SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT POLICIES: STATE OF THE ART

This chapter reviews strategies and measures, which have been used in Europe to pursue a sustainable transport policy, especially at the urban level. It explores especially how transport generates 'external' costs, that are not borne by society as a whole, nor by transport users. Several studies show that external costs of transport in Europe are about 1.5-2.5% of gross domestic product. Health problems are important external transport costs, because accidents, air pollution, and noise all affect human health. They also interact with other problems, and their solution needs transport policies at but also above the urban level. At the level of the European Union, economic instruments are discussed vigorously, but measures other than price strategies dominate transport policy. Although emission standards have pollutant emissions per vehicle-km, this improvement has been more than offset by traffic growth. At the national level, economic instruments have become increasingly important, and some European countries have begun to integrate ecological aspects into fuel and vehicle taxes. At the urban level, approaches include: changes in urban planning, improving public transport, restricting car use, and parking policy. Some cities have already implemented effective policies for more sustainable urban transport.