IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/trapol/v10y2003i3p223-233.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Lessons from travel planning and road user charging for policy-making: through imperfection to implementation

Author

Listed:
  • Ison, Stephen
  • Rye, Tom

Abstract

In 1978 Gunn published a seminal paper which explained why implementation of policy is so difficult. The paper set out 10 conditions, which should be satisfied if perfect implementation is to be achieved. Whilst it is clear that perfect implementation is not possible in the real world, and Gunn has subsequently been criticised for his 'top-down' approach to decision-making, these conditions do, nonetheless act as an effective framework through which to evaluate good practice in the implementation of urban transport policy instruments. Two urban transport policy instruments, which form an increasingly important element of the Government's strategy in the UK for reducing the demand for private transport as set out in a New Deal for Transport (DETR, 1998), are travel plans and road user charging. Travel plans are a relatively recent policy instrument in the UK and seek to reduce trips to work by car by providing, through individual employers, a targeted, integrated package of incentives and disincentives to influence commuters' choice of mode of travel to and from the workplace. Road user charging, whereby motorists are charged for the road space they use in urban areas, seeks to reduce the congestion problem via the price mechanism, and has a longer history in the UK. To date the implementation of travel plans in the UK has been more widespread than that of road user charging. It is fair to say, however, that the widespread implementation of both urban transport policy instruments is a complex and sensitive area for decision-makers. The aim of this paper is firstly, to analyse travel plans and road user charging in the UK with respect to the conditions for perfect implementation put forward by Gunn and secondly, to highlight the elements of good practice, pertinent to the implementation of road user charging, in the process of the implementation of travel plans. Overall, the paper uses Gunn's theoretical framework as a basis for recommendations for better decision-making that will aid the wider implementation of both travel plans and road user charging internationally.

Suggested Citation

  • Ison, Stephen & Rye, Tom, 2003. "Lessons from travel planning and road user charging for policy-making: through imperfection to implementation," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 223-233, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:10:y:2003:i:3:p:223-233
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967-070X(03)00023-4
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rye, Tom, 2002. "Travel plans: do they work?," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 287-298, October.
    2. Odeck, James & Bråthen, Svein, 2002. "Toll financing in Norway: The success, the failures and perspectives for the future," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 253-260, July.
    3. Ison, S., 2000. "Local authority and academic attitudes to urban road pricing: a UK perspective," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 7(4), pages 269-277, October.
    4. Ellickson, P.L. & McGuigan, K.A., 2000. "Early predictors of adolescent violence," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 90(4), pages 566-572.
    5. Ison, Stephen, 1998. "A concept in the right place at the wrong time: congestion metering in the city of Cambridge," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 5(3), pages 139-146, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hakim Hammadou & Claire Papaix, 2015. "Policy packages for modal shift and CO2 reduction in Lille, France," Working Papers 1501, Chaire Economie du climat.
    2. De Gruyter, Chris & Rose, Geoffrey & Currie, Graham, 2015. "Enhancing the impact of travel plans for new residential developments: Insights from implementation theory," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 24-35.
    3. Jason Monios, 2017. "Policy transfer or policy churn? Institutional isomorphism and neoliberal convergence in the transport sector," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 49(2), pages 351-371, February.
    4. Vonk Noordegraaf, Diana & Annema, Jan Anne & van Wee, Bert, 2014. "Policy implementation lessons from six road pricing cases," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 172-191.
    5. repec:cec:wpaper:1415 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Catherine Althaus & Lindsay M. Tedds & Allen McAvoy, 2011. "The Feasibility of Implementing a Congestion Charge on the Halifax Peninsula: Filling the "Missing Link" of Implementation," Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Press, vol. 37(4), pages 541-561, December.
    7. Brand, C. & Marsden, G. & Anable, J.L. & Dixon, J. & Barrett, J., 2025. "Achieving deep transport energy demand reductions in the United Kingdom," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    8. Robin Lindsey, 2007. "Congestion Relief: Assessing the Case for Road Tolls in Canada," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary, C.D. Howe Institute, issue 248, May.
    9. McTigue, Clare & Monios, Jason & Rye, Tom, 2018. "Identifying barriers to implementation of local transport policy: An analysis of bus policy in Great Britain," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 133-143.
    10. Monios, Jason & Lambert, Bruce, 2013. "The Heartland Intermodal Corridor: public private partnerships and the transformation of institutional settings," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 36-45.
    11. Rye, Tom & Green, Corinna & Young, Emma & Ison, Stephen, 2011. "Using the land-use planning process to secure travel plans: an assessment of progress in England to date," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 235-243.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Georgina Santos & Laurent Rojey, 2004. "Distributional impacts of road pricing: The truth behind the myth," Transportation, Springer, vol. 31(1), pages 21-42, February.
    2. Ronnie Schöb, 2005. "Not optimal, but Effective: the Multi-Mode Ticket for Reducing Urban Traffic Congestion in Medium-Sized Towns," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 3(03), pages 28-33, November.
    3. Santos, Georgina, 2004. "11. Urban Road Pricing In The U.K," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(1), pages 251-282, January.
    4. repec:ces:ifodic:v:3:y:2005:i:3:p:14567614 is not listed on IDEAS
    5. Andrea Baranzini & Stefano Carattini & Linda Tesauro, 2021. "Designing Effective and Acceptable Road Pricing Schemes: Evidence from the Geneva Congestion Charge," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 79(3), pages 417-482, July.
    6. Baños-Pino, José F. & Boto-García, David & Zapico, Emma, 2021. "Persistence and dynamics in the efficiency of toll motorways: The Spanish case," Efficiency Series Papers 2021/03, University of Oviedo, Department of Economics, Oviedo Efficiency Group (OEG).
    7. Vonk Noordegraaf, Diana & Annema, Jan Anne & van Wee, Bert, 2014. "Policy implementation lessons from six road pricing cases," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 172-191.
    8. Odeck, James, 2019. "Estimating and predicting the operational costs of road tolls: An econometric assessment using panel data," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 466-478.
    9. Rye, Tom & Welsch, Janina & Plevnik, Aljaz & de Tommasi, Roberto, 2011. "First steps towards cross-national transfer in integrating mobility management and land use planning in the EU and Switzerland," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 533-543, May.
    10. Chung, Demi & Hensher, David A. & Rose, John M., 2010. "Toward the betterment of risk allocation: Investigating risk perceptions of Australian stakeholder groups to public-private-partnership tollroad projects," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 43-58.
    11. Odeck, James & Bråthen, Svein, 2002. "Toll financing in Norway: The success, the failures and perspectives for the future," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 253-260, July.
    12. Harriet Bulkeley & Tim Rayner, 2003. "New Realism and Local Realities: Local Transport Planning in Leicester and Cambridgeshire," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 40(1), pages 35-55, January.
    13. Wencai Hu & Mengru Sun, 2023. "COVID-19 Stressors and Aggression among Chinese College Students: The Mediation Role of Coping Strategies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-13, February.
    14. Markus Robèrt & Daniel Jonsson R., 2005. "Assessment of Policy Instruments Toward a Sustainable Traffic System -A backcasting approach for Stockhom 2030," ERSA conference papers ersa05p170, European Regional Science Association.
    15. Hebes, Paul & Menge, Julius & Lenz, Barbara, 2013. "Service-related traffic: An analysis of the influence of firms on travel behaviour," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 43-53.
    16. Zimmerman, Gregory M. & Rees, Carter, 2014. "Do school disciplinary policies have positive social impacts? Examining the attenuating effects of school policies on the relationship between personal and peer delinquency," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 54-65.
    17. Attard, Maria & Ison, Stephen G., 2010. "The implementation of road user charging and the lessons learnt: the case of Valletta, Malta," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 14-22.
    18. Hensher, David A. & Li, Zheng, 2013. "Referendum voting in road pricing reform: A review of the evidence," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 186-197.
    19. Yacan Wang & Yu Wang & Luyao Xie & Huiyu Zhou, 2018. "Impact of Perceived Uncertainty on Public Acceptability of Congestion Charging: An Empirical Study in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-21, December.
    20. Guohui Zhang & Zhong Wang & Khali Persad & C. Walton, 2014. "Enhanced traffic information dissemination to facilitate toll road utilization: a nested logit model of a stated preference survey in Texas," Transportation, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 231-249, March.
    21. Chen, Peng & Yang, Xiankui, 2023. "Revisit employer-based travel demand management: A longitudinal analysis," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 22-31.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:trapol:v:10:y:2003:i:3:p:223-233. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/30473/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.