The role of the case of congestion charging in improving economic efficiency is discussed in relation to London where it is argued that increasing transport charges and reducing traffic may be the optimal way of improving economic efficiency. Studies on the cost of congestion in London arrived at a range of figures which were used to calculate the cost and benefits of a road pricing scheme. Mid-range estimates of net benefit in the order of £130m a year were produced by the Government Office for London and Transport for London. Downward revision of the benefits to £100m a year resulted from the tendency of authors of subsequent reports to exercise caution. The author suggests that the benefits as originally calculated represent an underestimate. The net benefits resulting from the use of money from congestion charging to improve the quality of public transport also need to be taken into account, particularly once these improvements have been put in place. Many relatively cheap small-scale measures usch as bus lanes, speed cameras, better enforcement and signal improvements may produce benefits 2- to 4-fold greater than those expected of major infrastructure construction, with a figure of £25m-50m a year suggested. Wider economic benefits to business of reduced congestion may also need to be considered, on top of the direct economic benefits. No account is usually taken of the economic benefits of environmental benefits, such as less personnel stress leading to less sick leave. A value of environmental benefits may be 10-20% or 30-100% depending on the method of estimation. The 20% figure gives an extra £20m of benefit. It is suggested that some additional benefits may take up to five years to become apparent. A total net benefit of at least £200m is considered likely. For the covering abstract for this conference see ITRD E128114.
Samenvatting