In Austria, as in other European countries, future development means a great increase in the demand for goods and passenger transport. A large part of this increase in demand is attributable to road transport which involves undesirable effects on the environment if suitable measures are not taken. The Common Market and the opening up of eastern Europe will intensify this tendency. An important cause for the excessive increase in the demand for road transport lies in the imbalance in the degree of inherent economic efficiency of the individual means of transport. Road transport of goods in particular only covers a small part of its economic costs. If a "free" market in transport is to function without negative effects on the environment, all external costs must be internalised. This cannot be effected from one day to the next but should be the aim for European transport policies. A first step would be a European unified transport costing.
Abstract