Atmospheric contamination: possible measures and solutions

Abstract

Environmental contamination is here said to figure as one of the major restrictions upon transport development and consequently upon economic activity as such. The paper suggests three levels at which optimum public measures to be taken might be defined, these being 1) an environmental and fiscal neutrality. as to the different forms of transport in being once the overall costs from these have been internalized 2) a giving of priority to public transport insomuch as this is more efficient in terms of energy consumption less contaminating and requires less ground space and 3), a choosing of that most in keeping with each service requirement, this in terms of its comparative advantages. The change over from private to public transport use in the city is here seen to be a prime objective of any environmental policy in the transport sector given that half of the total consumption of petroleum derivatives is made in the city where other means of transport exist, there thus being no entailed loss of economic activity to such a change. The paper sees fiscal policy as against petroleum derivatives to be an effective one insomuch as it acts as a drag on demand here. It then offers as a practical illustration an experience proper to Madrid in which it is made plain that the car user is indeed wide awake to his fuel bill.