Integrating road traffic externalities through a sustainability indicator

Road traffic poses negative externalities on society and represents a key challenge in sustainable transportation. However, the existing literature about the assessment of traffic externalities drawn on a common measure is scarce. This paper develops a sustainability indicator that integrates traffic-related externalities as means of traffic congestion, noise, greenhouse gases (GHG) and nitrogen oxides emissions, health impacts and road crash related costs, and adjusted to local contexts of vulnerability. Traffic, road crashes, acoustic and vehicle dynamic data were collected from one real-world intercity corridor pair comprising three alternative routes. The site-specific operations were characterized using a modeling platform of traffic, emissions, noise and air quality. A specific methodology is applied for each road traffic externality and translated in a single factor – external cost. The results indicated that road crashes presented the largest share in the partly rural/urban route while GHG emissions had the highest contribution in external costs for the highway routes. Also, the distribution of external cost component varied according to the type of road, mostly due to different levels of exposed inhabitants. This paper offers a line of research that produced a method for decision-makers with a reliable and flexible cost analysis aimed at reducing the negative impacts of road traffic. It also encourages the design of eco-traffic management policies considering the perspective of drivers, commuters and population.