September 30, 2004

Economic check of the White Paper on Mobility

Nota Mobiliteit pakt in grote lijnen gunstig uit voor de welvaart

Press release
De Nota Mobiliteit spreekt over een bedrag van in totaal 21,5 mld euro voor uitbreiding van de capaciteit van de hoofdwegen in de periode 2011-2020. Het grootste deel van deze investeringen heeft een hoog maatschappelijk rendement.

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But in some densely populated areas, due to high costs of implementing investments in infrastructure, social benefits turn out to be significantly lower. In these areas a congestion tax aimed at reducing congestion has greater welfare effects. From an economic point of view a congestion tax is also preferred compared with a more general kilometer charge.

According to the White Paper, the maintenance of infrastructures will require relatively large amounts of money during the years 2011-2020. Unfortunately, the limited information available precludes a thorough assessment of the financial claims. One might question the continued operation of less used railway tracks and waterways. Besides this, standards for maintenance could be differentiated according to their use. Finally, a further professionalisation of the planning of maintenance works can contribute to raise the efficiency.

This publication is in Dutch.

Authors

Paul Besseling
Wim Groot