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BOOKSHELFTRB PUBLICATIONS (continued)TR NEWS 264 SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 200938To order TRB titlesdescribed in Bookshelf,visit the TRB onlineBookstore, at www.TRB.org/bookstore/, orcontact the BusinessOffice at 202-334-3213.report. The IHS serves a large portion of the nation’shighway transportation demand; the development ofusable management principles and strategies for thesystem presents a challenge. The report describes thescope of this challenge and presents specific assetmanagement practices that may be adapted for theIHS.2009; 71 pp.; TRB affiliates, $34.50; nonaffiliates,$46. Subscriber category: planning and administration(IA).Impact of Shoulder Width and MedianWidth on SafetyNCHRP Report 633Of interest to transportation professionals responsiblefor geometric design and traffic operations, this reportdetails research performed to quantify the safety andoperational impacts of design element trade-offs andtheir associated risks. Recommended are specificcrash prediction models and accident modificationfactors for shoulder width and median width on ruralfour-lane roads.2009; 37 pp.; TRB affiliates, $28.50; nonaffiliates,$38. Subscriber categories: highway operations, capacity,and traffic control (IVA); safety and human performance(IVB).Guidelines for Guardrail ImplementationNCHRP Report 638Authors provide guidance on selecting the appropriatebarrier performance level for the installation oflongitudinal barriers. The report presents performance-levelselection guidelines, as well as site-specificguidelines, to help identify the guardrail testlevel that should be incorporated and to determinewhen guardrail use is not cost-beneficial. Supplementalprocedures for identifying appropriateguardrail test levels assist in expanding the applicabilityof the selection guidelines.2009; 30 pp.; TRB affiliates, $27; nonaffiliates, $36.Subscriber category: highway and facility design (IIA).Debt Finance Practices for Surface TransportationNCHRP Synthesis 395Presented are basic principles of debt issuance forpublic agencies, with a focus on the current practicesof state agencies that are responsible for surface transportationinvestment. A literature review; a comprehensivesurvey of state departments of transportation;selected interviews; and a study of selected state policies,guidelines, and documentation provide guidanceon the effective use of debt financing techniquesto fund investments in transportation infrastructure.2009; 84 pp.; TRB affiliates, $36.75; nonaffiliates,$49. Subscriber category: planning and administration(IA).Transit, Call Centers, and 511:A Guide for Decision MakersTCRP Report 134This guide explores the operational characteristics of511 systems—which disseminate traveler informationby telephone—and examines how the systemsinteract with transit system call centers. Existing 511systems throughout the country are examined, transitagency experiences with and participation in 511are documented, and guidance is presented to assisttransit agencies and 511 system administrators indetermining a strategy for transit and 511 to worktogether.2009; 89 pp.; TRB affiliates, $38.25; nonaffiliates,$51. Subscriber categories: planning and administration(IA) and public transit (VI).Controlling System Costs: Basic and AdvancedScheduling Manuals and Contemporary Issues inTransit SchedulingTCRP Report 135An update to 1998’s Transit Scheduling: Basic andAdvanced Manuals, this report addresses contemporaryissues in transit scheduling. Authors presentinformation on available scheduling tools and techniquesand their capabilities, and provide guidance totransit agencies on a variety of scheduling issues typicallyfaced in a transit operating environment.2009; 401 pp.; TRB affiliates, $41.25; nonaffiliates,$55. Subscriber category: public transit (VI).Deicing Planning Guidelines and Practices forStormwater Management SystemsACRP Report 14One of the first volumes on deicing operations, thisreport examines a wide array of practices designed toprovide for the practical, cost-effective control ofrunoff from aircraft and airfield deicing and anti-icingoperations. The report offers practical technical guidancefor airports, aircraft operators, consultants,designers, and regulators. This two-part volumeincludes as an addendum all the fact sheets listed inthe report.2009; 180 pp.; TRB affiliates, $48; nonaffiliates, $64.Subscriber categories: energy and environment (IB); aviation(V); and bridges, other structures, and hydraulicsand hydrology (IIC).
LETTERS TO THE EDITOREquity of Rail InvestmentsSandra Rosenbloom’s essay, The Equity Implicationsof Financing the Nation’s Surface Transportation System(TR News, No. 261, March–April 2009, pp. 3–9)speaks to a most current topic. She notes, however,that poor people tend to use buses, while the railmodes serve the wealthy. When rail service is availableto the poor, they use it more than they use buses.National data are misleading, because many smallercities have no rail transit. Typically, 55 percent of busriders may be low income, but only 45 percent of railriders may be low income. Annual per capita railridership may be 890 passenger-miles—as in Washington,D.C.—but bus ridership is only 278 annualpassenger-miles per capita. The poor travel 400annual passenger-miles per capita by rail, but only152 by bus (1).The article also notes that rail transit is morecostly than bus, primarily because of capital investment.This may be true for some systems, but not formost. In 2007, rail transit averaged a cost of 37.6cents per passenger-mile, and bus transit averaged 77cents. In large cities with rail transit, some bus operationscost more than $1 per passenger-mile in 2007(1). Moreover, according to accountants, capitalinvestment is not an expense, but an asset. Thecost—called depreciation—comes when the asset isused.In the national capital area, for example, roughly$11 billion has been invested in the Metrorail system,parts of which are now 33 years old. Depreciation isabout 2.5 percent, equal to $275 million per year or17 cents per passenger-mile. Added to the operatingcost, the full cost is 61 cents per passenger-mile, butbus costs were $1.17 per passenger-mile, plus depreciationof about 16 cents, for a total of $1.33 perpassenger-mile—almost equal to taxi costs (2). Saving72 cents per passenger-mile benefits rich andpoor alike.There is more to consider. The national capitalarea consumes 350 gallons of motor fuel per capita,similar to New York City with its subway and commuterrail systems. The national average is 580 gallonsper capita, similar to large cities with no railtransit (3–5). With petroleum at $2.50 per gallon,that is worth $1 billion a year per city, less $67 millionfor the electricity to run rail (1). That isabsolutely equitable for all citizens—although notpossible without public funding of capital investment.—E. L. TennysonRegistered Professional EngineerEmeritus Member, TRB Commuter RailTransportation CommitteeVienna, VirginiaReferences1. National Transit Database. Federal Transit Administration.www.ntdprogram.com.2. Figures derive from professional experience with Metrorailas consultant to the National Capital TransportationAgency; as Public Works Planning Coordinator for ArlingtonCounty, Virginia; and as Chair, Chief AdministrativeOfficers’ Metro Budget Review Committee.3. World Almanac. www.worldalmanac.com.4. Northern Virginia Transportation Commission. www.thinkoutsidethecar.org.5. U.S. Census Bureau. www.census.gov.Oregon’s Definition of EquitySandra Rosenbloom’s article, The Equity Implicationsof Financing the Nation’s Surface TransportationSystem, is informative and well done. In Oregon,we also consider equity among highway user andvehicle classes, based on the costs attributable tovehicles of differing sizes, weights, and other operatingcharacteristics.The principle of cost responsibility—that paymentsfrom transportation system users should be indirect proportion to the costs they impose on thesystem—has served as the cornerstone of Oregonhighway finance for more than 70 years. Under thisdefinition of equity, the fairness of any highway taxationstructure is measured by how well paymentsfrom each vehicle class match the costs associatedwith the use of the highway system by that class. Typicallyapplied to highways, this principle is equallyrelevant to other transportation modes.Oregon conducts periodic studies to quantify andcompare the responsibilities and revenue contributionsof light vehicles up to 10,000 pounds and heavyvehicles of 10,000 pounds or more. Since 1999, thestate constitution has required that these studies beconducted biennially and that highway user tax ratesbe adjusted, if necessary, to ensure “fairness and proportionality”between the major vehicle classes. Thistradition has served the state well by ensuring thathighway taxes and fees are levied in an equitable andefficient manner. This has provided all highway userswith a common basis to support needed increases intransportation funding.—John MerrissManager, Highway Cost Allocation StudiesOregon Department of TransportationSalem, OregonSandra Rosenbloom replies:As John Merriss notes, Oregon is a recognized leaderin addressing equity issues in highway finance. Butweight differences are not the only way in whichvehicles and drivers can have an unfair impact on thehighway system. Two federal commissions have con-TR NEWS 264 SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 200939
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