External costs due to congestion, accidents, energy consumption and emissions before and into the economic crisis: Pilot study along selected roadways of Thessaloniki, Greece

Prior to the economic crisis, forecasts indicated a continuous increase of traffic in European cities, highlighting the need of a policy to alleviate the external impacts of transport. The crisis, however, generated pressures on all sectors of activity, with transport being an indicative example. The reduction of income and employment, the increased vehicle maintenance and renewal costs and the transport related taxation seem to affect the transport system and its external impacts. Thus, taking for granted that Europe will eventually achieve “sustainable recovery” from the crisis, the current period presents an opportunity for promoting sustainable mobility policies and interventions in the most affected by the crisis European cities. Towards this goal, it is essential to capitalise on contemporary techniques for the monitoring of changes in transport external costs. The purpose of the paper is the development of a methodology for the estimation of external costs due to congestion, air pollution, climate change and accidents, based on road traffic data. The methodology is applied along road arteries in Thessaloniki for the period “before and after” the emergence of the crisis. As a result, an overall decrease in external costs is observed, creating an unforeseen “surplus” for the society during the crisis