About David Levinson (Edit profile)

David Levinson is a post-doctoral researcher at the Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 - 1720 (dmlevins@uclink4.berkeley.edu). He received the Ph.D. degree in civil and environmental engineering at UC Berkeley in June.

Taxing Foreigners Living Abroad

David Levinson

Will toll roads ever become the norm, leaving “free” roads a distant memory? Now that new electronic toll-collection systems can collect fees from vehicles traveling at full speed, we must ask whether they inevitably will. People who believe technological developments compel institutional changes expect tolls will replace taxes in transportation finance. Those who believe institutional arrangements are independent of technological changes are dubious.

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The Full Cost of Intercity Travel: A Comparison of Air, Highway, and High-speed Rail

David Levinson

In 1993, the state of California formed the California Intercity High-Speed Rail Commission to develop a twenty-year plan for service along the California Corridor, from Los Angeles to San Francisco. A high-speed rail system would cost $10 billion to $15 billion, but its advocates believe it would be the least costly mode of intercity travel in California. They emphasize that trains can travel between northern and southern California in under three hours, while consuming less energy and generating less pollution than automobiles or airplanes.

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