Cost-effectiveness of environmental protection measures in the traffic sector
May 1, 2000
Environmental protection does not come for free. It is therefore necessary to clarify the costs involved and the effectiveness of various possible measures if environmental objectives are to be attained. Cost effectiveness, namely the attainable effect produced for each franc invested, is a very important evaluation indicator from an economic standpoint. The higher the cost effectiveness, the more efficient a particular measure is and the more meaningful its application. Information about cost effectiveness is extremely important in the traffic sector particularly, most obviously in order to design proposals for an efficient mix of measures, such as a policy to achieve the pollution-reduction targets of clean air initiatives. But this information is also highly useful in practical day-to-day activities in order to clarify the relative effectiveness of potential measures (such as noise protection, traffic calming measures). This SVI study will deal with these questions and will: 1. Discuss the methodological aspects of cost-effectiveness, 2. Develop practically-oriented directives on this basis for determining and presenting cost-effectiveness, 3. Illustrate the selected procedure on the basis of specific examples (various measures for diverse environmental sectors), and 4. Use these to derive know-how for the efficient implementation of environmental strategies in the traffic sector as regards both government policies and the practical concerns of traffic engineers.
