MP D - Mobility pricing: synthesis report
Overview
Background & policy context:
"Transport Financing Models" is one of the key issues of the research strategy 2004 – 2007 of the Committee for Road research of the Swiss Federal Ministry of Transport. The Research programme on Mobility Pricing, which includes nine individual research projects and a synthesis report, has been examining all aspects of charging for the use of transport infrastructure and services. It has produced findings about the instruments and mechanisms in the overlapping domain of transport financing and traffic management and it has answered the questions about the consequences of moving transport financing away from general taxes and making it more use related.
Mobility Pricing is defined as following: Use related charges for the use of infrastructure and services in motorised traffic as well as public transport aimed at influencing the demand for mobility.
Road Pricing is defined as following: Use related charges for motorised private car traffic aimed at influencing the demand.
The Research programme on Mobility Pricing has been focussing on road user charging because more of the knowledge gaps are in this field than in public transport pricing or charging for parking. However, the interaction between the different instruments of user charging has been examined.
Objectives:
The objective of the project was to clarify the following questions:
- In which way can mobility pricing contribute to the solving of transport problems? And where are the limits?
- What are the effects of mobility pricing on transport behaviour?
- Which pricing models/systems are best suited to reach defined political targets?
- For what reasons and under which preconditions should mobility pricing be established?
- Is mobility pricing feasible in Switzerland and, if yes, which system/model is best suited?
- What costs are associated with the introduction and runnig of a mobility pricing system (monetary expenses, time needed)? What further preconditions are necessary: technical, operational, legal and political preconditions, acceptability)?
- What effects does mobility pricing have on transport financing? What are the distribution effects of mobility pricing (e.g. social and regional distribution effects)?
Methodology:
The studies have been based on five different mobility pricing scenarios and one reference scenario. The differences were in terms of the chosen charging model (A. object pricing; B. zone pricing; C. network pricing; D. Combined model: zone-network-zone pricing; E. area pricing with distance related charge) and the compensation measures (abolition of the motorway vignette, reduction of the petrol tax, reduction of the cantonal car tax).
The scenarios were examined on the national level from different angles:
- Acceptance of Mobility Pricing measures
- Effects on the user mobility behaviour
- Traffic planning and environmental effects
- Financial effects for the state
- Legal and institutional aspects
- Technical aspects including estimation of the costs of the fee collection systems.
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