As long ago as the 1920s it was recognized that road pricing offered an efficient means of handling congested road traffic flows. Since then the severity of traffic congestion has increased so dramatically that it has turned the matter from an academic interest into one of the most serious problems affecting urbanized areas and transport arteries today. Increasing transport levels have other important external costs such as environmental effects, noise annoyance and accidents. As a result the need to find effective means of relieving congestion has become an important issue both at the national and local level. This book examines Pigouvian taxes, the most popular policy prescription among economists, as well as considering a variety of other policies which may be more politically and socially acceptable. The contributors discuss alternatives to Pigouvian taxes, as well as congestion and urban development, congestion pricing and road infrastructure investment, and road pricing and urban sustainability.

This important and timely book will become an essential reference source for policymakers at the national and local level as well as academics and postgraduate students interested in transport economics and environmental economics.