About Daniel B. Klein (Edit profile)

Daniel B. Klein is professor of economics at Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA 95053 (dklein@mailer.scu.edu).

Hot Lanes: Introducing Congestion-Pricing One Lane at a Time

Gordon J. Fielding and Daniel B. Klein

For years, economists have claimed that the only solution to highway congestion is to charge motorists for driving. But it's clear that congestion pricing still remains politically unpopular. People easily recognize the losses they'll incur by paying tolls. But they ignore the prospective benefits, including equitable distribution of driving costs, reduced congestion, efficient use of road capacity, increased public transit and ridesharing, and funding for highway upkeep and expansion.

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Free To Cruise: Creating Curb Space For Jitneys

Daniel B. Klein, Adrian T. Moore, and Binyam Reja

Public buses can't compete with private automobiles because bus rides usually involve long waits, slower commutes, limited route and destination choices, and less privacy. To improve transit, it may be necessary to overhaul our current government-owned bus system by legalizing private transit services. Consider one promising alternative, "jitneys" - small private vehicles that carry passengers over regular routes but allow flexible schedules.

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Private Toll Roads in America – The First Time Around

Daniel B. Klein

The notion of private highways, which must have seemed fantastic to Americans just a few years ago, was commonplace to our great-great-grandparents. Built in the 1790s in the growing Republic, the first toll roads stimulated commerce, settlement, and population. Fiscal constraints and insufficient administrative manpower led communities to search outside the public sector for help. During the 19th century more than 2,000 private companies financed, built, and operated toll roads. A glimpse at our history may provide a useful perspective on today's budding toll-road movement.

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