THE "RULE OF THREE": A POSSIBLE SOLUTION TO THE POLITICAL PROBLEM OF COMPETING OBJECTIVES FOR ROAD PRICING. IN: URBAN TRANSPORT

Twenty-five years ago the Smeed Report said that road pricing was technicaly feasible and environmentally desirable. Current technical developments in electronics and concerns with the environmental effects of traffic, reinforce that case. There are two main parts to the argument. First, it has always been argued that road pricing would increase economic and transport efficiency. This is valid but some crucial points of the proof of that argument have never been given much attention when using the classical diagrams and equations. Unfortunately, they are the parts that have political implications, and this explains why implementing road pricing has been so politically difficult. Secondly, exactly the same political difficulties, if re-analyzed, provide a different specification of the objectives of road pricing. This will resolve many of the new problems, and also create the basis of a completely new alignment of political and pressure groups that can unify rather than divide those who can benefit.