ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that the complexity entailed in the public acceptability phenomenon and emphasises its multi-disciplinary character as well as its growing dominance as a critical factor for the success of transport pricing policies. When implementing pricing measures it is therefore fundamental to consider the perceptions and attitudes of the general public and stakeholders. The analysis of the opposing arguments to the transport pricing proposals included in the Commission's Papers reveals a number of additional arguments that seem to be of high relevance in terms of public acceptability. Consequently, transport cost calculation, which is the basis of a fair and efficient price, is also one of the aspects to be considered as of utmost importance. Acceptability results from an interaction between political effectiveness, here understood as the capacity to accomplish the proposed objectives, economic efficiency in production and consumption, equity and social fairness and feasibility of implementation.
