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Road pricing are direct charges levied for the use of roads, including road tolls, distance or time-based fees, congestion charges and charges designed to discourage the use of certain classes of vehicle, fuel sources or more polluting vehicles. These charges may be used primarily for revenue generation, usually for road infrastructure financing, or as a transportation demand management tool to reduce peak hour private vehicle travel and the associated
traffic congestion Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s, resulting in m ...
or other social and environmental negative externalities associated with road travel such as
air pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...
,
greenhouse gas emissions Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...
, visual intrusion,
noise pollution Noise pollution, or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise or sound with potential harmful effects on humans and animals. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is mainly caused by machines, transport and propagation systems.Senate Publi ...
and road traffic collisions. ''Executive Summary, pp. v''. In most countries toll roads, toll bridges and toll tunnels are often used primarily for revenue generation to repay long-term debt issued to finance the toll facility, or to finance capacity expansion, operations, and maintenance of the facility itself, or simply as general tax funds. Road congestion pricing for entering an urban area, or pollution charges levied on vehicles with higher tailpipe emissions are typical schemes implemented to price externalities. The application of congestion charges is currently limited to a small number of cities and urban roads, and the notable schemes include the Electronic Road Pricing in Singapore, the
London congestion charge The London congestion charge is a fee charged on most cars and motor vehicles being driven within the Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ) in Central London between 7:00am and 6:00pm Monday to Friday, and between 12:00noon and 6:00pm Saturday and Su ...
, the Stockholm congestion tax, the Milan Area C, and
high-occupancy toll lane A high-occupancy toll lane (HOT lane) is a type of traffic lane or roadway that is available to high-occupancy vehicles and other exempt vehicles without charge; other vehicles are required to pay a road pricing, variable fee that is adjusted in ...
s in the United States. Examples of pollution pricing schemes include the
London low emission zone The London Low Emission Zone (LEZ) is an area of London in which an European emission standards, emissions standard based charge is applied to non-compliant commercial vehicles. Its aim is to reduce the exhaust emissions of Diesel engine, diese ...
and the discontinued Ecopass in Milan. In some European countries there is a period-based charge for the use of motorways and expressways, based on a vignette or sticker attached to a vehicle, and in a few countries vignettes are required for the use of any road. Mileage-based usage fees (MBUF) or distance-based charging has been implemented for heavy vehicles based on truck weight and distance traveled in New Zealand (called RUC), Switzerland (LSVA), Germany ( LKW-Maut), Austria (Go-Maut), Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and in four U.S. states: Oregon, New York, Kentucky, and New Mexico. Many recent road pricing schemes have proved controversial, with a number of high-profile schemes in the US and the UK being cancelled, delayed, or scaled back in response to opposition and protest. The tendency seems to reverse, however, when the system is already in place, with the popularity of existing systems often increasing while merely discussed systems face an uphill battle in public opinion. A 2006 survey of the economic literature on the subject finds that most economists agree that some form of road pricing to reduce congestion is economically viable and overall beneficial, although there is disagreement on what form road pricing should take. Economists disagree over how to set tolls, how to cover common costs, and what to do with any "excess" revenues (i.e., Revenues that exceed direct costs of road construction and maintenance, but which may still not cover external costs fully), whether and how "losers" from tolling previously free roads should be compensated, and whether to privatize highways.


Terminology

Road pricing is a general term that may be used for any system where the driver pays directly for use of a particular roadway or road network in a particular city, region, or nation. Road pricing also includes congestion charging, which are charges levied on qualifying road users to reduce peak demand, and thereby reduce traffic congestion and also to place a charge on road users for other negative externalities, including traffic accidents, noise, air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions.


History

The first published reference to 'road pricing' was possibly in 1949 when the
RAND Corporation The RAND Corporation, doing business as RAND, is an American nonprofit global policy think tank, research institute, and public sector consulting firm. RAND engages in research and development (R&D) in several fields and industries. Since the ...
proposed "use of direct road pricing to make freight journeys more expensive on congested routes or to influence the time of day at which freight traffic operates". Nobel-laureate William Vickrey then built on the ideas of the economist Arthur Pigou, outlining a theoretical case for road pricing in a major work on the subject of 1955 proposing in 1959 that drivers should be charged by electronic means for use of busy urban roads. Arthur Pigou had previously developed the concept of economic externalities in a publication of 1920 in which he proposed that what is now referred to as a
Pigouvian tax A Pigouvian tax (also spelled Pigovian tax) is a tax on any Market (economics), market activity that generates negative externalities (i.e., external costs incurred by third parties that are not included in the market price). It is a method that ...
equal to the negative externality should be used to bring the outcome within a
market economy A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production, and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand. The major characteristic of a mark ...
back to
economic efficiency In microeconomics, economic efficiency, depending on the context, is usually one of the following two related concepts: * Allocative or Pareto efficiency: any changes made to assist one person would harm another. * Productive efficiency: no addit ...
. In 1963 Vickery published a paper 'Pricing in urban and suburban transport' in the
American Economic Review The ''American Economic Review'' is a monthly peer-reviewed academic journal first published by the American Economic Association in 1911. The current editor-in-chief is Erzo FP Luttmer, a professor of economics at Dartmouth College. The journal is ...
and Gabriel Joseph Roth, John Michael Thomson of the Department of Applied Economics at the
University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
published a short paper titled "Road pricing, a cure for congestion?" The Smeed Report, 'Road Pricing: The Economic and Technical Possibilities', which had been commissioned in 1962 by the United Kingdom
Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...
, was published in 1964. Road pricing was then developed by Maurice Allais and Gabriel Roth in a paper titled "The Economics of Road User Charges" published by the
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
in 1968. The first successful implementation of a congestion charge was with the Singapore Area Licensing Scheme in 1976. The Electronic Road Pricing (Hong Kong) scheme operated as a trial between 1983 and 1985 but was not continued permanently due to public opposition. A number of road tolling schemes were then introduced in Norway between 1986 and 1991 in
Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...
,
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
, and the Trondheim Toll Scheme. It was noticed that the Oslo scheme had the unintended effect of reducing traffic by around 5%. The Singapore scheme was expanded in 1995 and converted to use a new electronic tolling system in 1998 and renamed Electronic Road Pricing. The first use of a road toll for access by low-occupancy vehicles to high-occupancy vehicle lane was introduced in the U.S. on California State Route 91 in 1995. Since 2000, other schemes have been introduced, although the New York congestion pricing proposal and a number of UK proposals were not progressed due to public opposition. In France road pricing came about as an unintended consequence of the way highways are built and financed as most are built by for-profit companies which earn back their expense through tolls. Some other European countries also have similar schemes either on parts of their highway network or only on particularly expensive roads such as tunnels, bridges, or mountain range crossings.


Impact

A study of congestion pricing in Stockholm between 2006 and 2010 found that in the absence of congestion pricing Stockholm's "air would have been five to ten percent more polluted between 2006 and 2010, and young children would have suffered 45 percent more asthma attacks". A 2013 study found that after congestion pricing was implemented in Seattle, drivers reported greater satisfaction with the routes covered by congestion pricing and reported lower stress. A 2016 study found that more people used public transportation due to the implementation of congestion pricing in Singapore. A 2016 study found that real estate prices dropped by 19% within the cordoned-off areas of Singapore where congestion pricing was in place relative to the areas outside of the area. Research from 2019 provides a set of tools to enable analysis and measurement of the impacts of toll pricing, toll payment, toll collection technology, and other aspects of toll implementation and rate changes on low-income and minority populations.


Example schemes


Asia-Pacific


Australia

In January 2009, variable tolls were implemented at
Sydney Harbour Bridge The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North ...
, two weeks after upgrading to 100% free-flow
electronic toll collection Electronic toll collection (ETC) is a wireless system to automatically collect the usage fee or Road pricing, toll charged to vehicles using toll roads, HOV lanes, toll bridges, and toll tunnels. It is a faster alternative which is replacing Tol ...
. The highest fees are charged during the morning and afternoon peak periods; a toll 25% lower applies for the shoulder periods; and a toll lower than the previously existing is charged at nights, weekends, and public holidays. This is Australia's first road congestion pricing scheme, and has had only a very minor effect on traffic levels, reducing them by 0.19%


China

Main roadways and highways in Shanghai are tolled, and an assessment was completed to evaluate the implementation of congestion pricing for vehicles entering the
central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...
. ''A PDF version of the article is available for download her

''
The city also restrains car use, ownership and there are restrictions on getting a
driver's license A driver's license, driving licence, or driving permit is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, ca ...
; since 1998, the number of new car registrations is limited to 50,000 vehicles a year, and car registrations are sold by
public auction A government auction or a public auction is an auction held on behalf of a government in which the property to be auctioned is either property owned by the government or property which is sold under the authority of a court of law or a governmen ...
, with prices reaching up to US$5,000 in 2006. Parking is also limited. Congestion based pricing for Beijing was recommended by the
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
in 2010 and local officials announced plans to introduce a scheme in September 2011 although no details about the cost or the charge zone have been provided. The city is dealt with traffic congestion and air pollution through a driving restriction scheme implemented since the
2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...
. , another 11 Chinese cities have similar restriction schemes in place. From the print edition. In early 2010 the city
Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...
,
Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
province, opened a public discussion on whether to introduce congestion charges. An online survey conducted by two local news outlets found that 84.4% of respondents opposed the charges. The city of
Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...
is also considering the implementation of congestion pricing. In December 2015, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport announced plans to introduce congestion charges in 2016. According to the city's motor vehicle emission control plan 2013–2017, the congestion charge will be a real-time variable pricing scheme based on actual traffic flows and emissions data, and allow the fee to be charged for different vehicles and vary by time of the day and for different districts. The Dongcheng and Xicheng are among the districts that are most likely to first implement congestion charges. Vehicle emissions account for 31% of the city's smog sources, according to Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau. The local government has implemented already several policies to address air quality, and congestion, such as a driving restriction scheme based upon the last digits on their license plates. Also a vehicle quota system was introduced in 2011, awarding new car licenses through a lottery, with a ceiling of 6 million units set by the city authority for 2017. In May 2016, the Beijing city legislature announced it will consider starting levying traffic congestion charges by 2020 as part of a package of measures to reform the vehicle quota system. , the city's environmental and transport departments are working together on a congestion pricing proposal.


Hong Kong

Hong Kong's Electronic Road Pricing system operated between 1983 and 1985 with positive results. Public opposition stalled its permanent implementation. Proposals were however raised again in 2012.


Singapore

The world's first congestion pricing scheme was introduced in Singapore's core central business district in 1975 as the Singapore Area Licensing Scheme. It was extended in 1995 and converted to 100% free-flowing Electronic Road Pricing in September 1998. Variable pricing based on congestion levels was introduced in 2007. It is one of a number of elements in their Transportation Demand Management, which also includes high annual road tax, custom duties and vehicle registration fees for new vehicles, a quota system for new vehicles and heavy investment in public transportation. Singapore has one of the highest per capita incomes in Asia, but fewer than 30% of Singaporean households own cars.


Europe


Austria

A distance-based charging scheme called Go-Maut was implemented in Austria for all vehicles over 3.5 tonnes on motorways in 2004. In addition, all vehicles under 3.5 tonnes are required to buy a sticker or vignette to access the Austrian motorway network, which is owned and operated by a state-owned company called ASFINAG. The vignette enables the vehicle to use almost the entire motorway network in Austria for a specific period of time, with the lower charge set at for 10 days. However, there is an additional toll charge for selected routes, such as long tunnels and expensive routes through the Alps.


Belarus

See Toll roads in Belarus.


Finland

The only Finnish town to suffer serious road congestion is
Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
, built on a narrow peninsula. In the 1980s and 1990s, the City Administration was already proposing tolls on vehicles entering the centre but the Chamber of Commerce successfully resisted these. Road pricing was taken up in the central government programme in 2011 when the coalition members committed themselves to examine "the introduction of GPS-based road user charges". Transport minister Merja Kyllönen set up a working group to study "road user charging systems" in October 2012. The Ministry was committed to the architecture of the European Electronic Toll Service. In March 2013, an independent Finnish policy institute recommended a market-based road pricing architecture for Europe. The roads needed for a journey could be pre-booked, the price of "slots" rising as the roads to be used approached capacity. The price would become payable at the scheduled time of departure unless the slot holder resold the slot before then. Casual motorists without bookings would be charged the current price. The paper proposed that Finland, having no serious road congestion to address, could serve as a testbed for road charging mechanisms. The Transport Ministry's working group reported in December 2013 that a tax proportional to road use would implement transport and environment policies better than current fixed taxes on motoring, although collection costs would be many times higher. The focus of transport policy should be on solving capacity problems by managing demand rather than by building new infrastructure. However, it argued that buses and lorries should be exempted from road use charges on the grounds that the rise in costs could not be offset by cutting other heavy vehicle road taxes, which were already close to the minimum set in the EU's vignette directive. For private cars, the report looked at the implications of fixed and regional kilometre charges but did not consider market or other methods for responding to varying local congestion. Before the adoption of any system, it proposed broad trials to establish the technical viability of taxing road use, its enforceability, and the protection of privacy.


Germany

The LKW-MAUT distance-based charging scheme large goods vehicles in Germany began operation on 1 January 2005 after a two-year delay with prices varying depending on emission levels and the number of axles. The scheme, which combining satellite technology with other technologies and is operated by Toll Collect, suffered delays before implementation.


Ireland

Toll roads are common in Ireland for motorways and bridges/tunnels, with 11 toll roads in existence as of 2019. In the 18th and 19th Centuries Turnpike trusts managed the roadways. However, with the onset of railways, the use of roads become far less popular, and tolling was abolished. The first modern road charging scheme was introduced in 1984 on the East Link, a bascule lift bridge in Dublin's docklands, constructed by National Toll Roads (NTR) under a public-private partnership concession. This was followed by the West-Link bridge in 1990, similarly a concession to NTR. However, despite the opening of a second bridge in 2003, capacity and toll management of the West-Link was woefully inadequate, resulting in massive congestion on the Dublin M50 ring road. In 2007, the government bought out NTR's concession and introduced barrier-free tolling in order to end the jams. In order to fund long-distance motorway construction in the mid-2000s, a new PPP model of DBOF (design, build, operate and finance PPP) concessions was adopted. International construction companies primarily backed these. The first such toll motorway was the M4/M6 operated by Spanish company Ferrovial, followed by routes such as the Eurolink M3 toll (a joint venture of Ferrovial and Irish company SIAC Construction), the M8 Fermoy bypass (owned by private equity and investment companies such as TIIC Group of Portugal, Aberdeen Standard Investments and 3I) and the M7/M9 Mid Link route owned by the Dutch company BAM and Spanish ACS Group). However, the onset of the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
towards the end of the decade and the resulting
Post-2008 Irish economic downturn The post-2008 Irish economic downturn in the Republic of Ireland, coincided with a Post-2008 Irish banking crisis, series of banking scandals, followed the 1990s and 2000s Celtic Tiger period of rapid real economic growth fuelled by foreign dire ...
saw a large drop off in driving and use of tolls. No new toll routes have been proposed since the economic downturn. However, a model of PPP shadow-tolling has been adopted to build routes such as the M18.


Italy

Rome converted a residents' pass system for the core of the city to a road pricing system in 2001 and
Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
started a trial system in 2003. The
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
" Ecopass" system began operation in early 2008 with the objective to reduce air pollution from vehicles. It was extended several times before being replaced by Area C, a conventional
congestion pricing Congestion pricing or congestion charges is a system of surcharging users of public goods that are subject to congestion through excess demand, such as through higher peak charges for use of bus services, electricity, metros, railways, tel ...
scheme covering the same geographic area in January 2012.
Electric vehicle An electric vehicle (EV) is a motor vehicle whose propulsion is powered fully or mostly by electricity. EVs encompass a wide range of transportation modes, including road vehicle, road and rail vehicles, electric boats and Submersible, submer ...
s, public utilities' vehicles, police and emergency vehicles, buses, and taxis are exempted from the charge. Hybrid electric and bi-fuel natural gas vehicles ( CNG and LPG) will be exempted until 1 January 2013. The scheme was made permanent in March 2013. All net earnings from Area C are invested to promote sustainable mobility and policies to reduce
air pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...
, including the redevelopment, protection, and development of
public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...
, "soft mobility" (pedestrians,
cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...
, Zone 30), and systems to rationalize the distribution of goods.


Malta

The automated 'Controlled Vehicular Access' (CVA) system was launched in
Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
's capital city of
Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...
on 1 May 2007. The number of vehicles entering the city reduced from 10,000 to 7,900; there has also been a 60% drop in car stays by non-residents of more than eight hours with a marked increase of 34% in non-residential cars visiting the city for an hour or less.


Norway

Norway implemented electronic urban tolling on the main road corridors into
Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...
(1986),
Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
(1990), and then the Trondheim Toll Scheme the following year. The Bergen scheme operated as a cordon on all entry points to the central area of the city. The Oslo scheme was initially created as a conventional road toll for revenue generation reasons but had the unintended effect of reducing traffic by around 5%. Charges vary by time of the day. Parliament approved the legal basis for introducing congestion charging fee in 2001 In October 2011 the Norwegian government announced the introduction of rules allowing congestion charging in cities. The measure is intended to cut
greenhouse gas Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are the gases in the atmosphere that raise the surface temperature of planets such as the Earth. Unlike other gases, greenhouse gases absorb the radiations that a planet emits, resulting in the greenhouse effect. T ...
and air pollutant emissions, and relieve traffic congestion. , Norwegian authorities have implemented urban charging schemes that operates both on the motorways and for access into downtown areas in five additional cities or municipalities:
Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipalities of Norway, municipality and List of towns and cities in Norway, town on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. As of December 2023, the municipality of Haugesund has a population of 37,855. The vast majority of ...
,
Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...
, Namsos,
Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...
, and
Tønsberg Tønsberg (), historically Tunsberg, is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located about south-southwest of the capital city of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near ...
.


Sweden

The Stockholm congestion tax covering Stockholm City Centre was trialed for seven-month trial during 2006 and has been operational on a permanent basis since 1 August 2007; all the entrances and exits of this area have unmanned control points operating with automatic number plate recognition and most vehicles pay a fixed fee during peak hours. A similar congestion tax was introduced in Gothenburg in 2013, the Gothenburg congestion tax. In opposite to Stockholm, this tax covers also the usage of bypass roads past the city. The congestion tax is called a tax, not a toll or fee, since a principle has been established that road tolls can only exist to pay for the construction of the specific tolled road, during a limited period. The congestion tax charges every road that crosses certain lines, regardless of its age. Three bridges in Sweden have road tolls (as of 2015).


United Kingdom

The Smeed Report recommended the implementation of congestion charging in 1964. Road pricing for London was considered by the
Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...
in 1973 but was not progressed. The Durham City congestion charge was introduced in 2002 and the
London congestion charge The London congestion charge is a fee charged on most cars and motor vehicles being driven within the Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ) in Central London between 7:00am and 6:00pm Monday to Friday, and between 12:00noon and 6:00pm Saturday and Su ...
in 2003. In June 2005, Transport Secretary
Alistair Darling Alistair Maclean Darling, Baron Darling of Roulanish, (28 November 1953 – 30 November 2023) was a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under prime minister Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party ...
announced a proposal for a national scheme in which every vehicle would be fitted with a satellite receiver that would calculate charges, with prices (including fuel duty) ranging from 2p per mile on uncongested roads to £1.34 on the most congested roads at peak times. The scheme was dropped after an online petition against proposals gained over 1.8 million signatures. A number of local schemes were then proposed and rejected during 2007–2008, including the
Manchester congestion charge The Greater Manchester Traffic congestion, congestion charge was part of a bid to the Government's Transport Innovation Fund for a Pound sterling, £3-billion package of transport funding and the introduction of a road congestion pricing, congest ...
. UK wide road pricing for large goods vehicles, which was first proposed in 2000 before being dropped and then revived in 2012.


= London

= The
London congestion charge The London congestion charge is a fee charged on most cars and motor vehicles being driven within the Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ) in Central London between 7:00am and 6:00pm Monday to Friday, and between 12:00noon and 6:00pm Saturday and Su ...
is a flat-fee daily charge to enter the Congestion Charge Zone (CCZ) in central London, introduced in 2003. This was supplemented in 2008 by a Low Emission Zone charge, and in 2017 by a toxicity charge ('T-Charge'), now an
Ultra Low Emission Zone The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is an area in London, England, where an European emission standards, emissions standard based charge is applied to non-compliant road vehicles. Plans were announced by London Mayor Boris Johnson in 2015 for ...
(ULEZ) charge. A Western Extension to the Congestion Charge Zone was added in 2007 and then removed in January 2011. A plan to incorporate an emissions-based supplement into the Congestion Charge was cancelled following the 2008 Mayoral election. Instead, the
London low emission zone The London Low Emission Zone (LEZ) is an area of London in which an European emission standards, emissions standard based charge is applied to non-compliant commercial vehicles. Its aim is to reduce the exhaust emissions of Diesel engine, diese ...
was introduced in stages between 2008 and 2012 with an aim of reducing the pollution emissions of diesel-powered commercial vehicles in London. Approved by Mayor Boris Johnson in April 2013, the Ultra Low Emission Discount (ULED) went into effect on 1 July 2013, substituting the Greener Vehicle Discount. The ULED introduced more stringent emission standards that limited the free access to the congestion charge zone to
electric car An electric car or electric vehicle (EV) is a passenger car, passenger automobile that is propelled by an electric motor, electric traction motor, using electrical energy as the primary source of propulsion. The term normally refers to a p ...
s, some plug-in hybrids, and any car or van that emits 75g/km or less of CO2 and meets the Euro 5 emission standards for air quality. The measure was designed to curb the growing number of diesel vehicles on London's roads. The owners of vehicles registered for the Greener Vehicle Discount were granted a three-year sunset period before they have to pay the full congestion charge. The sunset period ended on 24 June 2016. A toxicity charge, known as T-Charge, was introduced on 23 October 2017. Older and more polluting cars and vans that did not meet Euro 4 standards had to pay an extra £10 charge on top of the congestion charge to drive in central London, within the CCZ. The charge typically applied to diesel and petrol vehicles registered before 2006, and the levy was expected to affect up to 10,000 vehicles. The T-Charge was replaced on 8 April 2019 with an ULEZ charge. Motor vehicles that do not meet the emissions criteria are charged £12.50 for most vehicle types, or £100 for heavier vehicles, to enter central London for a day. London-licensed taxis are exempted from the ULEZ; temporary exemptions and discounts apply to residents until 24 October 2021, and to disabled drivers until 26 October 2025. London Mayor
Sadiq Khan Sir Sadiq Aman Khan (, ; born 8 October 1970) is a British politician serving as Mayor of London since 2016. He was previously Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Tooting (UK Parliament constituency), Tooting ...
announced the introduction of the T-Charge on 17 February 2017 after London achieved record air pollution levels in January 2017, and the city was put on very high pollution alert for the first time ever, as cold and stationary weather failed to clear toxic pollutants emitted mainly by diesel vehicles. The Mayor also announced plans to expand the ULEZ beyond Central London a year earlier than planned in 2019.


Middle East


Dubai

The Salik (road toll) system in
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
, United Arab Emirates, was introduced by the Roads and Transport Authority in 2007 and extended in 2008.


North America


New York

In March 2001, the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, (PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ) is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York (state), New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate c ...
implemented a discount during off-peak hours for those vehicles paying tolls for several tunnels and bridges connecting New York City and New Jersey using the electronic EZ Pass. Since March 2008, qualified low-emission automobiles could get a 50% discount during off-peak hours. In April 2007 the
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
Mayor
Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...
proposed a contentious congestion charge on cars using most streets in the central business district (southern half of
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
) as part of the broader PlaNYC 2030. The plan received broad support from a coalition of civic, business, environmental, labor, community, and public health organizations and the City Council voted for the measure but also received significant opposition. The New York Legislature declined to vote on it in April 2008 saying that "... the opposition was so overwhelming,... that he would not hold an open vote of the full Assembly". Governor Andrew Cuomo reintroduced a congestion pricing proposal for New York City in 2017 in response to the
New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...
's
state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...
, a proposal that Mayor
Bill de Blasio Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who was the List of mayors of New York City, 109th mayor of New York City, mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of t ...
opposed. A commission to investigate the feasibility of congestion pricing, organized in late 2017, found that a congestion pricing scheme could benefit New York City. If approved, New York City's congestion pricing zone will be the first in North America. Cuomo's administration was set to review these proposals in January 2018, although the details of the congestion zones had not been revealed yet.


San Francisco

In 2006,
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
authorities began a feasibility study to evaluate
congestion pricing Congestion pricing or congestion charges is a system of surcharging users of public goods that are subject to congestion through excess demand, such as through higher peak charges for use of bus services, electricity, metros, railways, tel ...
in the city. The initial charging scenarios considered were presented in public meetings held in December 2008 and the final draft proposal were discussed by the
San Francisco Board of Supervisors The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the board of supervisors, legislative body within the government of San Francisco, government of the San Francisco, City and County of San Francisco in the U.S. state of California. Government and polit ...
(SFBS) in December 2010, which recommended implementation of a six-month to one-year trial in 2015. Separately, in July 2010 congestion tolls were implemented at the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.


Other metropolitan areas

In August 2007, the
United States Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the president of the United States a ...
selected five metropolitan areas to initiate congestion pricing demonstration projects under the Urban Partnerships Congestion Initiative, for US$1 billion of federal funding. The five projects under this initiative are:
Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean in California, United States. The structure links San Francisco—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peni ...
in San Francisco, State Route 520 serving downtown Seattle and communities to its east, Interstate 95 between
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
and Ft. Lauderdale, Interstate 35W serving downtown
Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
, and a variable rate parking meter system in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, which replaced New York City after it left the program in 2008.


High-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes

High-occupancy toll lane A high-occupancy toll lane (HOT lane) is a type of traffic lane or roadway that is available to high-occupancy vehicles and other exempt vehicles without charge; other vehicles are required to pay a road pricing, variable fee that is adjusted in ...
s are lanes where a variable fee based on demand is charged to non-exempt vehicles. Exempt vehicles include high-occupancy vehicles, transit vehicles, and often also low-emission vehicles. Users not wanting to pay the fee can use general-purpose lanes. HOT lanes were first implemented on
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
's private toll 91 Express Lanes, in Orange County in 1995, followed in 1996 by
Interstate 15 Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway in the Western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexican border in San Diego County and stretches north to Alberta, Ca ...
in
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
.


South America


Brazil

In January 2012, the
federal government of Brazil The Federal Government of Brazil (''Governo Federal'') is the national government of the Federative Republic of Brazil, a republic in South America divided into States of Brazil, 26 states and a federal district. The Brazilian federal government i ...
enacted the Urban Mobility Law that authorizes municipalities to implement congestion pricing to reduce traffic flows. The law also seeks to encourage the use of public transportation and reduce air pollution. According to the law, revenues from congestion charges should be destined exclusively to urban infrastructure for public transportation and non-motorized modes of locomotion (such as
walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an " inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults o ...
and
cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...
), and to finance public subsidies for transit fares. The law went into effect in April 2013. ;São Paulo city In April 2012, one of the committees of the
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...
approved a bill to introduce a R$4 (~ ) per day congestion charge within the same area as the existing road space rationing () by the last digit of the license plate, which has been in force since 1996. The bill still needs approval by two other committees before going for a final vote at the city council. Opinion surveys have shown that the initiative is highly unpopular. A survey by Veja magazine found that 80% of drivers are against congestion pricing, and another survey by '' Exame'' magazine found that only 1% of São Paulo's residents support the initiative, while 30% find that extending the metro system is a better solution to reduce traffic congestion. São Paulo's strategic urban development plan "SP 2040", approved in November 2012, proposes the implementation of congestion pricing by 2025, when the density of metro and bus corridors is expected to reach 1.25 km/km2. The Plan also requires ample consultation and even a
referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...
before beginning implementation.


Chile

Congestion pricing has also been implemented in urban freeways. Between 2004 and 2005,
Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...
implemented the first 100% non-stop urban toll for concessioned freeways passing through a downtown area, charging by the distance traveled. Congestion pricing is used since 2007 during rush hours in order to maintain reasonable speeds within the city's core with the aim of keeping a minimum level of service for their customers.


See also

* GNSS road pricing * List of toll bridges * List of toll roads * Road space rationing *
Sustainable transport Sustainable transport is transportation sustainability, sustainable in terms of their social and Environmental issue, environmental impacts. Components for evaluating sustainability include the particular vehicles used; the source of energy; and ...
* Toll roads around the world * Vehicle miles traveled tax * Vignette


References


Bibliography

* (See Chapter 9: Optimizing Traffic Congestion) * * * (See Chapter 4: Pricing) * * * *


External links


Fuel for Thought – The what, why and how of motoring taxation
Institute for Fiscal Studies The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) is an independent economic research institute based in London, United Kingdom, which specialises in UK taxation and public policy. It produces both academic and policy-related findings. The institute's ...
(2012)
National Alliance Against Tolls (Britain) Road pricing page

Reducing Congestion and Funding Transportation Using Road Pricing in Europe and Singapore
published by FHWA,
AASHTO The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) is a standards setting body which publishes specifications, test quality control, protocols, and guidelines that are used in highway design and construction through ...
and the TRB
Review of Road Pricing to Reduce Congestion
U.S. Government Accountability Office – 2012
When the Road Price Is Right – Land Use, Tolls, and Congestion Pricing
Urban Land Institute The Urban Land Institute, or ULI, is a global nonprofit research and education organization with regional offices in Washington, D.C., Hong Kong, and London. ULI aims to help its members and their partners build more equitable, sustainable, heal ...
, 2013,
TripSum @ Xeesa.com: Online Fuel/ ERP/ Taxi fare calculator
to check and calculate Fuel cost, ERP(Toll pricing) and Taxi Fare needed for a motorist's driving or taxi trip in Singapore {{Authority control Road traffic management Transport economics Transportation planning Car costs