Todd Litman
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toddlitman.bsky.social
Todd Litman
@toddlitman.bsky.social
480 followers 12 following 72 posts
I am a transport and land use policy analyst. I love doing research about ways to make communities healthier, wealthier and wiser at the Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www.vtpi.org)
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toddlitman.bsky.social
"Road Cost Recovery Trends" (vtpi.org/rcrt.pdf)
This short study calculates the portion of US roadway expenditures paid by fuel taxes and tolls. Most local road costs and a growing portion highway costs are funded by general taxes; user fees now cover less than half of road spending.
Although user fees once funded most highway expenses, local roadway spending, which represent about 27% of total road costs, are primarily funded by general taxes, and during the last six decades total inflation-adjusted roadway spending increased much more than user revenues so, user fees now finance less than half of total road spending. (https://vtpi.org/rcrt.pdf) Per vehicle roadway expenditures and user revenues declined, while annual subsidies increased from less than $400 in the 1970s to more than $500 now. (www.vtpi.org/rcrt.pdf) Between 1960 and 2023 roadway spending per vehicle-mile declined 43% and user revenues 63%. (www.vtpi.org/rcrt.pdf)
November 26, 2025 at 10:11 PM
toddlitman.bsky.social
"Parking: The Dark Matter of the Urban Universe" (www.planetizen.com/blogs/135767...) generated debate on the ITE website.
Critics assume that vehicle ownership is growing, but it peaked and is declining. See "They Future Isn't What it Used to Be" (www.vtpi.org/future.pdf)

Less parking is needed!
US Vehicles Per Capita Trends (https://www.vtpi.org/future.pdf) US Vehicles Per Household Trends (www.vtpi.org/future.pdf)
August 27, 2025 at 8:38 PM
toddlitman.bsky.social
US cities are safe! Urban crime rates plummeted during the last thirty years, especially in large cities, illustrated below. New York is particularly successful. Unfortunately, most people don't know this; their perceptions are outdated. See "A New Transit Safety Paradigm" (www.vtpi.org/safer.pdf).
Violent crime rates declined significantly during the last three decades, particularly in large cities, which has nearly eliminated what was previously a large disparity in crime rates between cities, suburbs and rural areas. Similar declines occurred with property crimes. Most people are unaware of these trends, resulting in excessive fear of city crime risk. (www.vtpi.org/safer.pdf) Although violent crime rates declined from 80 per 1,000 residents in 1992 down to 20 in 2014, crime perception increased between 2000 and 2014. (www.vtpi.org/safer.pdf) New York City has a very low crime rate, slightly above the national average but much lower than most other large- and medium-size cities (www.city-data.com/city/New-York-New-York.html).
August 12, 2025 at 6:45 PM
toddlitman.bsky.social
"Mobility Across Canada" (tram.mcgill.ca/Research/Sur...). New study finds that over half of Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Victoria commuters use non-auto modes, much more than census indicates. Non-drivers report more quality of life. More justification for non-auto investments.
This graph shows commute mode shares for Canadian urban regions. More than half of trips are by non-auto modes in Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria. (https://tram.mcgill.ca/Research/Surveys/Access/AccessCanada.html) Non-drivers are more likely to report that commuting enhances their quality of life. (https://tram.mcgill.ca/Research/Surveys/Access/AccessCanada.html)
August 6, 2025 at 7:08 PM
toddlitman.bsky.social
"Pavement Busters' Guide" (www.vtpi.org/pavbust.pdf) has a new section, 'Off-Street Parking Inefficiencies.' Driveways displace on-street parking so off-street parking mandates often reduces parking supply. More reasons for parking reforms and better planning. parkingreform.org

What do you think?
A driveway typically displaces one on-street parking space. Curbs in front of houses with driveways can typically accommodate just one parked vehicle if under 40’ wide, and two if 50’ wide, one less than homes without driveways. In theory, driveways and garages can accommodate multiple vehicles but they seldom do; garages are often used for storage and driveways are often unoccupied much of the day. As a result, on urban residential streets off-street parking does not generally increase total parking supply, and by replacing public parking with private spaces that may only be used by building occupants, the number of parking spaces available to motorists generally declines. (https://www.vtpi.org/pavbust.pdf)
August 4, 2025 at 8:42 PM
toddlitman.bsky.social
US, Canada, Aus. & NZ rate poorly in portion of youths who use active modes for utilitarian travel (e.g., school, malls, friend’s house), indicating they lack independence and exercise.

"Profiles of Active Transportation among Children and Adolescents" (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...).
This graph compares the portion of children and youths who use active transportation to get to and from places (e.g., school, park, mall, friend’s house). Based on "Profiles of Active Transportation among Children and Adolescents in the Global Matrix" (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7460170)
July 31, 2025 at 3:39 PM
toddlitman.bsky.social
Krugman (paulkrugman.substack.com/p/the-hellsc...) responds to exaggerated urban crime fears. This graph from "Safer Than You Think! Revising the Transit Safety Narrative" (www.vtpi.org/safer.pdf) shows that crime plummeted in recent decades. Good but overlooked news for cities!

What do you think?
Violent crime rates declined significantly during the last three decades, particularly in large cities, which has nearly eliminated what was previously a large disparity in crime rates between cities, suburbs and rural areas. Similar declines occurred with property crimes. Most people are unaware of these trends, resulting in excessive fear of city crime risk. Todd Litman (2025), Safer Than You Think! Revising the Transit Safety Narrative, Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www.vtpi.org); at www.vtpi.org/safer.pdf.
July 24, 2025 at 4:52 PM
toddlitman.bsky.social
My updated research, "Learning from Montreal: An Affordable and Inclusive City" (www.vtpi.org/montreal.pdf) shows that Montreal is far more affordable and has less homelessness than peer cities because it allows multiplexes and other mid-rise housing in walkable neighborhoods.

C'est bon!
Montreal housing prices are 20-40% lower than other large Canadian cities, and because it has compact, walkable neighborhoods with good public transit, residents can minimize their transportation costs. This makes Montreal very affordable, inclusive and livable, and minimizes homelessness.
July 17, 2025 at 4:03 PM
toddlitman.bsky.social
New US tax bill eliminates public healthcare and affordable housing. This will cause financial shocks for tens millions of families. More affordable transport options will be essential, as described in "Evaluating Transportation Affordability" (www.vtpi.org/affordability.pdf). See graphs.
July 7, 2025 at 3:14 PM
toddlitman.bsky.social
We are Warm Showers (warmshowers.org) hosts, which means that a few times each year we provide basic accommodations to long-distance bicycle tourists. This week we had three. They are all wonderful guests full of energy and stories.

Bon voyage, friends!
July 6, 2025 at 11:06 PM
toddlitman.bsky.social
I spent Canada Day morning at our weekly protest against the planned $162 million Malahat Highway expansion through Goldstream Park, just north of Victoria.
Better Island Transit (www.betterislandtransit.ca) advocates shifting the money to provide frequent and affordable bus service.
July 2, 2025 at 6:14 PM
toddlitman.bsky.social
"Why Driving is Bad for Business, Household Wealth and Community Prosperity" shows economic harms of excessive vehicle travel. The graph below from "The Mobility-Productivity Paradox" (www.vtpi.org/ITED_paradox.pdf) shows that GDP increases with fuel prices.

nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/06/23/c...
June 25, 2025 at 5:30 PM
toddlitman.bsky.social
Here is our latest VTPI News which summarizes our latest publications. Below is the cover of my ITE Journal article, "Evaluating Transportation Affordability" (vtpi.org/ITEJ-eta-Jun...). Please let me know what you think.

mailchi.mp/a32ae978829d...
June 19, 2025 at 5:51 PM
toddlitman.bsky.social
Here is my latest published article:
“Evaluating Transportation Affordability,” ITE Journal (www.ite.org), June, pp. 45-50; at vtpi.org/ITEJ-eta-Jun.... It summarizes a longer report with the same name at www.vtpi.org/affordability.pdf.

Please let me know what you think.
https://vtpi.org/ITEJ-eta-Jun2025.pdf
June 3, 2025 at 6:16 PM