CAN TRAVEL VOUCHERS ENCOURAGE MORE SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL?

A Root

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2001

Subject Area

economics - benefits, mode - mass transit, place - rural, policy - sustainable, ridership - drivers

Keywords

United Kingdom, Travel vouchers, Transportation policy, Transit operators, Transit, Taxes, Sustainable transportation, Rural transportation, Rural areas, Public transit, National Travel Survey (United Kingdom), Mass transit, Local transit, Incentives, Great Britain, Fringe benefits, Employers, Employees, Employee benefits, Automobiles, Automobile driving, Automobile drivers

Abstract

Because the growth of transportation poses difficult dilemmas for social and environmental policy, a major goal of transportation policy is to lessen use of private cars and increase public transport use. There is broad agreement that a variety of 'carrot' and 'stick' measures are needed to accomplish this goal. Travel vouchers can provide an incentive, or 'carrot', not to commute by car. The basic idea of travel vouchers is similar to the Luncheon Vouchers, but in this case the vouchers are for public transport. Employers issue the vouchers and claim the tax back from the Government. Potentially, travel vouchers could generate a 'win-win' situation in which transport operators' rising revenues justified new services and these, in turn, encouraged more passengers. The research described in this article uses survey data and the National Travel Survey to examine the acceptability and potential fiscal impact of a rural tax-free travel voucher scheme throughout the United Kingdom. These results show that there is sufficient acceptance of the idea of travel vouchers in rural areas to justify the further development of this policy.

Rights

Permission to publish the abstract given by Elsevier, copyright remains with them.

Comments

Transport Policy Home Page: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/0967070X

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