In the light of the same discussion, CE (1999) estimated the average social costs of the
construction of infrastructure. Compared to the construction costs, the costs of direct land use
are substantial for all transport modalities.In the light of the same discussion, CE (1999) estimated the average social costs of the
construction of infrastructure. Compared to the construction costs, the costs of direct land use
are substantial for all transport modalities. In contrast, costs of indirect land use are generally
small. Exceptions to this rule are costs of indirect land use for small aeroplanes and for inland
shipping. The latter is due to the large free sight zones alongside waterways to ensure the
safety of transport on water. As mentioned in the introduction, fixed levies on the use of
transport infrastructure already exist in the Netherlands. In that sense some of the fixed costs
of infrastructure have been accounted for. However, these levies generally do not take into
account the intensity with which different transport categories make use of infrastructure. It is
furthermore unclear which costs these levies are based on. From this perspective the results of
this study are a first attempt at explicitly estimating the average social costs of land use by
transport infrastructure and allocating these to transport modalities on the basis of their
intensity of use of infrastructure.