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Transport policies, travel behavior, and sustainability: a comparison of Germany and the U.S.
Descriptive
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Title
Transport policies, travel behavior, and sustainability: a comparison of Germany and the U.S.
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Buehler
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Ralph
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Ralph Buehler
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author
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John
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John R. Pucher
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chair
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Jagannathan
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Radha
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Advisory Committee
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Radha Jagannathan
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Greenberg
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Michael
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Advisory Committee
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Michael R. Greenberg
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Seneca
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Joseph
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Joseph J. Seneca
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internal member
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Kunert
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Uwe
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Advisory Committee
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Uwe Kunert
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Rutgers University
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Graduate School - New Brunswick
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theses
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2008
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2008-05
Language
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English
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electronic
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xxi, 500 pages
Abstract
This dissertation investigates the influence of transport policies on individual travel behavior in Germany and the U.S. In spite of increasing automobile use in both countries, Germany has been more successful than the U.S. in maintaining a more balanced, sustainable transport system. In 2002, Americans drove 125 percent more kilometers per capita than Germans. Walking, cycling, and public transport accounted for only 14 percent of all trips in the U.S., compared to 40 percent in Germany. Excessive reliance on the car is responsible for unsustainable trends such as environmental pollution, oil dependence, obesity, traffic congestion, and road fatalities. In 2005, urban transport energy use and CO2 emissions per capita were three times higher in the U.S. than in Germany.
This analysis contains two parts capturing the interdependencies of transportation policies and individual travel decisions. A descriptive and qualitative examination of differences in travel trends and transport policies over time sets the frameworks within which individuals make daily travel choices in each country. A multivariate analysis based on two comparable national travel surveys then explores the intricacies of these choices.
The analysis shows that policies and institutions in the U.S. contribute to making car use cheaper, easier, and more common than in Germany. In 2005, for example, revenues from roadway user taxes and fees in Germany were 2.6 times larger than roadway expenditures by all levels of government, compared to net subsidies for roadways in the U.S. Unlike the majority of American cities, most German municipalities promote non-automobile travel and impose restrictions on driving, thus making car travel slower and less attractive. In 2002, average car travel speeds in the U.S. were 33 percent faster than in Germany. Multivariate analyses showed that transportation policies accounted for up to 25 percent of the variability explained in travel behavior.
Several policy recommendations follow from this research. First, higher population density, a greater mix of land uses, access to public transportation, and higher gasoline prices reduce car travel. Second, higher car-ownership rates and faster average car travel speeds increase car use. Lastly, the combination of car-restrictive policies with measures that increase the attractiveness of non-automobile modes has been key to more limited car use in Germany.
This analysis contains two parts capturing the interdependencies of transportation policies and individual travel decisions. A descriptive and qualitative examination of differences in travel trends and transport policies over time sets the frameworks within which individuals make daily travel choices in each country. A multivariate analysis based on two comparable national travel surveys then explores the intricacies of these choices.
The analysis shows that policies and institutions in the U.S. contribute to making car use cheaper, easier, and more common than in Germany. In 2005, for example, revenues from roadway user taxes and fees in Germany were 2.6 times larger than roadway expenditures by all levels of government, compared to net subsidies for roadways in the U.S. Unlike the majority of American cities, most German municipalities promote non-automobile travel and impose restrictions on driving, thus making car travel slower and less attractive. In 2002, average car travel speeds in the U.S. were 33 percent faster than in Germany. Multivariate analyses showed that transportation policies accounted for up to 25 percent of the variability explained in travel behavior.
Several policy recommendations follow from this research. First, higher population density, a greater mix of land uses, access to public transportation, and higher gasoline prices reduce car travel. Second, higher car-ownership rates and faster average car travel speeds increase car use. Lastly, the combination of car-restrictive policies with measures that increase the attractiveness of non-automobile modes has been key to more limited car use in Germany.
Note
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Ph.D.
Note
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Includes bibliographical references (p. 479-498).
Subject
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Topic
Planning and Public Policy
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Topic
Choice of transportation
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Topic
Transportation--Planning
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Graduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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rucore19991600001
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http://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.2/rucore10001600001.ETD.17083
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ETD_814
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doi:10.7282/T30R9PR7
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ETD doctoral
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The author owns the copyright to this work.
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Ralph Buehler
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Rutgers University. Graduate School - New Brunswick
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I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
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