Effects of pedestrianisation on the commercial and ... - Eco-Logica

However, it should not be forgotten how
long it took for the transition from fossil to
renewable energy, and which economic and
technological efforts were needed. Iceland,
with its huge resources <strong>of</strong> geothermic
energy, played a special role in this
process. With high spare capacity <strong>of</strong>
abundant electricity from geothermic power
plants it established the first hydrogenbased
economy <strong>of</strong> the world in 2012,
including power-cell driven cars and trucks.
Today (in 2030) motor vehicles are clean.
In most countries half <strong>of</strong> the fleet is still
based on traditional combustion engines,
while new vehicles use hydrogen produced
with renewable energy. The prices for
energy increased drastically, which lead to
better efficiency in industry and transport
by more than a factor <strong>of</strong> 4.
The national economic balances were
changed (starting at the turn <strong>of</strong> the
century) from the gross national product to
the ecological national product. This total
accounting <strong>of</strong> the national economy, which
considers consumption <strong>of</strong> nature and
environmental burdens as cost factors, has
created a new economic framework for
transport and energy.
2. Physical mobility is expensive
Mobility, especially auto-mobility in 2030, is
expensive. The demand for crude oil had
increased dramatically during the first
decade <strong>of</strong> the century and, since 2015,
deliveries recurrently could not cover it.
Some years later, the transition <strong>of</strong> the
transport sector from carbon to hydrogen
gained ground, but even in 2030 it is not
yet completed; in most countries we still
have an expensive double network <strong>of</strong> filling
stations. Parts <strong>of</strong> the former uncovered
external costs <strong>of</strong> transport caused by
environmental damage, health risks and
macro-economic losses through congestion
are now paid by the road users through an
ecological tax. Since 2012, the transport
sector as a whole is involved in CO2emission
trading. Since 2006 , former tax
benefits for commuters have been
abolished step by step. At the turn <strong>of</strong> the
century, the public bodies could no longer
afford to maintain and adjust the 'free <strong>of</strong>
cost' usable roads. In Germany, already in
the 1990s maintenance dropped to 54 % <strong>of</strong>
the actual requirement on national roads,
and to 63 % on motorways.
'Make the road user pay instead <strong>of</strong> the tax
payer' was the solution: In Germany, it
started in 2005 with road pricing on
motorways for heavy trucks; and road
pricing for all vehicles on all roads outside
the cities was introduced in 2012. The GPSbased
on-board technology was finally
successful, and proved to be extendable to
all vehicles and all roads. It could also be
exported to several countries. This system
is self-sufficient, requiring no roadside
construction and uses telematic services,
which have been standard equipment in
vehicles since 2010. Spatially and timely
staggered road pricing was able to flatten
peak volumes and to balance demand and
supply. The former notorious traffic jams
are now exceptions. Road pricing in cities
(such as that in place in some Norwegian
cities, Singapore, London or Stockholm)
was not introduced in Germany cities,
because planners and politicians were
concerned that road pricing would make the
city more expensive and thus less attractive
compared to the periphery. They also
argued that parking fees could have a
similar effect as road pricing.
The increases <strong>of</strong> mobility prices were <strong>of</strong>ten
protested against, but with their long-term
impact and calculability they also lead to a
new balance between mobility requirements
World Transport Policy & Practice________________________________________________________
Volume 13.1 September 2006
19