Road in spain

    • Transport and the economy: The myths and the facts

    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.

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    “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.