From ‘predict and provide’ to ‘predict and prevent’?: Pricing and planning in transport policy

Abstract

Transport policy in Britain is under the influence of a ‘new realism’. This paper explores policy instruments which are central to the new approach—‘getting the price right’ and influencing travel patterns through land use planning. It suggests that the concept of the ‘right’ price is problematic, that land use measures are necessary but not sufficient and that neither pricing nor planning policies are likely, in isolation, to have sufficient effect across the range of environmental impacts of transport. A sustainable transport policy means maximising accessibility within environmental constraints and must be achieved by means of a co-ordinated policy package.