Controlling the environmental impacts of transport: Matching instruments to objectives

This paper considers the relative effectiveness of alternative policy instruments available to counteract the many adverse environmental consequences of the transport sector. In particular, economic instruments based on the price mechanism are compared with regulatory instruments. We contrast the effects of the instruments on a number of transport indicators (car ownership, kilometres travelled by car, kilometres travelled by public transport and fuel consumption), and on the levels of environmental disbenefit. These impacts are then assessed against the feasibilities of the policies, to give an indication of the relative effectiveness of different instruments in achieving different environmental policy objectives.