The Construction of Transport Markets in Belgium

Abstract

In Belgium, transport economists, sustainable mobility advocates and members of civic society propose ‘obvious’ solutions to traffic-related problems, but generally feel ignored by policy-makers. The problems to solve include traffic jams, air quality and traffic safety, and the solutions that are put forward are congestion charging, employee mobility budgets and investments in missing links. Furthermore, actors point to barriers to implementation such as a lack information, irrational politicians and complex institutional structures. This paper uses a number of cases of contested transport policy measures proposed by policy-makers, consultants and researchers in Belgium to better understand this situation. In line with the current dominant discourse, many actors apply market metaphors and propose to construct quasi-markets – the commodification of the right to use road space in the case of congestion pricing, and a virtual shop with mobility options in the case of the employee mobility budget. We discuss how these markets are discursively constructed, and challenge the ‘obvious’ character of such measures. Furthermore, we argue that the discursive exclusion of alternatives and the framing of opposition in market terms unnecessarily restrict our understanding of transport-related problems and solutions.