According to some research activities in transport corridors, it will be extremely difficult to implement a successful policy on freight transport, especially as far as the reduction of road transport is concerned. Various trends in the transport and shipping industry counteract each other. They will not result in a substantial improvement in load factors. Moreover, the market oriented approach of the mode choice and the promotion of combined transport will have a minor effect on the total volume of road transport, especially in the Netherlands. Therefore, full attention has to be paid to a more intensive and well balanced set of applications in the various solution areas. These areas include: (1) driving behaviour; (2) use/efficiency in freight transport; (3) techniques and transport systems; (4) transport mode choice; and (5) transport volume. The conflict between acceptability and effectiveness is especially essential.
Abstract