Indicators for Sustainable Transportation Planning

work of Abraham and Hunt (1, 2). PECAS combines concepts from traditional Walrasian (general equilibrium) economics with random utility theory. Random utility theory permits the representation of heterogeneous goods and actors with heterogeneous tastes in which the prices of goods vary by zone. The implementation of discrete choice theory by the use of logit equations also permits partial utility to be represented, which is useful for analysis of the benefits of alternative goods and locations. This model structure gives utility measures for households and firms, both as producers and as consumers. A statistical discussion of the consistency of the model set with random utility theory is given by Abraham and Hunt (3). The California travel model will produce typical measures of transportation system performance, such as vehicle miles of travel (VMT), person-hours of delay, mode shares, and roadway level of service (LOS). The California on-road vehicle emissions model will give levels of pollutant emissions, as well as energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. The PECAS model will give a broad array of outputs representing economic utility for firms by sector, households by income, housing rents, housing affordability for households by income class, and economic development (state product, wages, exports). It will also produce measures concerning changes in natural resources, such as the amount of land converted from croplands and grazing lands or from various habitat types to urban and suburban development. Related environmental impact measures will include energy use in buildings and the resultant greenhouse gas emissions. Basic measures of non-point-source water pollution (urban runoff) at various watershed levels will also be produced. The comprehensive set of indicators in the model set raises interesting issues of how such a large set of outputs should be managed so that they are useful for public policy analysis. Single-purpose state and federal agencies will probably concern themselves mainly with measures that relate to the issues within their jurisdictions. Therefore, the state housing agency will be interested in housing affordability, whereas Caltrans headquarters and districts will chiefly be concerned with delay, congestion, and pollutant emissions. The state energy agency must report on the cost-effectiveness of transportation scenarios and energy use, and so it will be interested in economic costs, utility measures, energy use, and greenhouse gas emissions. State and federal natural resources agencies will likely be focused on air pollutant emissions, habitat conversion, the erosion potential of developed lands, and water quality. The outputs will be useful for the monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions, which, according to the California Climate Warming Act adopted in 2006, requires greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced by about 30% by 2020. A related executive order by the governor requires a reduction of 80% by 2050, in accordance with the recommendations of recent international studies. Many state agencies are now implementing this statute, which will reach into every aspect of California’s economy. Indicators for Sustainable Transportation Planning