Mobility – what are the actual costs?

One of the fundamental inputs to better transport planning is a clear understanding of the costs of mobility.  Without this basis information it is difficult to evaluate the costs and benefits of alternative transport strategies.

The Issue

Population and urban density are both increasing rapidly in many metropolitan areas and this is changing transport infrastructure requirements. Insightful transport planning is needed to support continued growth while ensuring transport infrastructure services are provided efficiently and cost-effectively.

Transport infrastructure services constitute a mix of public infrastructure including roads, railways, buses and ferries, as well as private vehicles. The direct financial cost of providing, operating and maintaining transport infrastructure services are often shared between private road users, public transport passengers, and government.

Hidden costs of transport choices

The costs of mobility tend to be opaque, largely due to the way in which transport services are provided and funded. Funding tends to be drawn from a range of different sources and user charges tend to be weakly and partially linked to the cost of service provision. Moreover, the travelling public tend to take more notice of direct costs such as fuel and ticket prices than ‘hidden’ vehicle ownership and network costs. This can result in the systematic underestimation of the actual cost of certain modes of transport. Consequently, perceptions of the costs to community can be inconsistent across transport modes.

For example, private motor vehicles tend to be considered a low cost means of transport for the community, while public transport is seen as resource-intensive. This is likely due to a range of factors. For example, focussing on the cost of public transport provision does not consider the benefits from the resulting lower road congestion and pollution. In addition, road users may not consider the costs of constructing and maintaining road infrastructure, which are only partially funded by road user charges like registration and fuel excise. Further, private motor vehicle users may often fail to consider some of the ‘overhead’ costs associated with vehicle ownership (e.g. purchase costs, financing, insurance, servicing), categorising these costs as general ‘cost of living’ expenses and only including variable costs like fuel in their assessment of transport costs.

In general, there is a lack of transparency in the magnitude of these costs and who bears them. This has made it difficult to compare the complete cost of each transport mode. This highlights the need for governments to develop a better understanding of the total costs of mobility and to incorporate this into future transport planning processes.

Holistic view on the cost of mobility

Gaining insight on the hidden cost of mobility enables governments and commuters to understand the total costs incurred by the community from different transport modes. This will assist in modal planning and investment feasibility assessments in addition to ensuring the policy development process considers impacts across society beyond end-user costs. Improving the understanding of cost of mobility will also improve the prioritisation of public transport and active transport initiatives.

Gaining in-depth understanding of the dynamics of the different costs to mobility will also assist policymakers in assessing how the cost of mobility across transport modes is impacted by changes in key variables, such as demographic shifts, public transport fares and capacity, fuel costs or road usage charges. In an environment with increasing urban density and changing transport requirements, these results are likely to become invaluable in facilitating future planning and investment, enabling efficient investments in transport infrastructure, along with greater public awareness on the total cost of mobility.