Briefing

Transport and the economy: The myths and the facts

April 28, 2002

But it is important not to believe - as so many decision makers are encouraged to do - that building more infrastructure is always a good answer.

“Whatever people might say about building roads, you can’t doubt that it’s good for the economy, can you?” Well actually you can. And you should. And those who understand the link between transport and economy do doubt that building more infrastructure is always good

news. But the fact that the above sentence is so often uttered shows just how difficult it is to argue against an accepted piece of “wisdom”, even if that “wis- dom” happens to be at best dubi- ous and at worst simply wrong.

That is why T&E wants to highlight why some of the “wisdom” about road transport being good for the economy is not wisdom at all but myths. In some cases they are myths born of good intent but false assumptions. In other cases, they are myths deliberately spread by those who have a vested interest in the unchecked growth of road transport and don’t want social or environmental reasons to get in the way.

Related Articles

View All
News

Ukraine's reconstruction will be green, transport must play its part

T&E's Anastasiia Nahorna returns to her homeland of Ukraine. She sits down with her colleague Sam Hargreaves to discuss the reconstruction of the coun...

Opinion

People do not simply want to get from A to B

T&E President Arie Bleijenberg explains the biggest misconception about mobility

Report

T&E's annual overview of key transport trends, challenges and achievements

State of Transport 2025

European transport is still heavily reliant on fossil fuels, but electric vehicles are on the charge as the EU’s green policies start to bite. Powerin...