One of the main tools of the European Union’s transport policy leading to increased efficiency of transport operations and its sustainable development is the introduced reform of the system of charges for the use of infrastructure. It is assumed that charges calculated according to uniform principles (which does not mean equalizing their levels across different modes of transport and countries) should cover the costs of: − infrastructure use, including those related to ensuring its capacity (operating costs), maintenance (preventing infrastructure deterioration), and renewal (restoring infrastructure to its original state) [2], − negative externalities arising from services offered by infrastructure components (capacity) and the production of transport services; most often, the calculation includes congestion costs and environmental costs (air and water pollution, noise costs) as well as safety and transport accident costs.
Internalization of infrastructure wear costs (applying the “user pays” approach) and external transport costs (implementing the “polluter pays” principle) in the form of charges borne by transport service providers, and depending on the competitive conditions prevailing in specific partial and sectoral transport markets, covered in part or in full by transport users, should lead to:
− optimization of transport production and demand for transport services in terms of both volume and distribution in time and space, increasing social welfare (…)
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Source: Logistyka Magazine 6/2011