, University of Waterloo

· Mr. Ralph Bond, BA Group

· Dr. Brendon Hemily, Hemily & Associates

· … and more to be confirmed soon!

Don’t miss this valuable opportunity to learn what role user fees play in North America and how mobility pricing can drive transport efficiency, sustainability and social justice!

Seating is limited. Please register today to take advantage of our incredible Early Bird Rates.

Visit http://www.transportfutures.ca/mobility for full program details!!