Internalising The Social Costs Of Transport

Soziale Kosten / externe Kosten.

Many transport economists have for some time proposed marginal social cost as the principle on which prices in the transport sector should be based and, in recent years, their prescription has come to be taken more and more seriously by policy-makers. However, in order to properly test the possible implications of implementing pricing based on marginal social cost and, ultimately, to introduce such a system, it is necessary to actually measure the marginal social costs concerned, and how they vary according to mode, time and context. This book reviews the transport pricing policy debate and reports on the significant advances made in measuring the marginal social costs of transport, particularly through UNITE and other European research projects. We look in turn at infrastructure, operating costs, user costs (both of congestion and of charges in frequency of scheduled transport services) accidents and environmental costs, and how these estimates have been used to examine the impact of marginal cost pricing in transport. We finish by examining how the results of case studies might be generalised to obtain estimates of marginal social costs for all circumstances and, finally, presenting our conclusions.

Modern transportation systems have far-reaching, and serious consequences: deaths and injuries from accidents, pollution of air, water and groundwater, noise congestion, and the greenhouse effect. As world transport systems expand and become increasingly motorised, the transportation community is searching for systems that are both efficient and sustainable. Here, leading international researchers explore the issues and concepts and define the state of knowledge concerning the full costs and benefits of transportation.

This glossary of terms and definitions, which was produced by an ad hoc Task Force on Social Costs, provides a basis for agreement among governments on what classes of social effects require internalisation and where intervention is appropriate.

Pollution, accidents and congestion all cause unnecessary welfare losses, and while transport services are an essential component of economic and social development, their negative side effects are drawing increasing political attention. Internalisation aims to create incentives to reduce these external costs by factoring them into markets. This report: - summarises the theoretical and practical dimensions to internalisation; - reviews recent estimates of external costs; - explores the mix of policies that might be used to promote internalisation successfully; - and estimates the size of incentives required in monetary terms.

Modern transportation systems have far-reaching, and serious consequences: deaths and injuries from accidents, pollution of air, water and groundwater, noise congestion, and the greenhouse effect. As world transport systems expand and become increasingly motorised, the transportation community is searching for systems that are both efficient and sustainable. Here, leading international researchers explore the issues and concepts and define the state of knowledge concerning the full costs and benefits of transportation.

Soziale Kosten / externe Kosten.