Institutional Innovations and Mathematical Models of Reuben Smeed in Light of Modern Russian Transport Realities

Abstract

This article analyses the problems, realities and innovations of modern Russian transport using the research heritage of Smeed. A conformity assessment of retrospective and current Russian data on road accident mortality was made according to Smeed’s Law of 1949, which determines the statistical relationship between the level of motorization of the population and social risks. On the basis of Smeed’s basic hypothesis of “transport self-education of the nation” the success of this process in Russia is estimated for 1990–2018.

The balance of supply and demand for the resources of the throughput capacity of a city’s road network was assessed using Smeed’s model of 1966; the validity of this model in the planning and traffic conditions of modern Moscow was confirmed.

The main tools of active demand management for car trips are analyzed using the road pricing from the 1964 Smeed Report. The efficiency, expediency and peculiarities of its application in a number of large Russian cities are evaluated.