Recent advances in the scientific understanding of urban traffic congestion have only strengthened the already solid case for congestion charges as an element of a successful urban transport policy. But examples of real-world congestion charging systems remain few and far between. What can be...

Governments around the world are increasingly intervening in automobile markets to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions of CO2 from new vehicles. This report reviews the rationale for such intervention and examines measures for maximum effectiveness and minimum cost. The Round Table brought...

Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is indispensable for making good decisions on what transport projects to fund. It essentially aims to figure out which projects offer the best value for money. However, the practical relevance of CBA does not always live up to its appeal in principle. One problem is...

Security is critical to transport systems as they are often appealing targets for terrorist attacks. The significant costs of potential damage make effective security policies a key concern for transport decision makers. This Round Table examines the contribution economic analysis can make to...

Bioenergy, including biofuels, could become a substantial tool for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, locally and globally, possibly providing a large fraction of global primary energy supply by 2020. Exactly how large that share will be is not possible to predict with any precision, being...

Transport sector policies already contribute to moderating greenhouse gas emissions from road vehicles and are increasingly designed to contribute to overall societal targets to mitigate climate change. The Round Table investigated the effectiveness and costs of various mitigation options. The...

This paper summarizes and organizes presentations and discussions of the Round Table on Macro-, meso and micro infrastructure planning and assessment tools, that took place at Boston University, on 25 and 26 October 2007. The goal of the meeting was to investigate how recent research on direct...

The transport sector’s demand for oil is less price sensitive than any other part of the economy. This is partly because demand for transport services is relatively insensitive to price and partly because substitutes for oil in road transport are currently far from cost-effective. Evidence...

This paper summarizes and organizes presentations in the Round Table's presentations and discussions, draws conclusions when possible, and points out where opinions differ. It is divided in three main sections. First, the presentations and discussions provided an overview of the advances,...

This short outlook is designed to test the potential for key policy instruments for mitigating emissions from road transport, and particularly from light duty vehicles, the largest source of CO2 emissions from transport (see Figure 1 and Table 1). It also examines uncertainties in the baseline...