Full Social Cost of Transportation in Europe

The acknowledgment that transportation cost is a complicated matter and that natural market price does not cover the full social cost is very ancient in Europe, but has gained new interest since the beginning of the 1990’s. Many studies have been devoted to this topic, encompassing both methodological and numerical results; these results are always subject to arguments between scientists, lobbyists and decision-makers, since their consequences for transport policy are paramount. So they deserve special attention, and the purpose of this communication is to present and discuss this experience with full transportation cost estimation, and the related scientific and political issues: (1) is there any agreement on methodology of calculation, on results; (2) what is the impact of these full transportation cost calculations on policies; and (3) what should be the directions for further research?