Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
those who will be unable to afford the charge, (2) the level of congestion must
become unbearable, and (3) the cost of driving and parking should be very high.
In effect, most US large urban areas in the US do not have an extensive and
effective transit system
especially in low density areas where the most of the
population lives. As a result, improving the transit system (as well as other modes)
will require extensive investments
before
congestion pricing becomes acceptable to
the public.
In many US cities, although peak hour congestion has grown considerably in the
last two decades, congestion levels (intensity, extent, and duration) are below those
experienced in Stockholm, London, or Singapore before these implemented con-
gestion pricing. Therefore, the pressure to reduce traf
—
c congestion by reducing
traf
c demand may not be as great in US cities.
Finally, the cost of driving (e.g., the price of motor vehicle ownership, gasoline
and parking) in London, Stockholm, and Singapore is considerably higher than in
the US. This higher cost of driving increases the willingness to accept the need to
shift from the automobile to improved transit by those who are unwilling/unable to
pay the congestion change.
Moreover, road pricing strategies aimed at reducing peak period congestion do
not necessarily reduce daily VMT because auto trips foregone during the peak
hours could be scheduled outside peak hours or may be made to different desti-
nations where the charge is not applied.
19.4 Other Road User Charges
Other road pricing strategies aimed at reducing daily vehicle travel and/or increase
revenues from road users include: truck tolls mileage-based fees, and pay-as-you-
drive insurance [
7
].
Examples that apply pricing to generate revenue from goods movement vehicles
—
in Germany (heavy toll vehicles), Czech Republic (truck charging on highways),
and the Netherlands (a planned National Distance
—
based tax) are discussed next.
19.4.1 Truck Tolls
Country-wide truck tolls have been established in Germany and the Czech
Republic.
19.4.1.1 Germany Heavy Goods Vehicles
The tolling program began in January 2005. It is the world
first satellite-based
countrywide electronic tolling system and applies only trucks weighing more than
'
s
