engleski

Comparative Analysis of External Costs of Different Means of Transport

Owing to the European Union open borders, free movement of goods, services, people and capital has been enabled and the need for a fast, efficient and comfortable transport, with as low transport and external costs as possible, has necessarily increased. External costs, as transport-generated public costs, represent great threat to the environment and increasing attention has been engaged in fighting the negative impact of transport upon environment. According to the EU statistical forecasts, significant increase in transport activities may be expected within 2050, hence the adoption of the European Union Sustainable Development Strategy and a collection of Directives dealing with environmental protection from different means of transport within different traffic categories. Through various Action Programmes comprising a series of measures, the European Union Sustainable Development Strategy aims at decreasing external costs, protecting the environment and increasing traffic safety. In this accordance, the paper deals with the analysis of external costs within each particular traffic category, taking into consideration the air, water and soil pollution, noise, vibrations and the impact of certain traffic categories upon landscape and animal and plant diversity. Using the comparative analysis of external costs within different traffic categories, the research is aimed at highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of exploitation of different means of transport. The examined external cost indicators point to the complexity of examined issues and they should be systematically used for the purpose of development and continuous traffic redirection to more acceptable traffic categories in terms of environment protection, energy efficiency and safety enhancement.

economy; energy efficiency; environemental protection; external costs; safety

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