This paper takes stock of scientific findings to date regarding the distributional effects of policies discouraging car use in urban areas. These policies include cordon tolls, distance-based charges, fuel taxes, parking measures and public transport subsidies. The paper describes the mechanisms responsible for the distributional effects of these policies and offers insights regarding how such policies can be designed to minimise adverse equity outcomes. It also provides recommendations regarding the design and procedural modifications that standard instruments require in order to be more acceptable to the public and to governments. Finally, it identifies a number of issues that warrant further research in the pursuit of greater equity in the outcomes of urban road transport policies.