ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests that the economic valuation of accessibility, in the light of public and private provision of goods and services, should be considered as an implicit funding and financing mechanism of urban mobility systems to reposition transport as an urban utility, just like electricity, water and sewage. Accessibility is usually referred to as the ease of reaching goods, services, activities and destinations, which together are often recognized as opportunities for individual and societal development. The main drawback of this approach is the weakness of empirical evidence for the link between infrastructure provision and economic activity. The different meanings of accessibility and the diversity of associated stake-holders require an extensive understanding of differences between accessibility indicators, with the help of a structuring classification. Infrastructure-based accessibility measures, such as journey times, congestion and operating speed on the road network plays a crucial role in the implementation of transport policies.
