Mobility never comes without costs. A new study by the Technical University of Munich shows that cars in particular cause many so-called external costs in traffic. These include exhaust fumes, noise and CO2. Read more about the devastating environmental impact of car traffic and the question of whether electromobility can help here.

Mobility never comes without costs. A new study by the Technical University of Munich shows that cars in particular cause many so-called external costs in traffic. These include exhaust fumes, noise and_CO2. Read more about the devastating environmental impact of car traffic and the question of whether electromobility can help here.

External costs in the transport sector are difficult to estimate. This is because the negative impact on society is often very complex. For the mobility sector, the Technical University of Munich has calculated in a study that road traffic entails many negative costs. These include, for example, environmental and road damage, accidents, traffic jams and dependence on fossil fuels. These external costs, which ultimately have to be borne by society, are not included in the current market prices.

The study by Daniel Schröder and colleagues shows how the external costs of different mobility options can be measured. A new methodology is proposed that includes categories such as land use, air pollution, noise pollution and positive factors such as the health benefits of active mobility. The city of Munich serves as an example to calculate the total external costs in the mobility system for one year.

The methodology presented is also intended to help better assess transport policy scenarios. Measures such as the electrification of vehicles and shifts in transport modality can be calculated.

According to the study, diesel and petrol-powered cars are responsible for almost 80 percent of all external costs in the transport sector in Munich. The authors therefore recommend focusing more on active and non-motorized mobility, such as cycling, in the future. According to the scientists, the city of Munich should also focus more on local public transport. This is because, according to their calculations, electric vehicles also cause high external costs in traffic.

The study shows that every kilometer traveled by car costs society more than twice as much as a kilometer traveled by public transport. Accordingly, the mobility experts prove that the expansion of local public transport could not only help the climate, but also relieve the public purse.

According to TU mobility expert and lead author Daniel Schröder, the total costs of transportation are hardly known. Internal costs, which are borne directly or indirectly by users, are currently much in the news. The debates about the 9-euro ticket and the 49-euro ticket are precisely about this. The coalition dispute over highway and rail expansion is also concerned with internal costs. This is because these measures are indirectly financed by users through the payment of tax money.

In the case of internal costs, it is assumed that the costs incurred by the user are also covered by the user. External costs, on the other hand, must also be borne by people who are not involved. The price of the product, such as the maintenance of a car, does not cover the actual costs. Instead, society as a whole bears the work.

According to the authors, the comprehensive methodology from the study can be applied in any urban area in the world. The external costs of transportation are made up of these components and cause social costs:

• Air pollutants: local emissions have a negative impact on health and can also lead to damage such as crop and biodiversity loss as well as property damage.
• Climate costs: Greenhouse gases such as CO2 lead to noise costs such as health impairments and losses due to reduced productivity in office buildings.
• Land use costs: Moving and stationary traffic results in infrastructure costs and opportunity costs for the land used.
• Congestion costs: The value of time lost in traffic jams or public transport delays is also one of the external costs of mobility.
• Accident costs: These costs consist of direct costs such as medical treatment and patient transportation, but also indirect costs for the provision of emergency services.

The clear result of the study: 80 percent of the external costs in transportation are attributable to cars. In the case of cars, these are particularly climate costs, congestion costs and land use costs. Active modes of transport such as cycling or walking, on the other hand, have high accident costs. In the case of public transport, the external costs consist mainly of delay and infrastructure costs.

The key questions posed by the study based on the calculations are also exciting: Where is the greatest potential for savings for society? Is public transport chronically delayed? What external costs can be saved in transportation by switching to electric cars?

The study’s answer to the latter question is that only around 11 percent of costs could be saved by using electric cars. This refers to the external costs per passenger kilometer. Switching to bicycles, on the other hand, would save 58 percent of external costs, and for the subway the figure is as high as 75 percent. These figures certainly depend on each individual city. They can also be converted into euros: a petrol car costs society 100 euros per journey, a bicycle 42 euros and a subway 25 euros.

The study demonstrates that each individual transport behavior entails more costs than previously known. These are unknowingly imposed on taxpayers. However, the mobility options vary greatly.

You can read more about cycling and the planned transport transition in Germany in this article.