Monday, November 29, 2010

User fees matter

Plastic bags:
Charging for plastic bags cut bag consumption by half in China: "ScienceDaily (Nov. 28, 2010) — Research from the University of Gothenburg (Sweden) shows that people in China -- the number one consumers of plastic bags in the world -- reduced their consumption of plastic bags by half when stores were forced to charge consumers for the bags."
Smoking:
The cigarette companies have opposed tobacco tax increases by arguing that raising cigarette prices would not reduce adult or youth smoking. But the companies’ internal documents, disclosed in the tobacco lawsuits, show that they know very well that raising cigarette prices is one of the most effective ways to prevent and reduce smoking, especially among kids.
http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/research/factsheets/pdf/0146.pdf
Public transit: Read our blog and website for numerous examples of how removing the user fee from public transit lowers the unit cost of this public investment and vastly increases the ROI.