Road tolls to improve
Certain sections of the population that are dependent on their cars are being hit hard by congestion charges when making trips that do not have a significant impact on congestion. Nor are congestion charges optimal from the point of view of efficiency. KTH has now received funding to look into what can be done about this problem.
KTH has received almost SEK 1 million for a project that sets out to research congestion charges in Stockholm. The money will come in equal shares from Vinnova, the state research authority, and from the National Road Administration (Vägverket).
The project, known as Avenir, sets out to conduct a closer investigation into the way in which the tariff system can be redesigned in order to make it more equitable and more efficient. The results will help the government make decisions as to whether or not the tariff system should be redesigned.
Ida Kristoffersson, a doctoral candidate at the School of Transport and Economics at KTH, is working on the Avenir project.
“I am going to analyse the system of congestion charges and determine whether, if designed differently, it would have the same positive effects on traffic but would not affect those groups that are vulnerable and that do not have a significant impact on congestion”, says Ida Kristoffersson.
She adds that other charges and times than the current ones are going to be studied. The study is also going to look into, for example, what happens if congestion charges are completely abolished for those motorists that travel out from the town in the morning.
The study is going to deal with various groups of motorists. Among other things, it will deal with those who live in the city and with those who live outside the city. The research is also going to take a look at motorists’ working hours and their flexibility.
“A major advantage of this study is the fact that it sets out to test various models of congestion charge in a simulated environment before making any actual changes. We will be comparing several tariff systems with respect to the gains and losses for society as a whole and for various sections of the population, depending on the way in which revenues are used”, says Ida Kristoffersson.
The Avenir project is supervised by Reader Leonid Engelson, who works at the KTH Centre for Traffic Research. He says that the very objective of congestion charges is that they are a tax on congestion.
“As it looks today, road tolls are fixed and the rate is controlled only by the clock. In the years to come, it should be possible for the actual traffic flow to determine the price”, says Leonid Engelson.
For more information, contact Ida Kristoffersson at idak@infra.kth.se or 08 - 790 84 25.
At present, a number of projects are in progress at KTH which deal with congestion charges. More information can be obtained from Professor Jonas Eliasson, Director at the Centre for Transport Studies. He can be contacted at jonas.eliasson@infra.kth.se or by ringing 08 - 790 68 35.
Peter Larsson