Press release.

The Institute for Transport Studies at the University of Leeds (ITS) is co-ordinating a new international collaborative project called GRACE (Generalisation of Research on Accounts and Cost Estimation). The aim of GRACE is to provide new evidence on the costs of transport infrastructure use for all modes of transport, and on the consequences of charging these costs to users. This involves studies to measure the marginal cost of wear and tear, congestion, accidents and environmental impacts. For road and rail this will emphasise filling gaps in existing knowledge on costs; for air and water, there is much less work on which to build. Understanding of how these costs vary with circumstances will be improved, and the role of transport accounts in helping to measure and monitor them further explored. Modelling of the consequences of charging users these costs will concentrate on regional and equity issues as well as economic efficiency.

GRACE is a 2.5 year project funded by the European Commission as part of the sixth framework, and involves a consortium of 15 partners in 11 countries. ITS is also involved in two closely related European projects – FUNDING, which is examining the relationship between pricing and the financing of investment, and IMPRINT-NET, which is a co-ordination action aimed at bringing together researchers and policy makers to synthesise the results of research and of practical experience and to try to build up consensus on the implications for infrastructure charging.

For further information contact Prof Chris Nash (cnash@its.leeds.ac.uk, +44 113 3435337) or Bryan Matthews (bmatthew@its.leeds.ac.uk, +44 113 3435341)