Non-internalisation of external costs in the transport sector is producing the wrong market signals and thus leading to significant inefficiencies, manifested in congestion, safety problems, and environmental impacts. Within the ongoing liberalisation process on an international scale, an internalisation of external costs towards fair and efficient prices among transport modes is essential in order to develop sustainable transport solutions. This policy is recommended by the European Commission within the White Book on «fair payment or infrastructure use» published in July 1998. In order to implement such a policy, a sound empirical basis of external costs is imperative. This report provides new figures on all types of external costs and for all relevant means of transport, based on the actual state of the art of cost estimation methodologies. Total, average, and marginal costs are estimated for each Western European country and for various traffic conditions. (Author/publisher)
Abstract