Public and political acceptance remains as probably the most serious hurdle facing any city authority contemplating the introduction of urban road pricing, and has attracted much attention over the years from researchers and practitioners alike. This book, which is based on a doctoral research project by Martin Whittles from the University of Westminster, is a further addition to the growing body of literature on this topic and takes the novel approach of attempting to develop a sociological theory of acceptability.
The book begins with a review of past and proposed urban road pricing schemes and the findings of practical studies and surveys of acceptance. There follows a rather brief discussion of the theoretical aspects of the design and implementation of acceptable schemes, which is a little surprising given the main focus of the research. Chapter 3 moves on to discuss in depth various sociological methods for developing theories (in this case the acceptance of urban road pricing) using grounded theory as a basis. The two case studies of Cambridge and Edinburgh are presented in Chapter 4 in terms of describing the collection of data on the acceptance from different groups of alternative pricing schemes. These schemes are varied in terms of key features, including their temporal and spatial coverage and the extent of exemptions for various types of user. The description of the main methodological contribution of the work begins in Chapter 5 where the development of the grounded theory model begins using the data described in the previous chapter. The essentially qualitative analysis of the data is well supported throughout by selected excerpts from taped interviews which formed the database for the analytical phase of the research.
From a practitioner's point of view, the main benefit of the book will be derived from the final chapters which attempt to describe ways in which a consensus can be achieved on an acceptable urban road pricing scheme in terms of its key design characteristics. It is very welcome that the author was able to include as a postscript to the book an application of the grounded theory of acceptance to the London road charging scheme. The book covers a diverse range of issues from academic approaches to the development of theories to the more practical design and implementation of urban road pricing. For this reason it is likely to appeal to a wide audience.
