Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

Adjust urban and rural road pricing for fair mobility

Synergistically addressing local and global environmental damages rather than optimizing a specific aspect of the policy conundrum helps to effectively foster climate action in road transport while maintaining public acceptance and socially fair outcomes.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Comparison of road transport challenges in rural and urban areas.
Fig. 2: Comparison of average marginal external costs of passenger cars during rush hour.

References

  1. Sterner, T. Energy Policy 35, 3194–3202 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Nat. Energy 4, 85 (2019).

  3. Creutzig, F. S. & Kammen, D. M. Innov. Technol. Gov. Glob. 4, 301–321 (2009).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Mattioli, G., Wadud, Z. & Lucas, K. Transp. Res. Part Policy Pract. 113, 227–242 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Mattioli, G., Philips, I., Anable, J. & Chatterton, T. J. Transp. Geogr. 78, 98–114 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Dodson, J. & Sipe, N. Urban Stud. 44, 37–62 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Randolph, B. & Tice, A. J. Urban Aff. 36, 384–399 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Apte, J. S., Bombrun, E., Marshall, J. D. & Nazaroff, W. W. Environ. Sci. Technol. 46, 3415–3423 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Çolak, S., Lima, A. & González, M. C. Nat. Commun. 7, 10793 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Cookson, G. & Pishue, B. INRIX Global Traffic Scorecard–Appendices (INRIX, 2020).

  11. Creutzig, F. & He, D. Transp. Res. D 14, 120–131 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Ricke, K., Drouet, L., Caldeira, K. & Tavoni, M. Nat. Clim. Change 8, 895–900 (2018).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Creutzig, F., Mühlhoff, R. & Römer, J. Environ. Res. Lett. 7, 044042 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Swärdh, J.-E. & Anders, G. Transp. Policy 88, 24–32 (2020).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. van Essen, H. et al. Handbook on the External Costs of Transport: Version 2019 (European Commission, 2019).

  16. Knittel, C. R. & Sandler, R. Am. Econ. J. Econ. Policy 10, 211–242 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Spiller, E., Stephens, H. M. & Chen, Y. Resour. Energy Econ. 50, 74–90 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Gillingham, K. & Munk-Nielsen, A. J. Urban Econ. 109, 27–40 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Prud’Homme, R. & Bocarejo, J. P. Policy 12, 279–287 (2005).

    Google Scholar 

  20. Rødseth, K. L. et al. The External Costs of Transport – External Cost Estimates for Passenger and Freight Transport in Norway (The Institute of Transport Economics, 2019); https://www.toi.no/publications/the-external-costs-of-transport-external-cost-estimates-for-passenger-and-freight-transport-in-norway-article35996-29.html

  21. Klenert, D. et al. Nat. Clim. Change 8, 669–677 (2018).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Carattini, S., Kallbekken, S. & Orlov, A. Nature 565, 289–291 (2019).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Rothstein, B. O. & Teorell, J. A. Governance 21, 165–190 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Tutt, C. Neue Untersuchung: CO 2-steuer Ohne Zusätzliche Belastung für Familien Undgeringverdiener Wirtschaftswoche (2019); https://www.wiwo.de/politik/deutschland/neue-untersuchung-co2-steuer-ohne-zusaetzliche-belastung-fuer-familien-und-geringverdiener/24279688.html

  25. Berry, A. Energy Policy 124, 81–94 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Cohen Blankshtain, G., Bar-Gera H., & Shiftan, Y. From congestion tolls to positive incentives: overcoming the political barrier. In Transportation Research Board 98th Annual Meeting 19-02187 (2019).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Felix Creutzig.

Source data

Statistical Source Data Fig. 2

Marginal road pricing per km for Norway, based on internalizing all external costs.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Creutzig, F., Javaid, A., Koch, N. et al. Adjust urban and rural road pricing for fair mobility. Nat. Clim. Chang. 10, 591–594 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-0793-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-0793-1

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing