Browsing by Author "Zhao, Zhirong"
Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Enhancing Public Engagement in Transportation Policymaking (Research Brief)(Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2012-01) Zhao, Zhirong; Quick, Kathryn S.This two-page document summarizes a four-step framework for public organizations to use in deciding how to design and manage the public engagement process.Item From Fuel Taxes to Mileage-Based User Fees: Rationale, Technology, and Transitional Issues(Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute, Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota, 2011-08) Coyle, David; Robinson, Ferrol; Zhao, Zhirong; Munnich, Lee; Lari, AdeelTwo national commissions established by the U.S. Congress recommend replacing the current system of funding transportation based on fuel taxes with a new distance-based system of user fees. The State of Oregon has done a pilot project demonstrating a system for transitioning to mileage-based fees by paying the fees at the gas pump. The University of Iowa has conducted pilot tests around the country to determine how drivers respond to a mileage-based fee approach using GPS-based technology. The Puget Sound Regional Council has conducted a test of congestion tolling. Finally, the Minnesota Department of Transportation is testing an approach for collecting mileage-based user charges using commercially available smartphones with built-in GPS devices, in which the charge element is just one of the applications. While there have been discussions among many transportation leaders regarding why fuel taxes are no longer a good way of funding the transportation system, there is by no means a public understanding of why this is so. The public assumes that the taxes they pay at the pump are paying for the system, and that if funding problems exist, they are due to waste and inefficiency. This examination–of the rationale, technology, and transitional issues in shifting from a financing system for surface transportation based on fuel taxes to one that is based on a mileage-based user fee (MBUF) traveled or vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) fee–sets the stage for a policy discussion on transportation-related user fees and lays the groundwork for an extensive public outreach effort.Item Suggested Design and Management Techniques for Enhancing Public Engagement in Transportation Policymaking(University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies, 2011-10) Quick, Kathryn; Zhao, ZhirongThis report analyzes how the public can be effectively engaged in democratic decision-making and implementation of technically complex transportation policies. Its contribution is to compile and analyze strategies for enhancing public engagement specifically in transportation planning and policy via a review of the literature, identification of key design choices in organizing public engagement, a case study, and recommendations for further research. It incorporates the following sections: 1) Highlights from existing knowledge about the benefits, purposes, and challenges of public engagement. 2) An assessment of the state of public engagement in transportation and an evaluation of participatory designs currently being used in the sector. 3) A framework that we suggest transportation policy-makers utilize in deciding how to design public engagement processes. 4) Description and analysis of two cases of participatory transportation planning efforts in Grand Rapids, Michigan. 5) Recommendations for further research and proposals for how to engage the public in several current transportation policy issues in Minnesota.Item Value Capture for Transportation Finance(2012) Zhao, Zhirong; Iacono, Michael J; Lari, Adeel; Levinson, David MAs vehicles become more fuel-efficient and overall levels of travel stagnate in response to increases in fuel prices, conventional sources of revenue for transportation finance such as taxes on motor fuels have been put under increasing pressure. One potential replacement as a source of revenue is a set of policies collectively referred to as value capture policies. In contrast to fuel taxes and other instruments that impose charges on users of transportation networks, value capture policies seek to generate revenue by extracting a portion of the gains in the value of land that result from improvements to transportation networks. In this paper we identify a set of eight policies that contain elements of the value capture approach. These policies include land value taxes, tax increment financing, special assessments, transportation utility fees, development impact fees, negotiated exactions, joint development, and air rights. We evaluate each of the policies according to four criteria: efficiency, equity, sustainability (in terms of revenue adequacy and stability), and feasibility. The value capture concept is placed within a more general framework of transportation finance that emphasizes the relationship between different types of charges and groups of beneficiaries from transportation investments.