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| Road Pricing: A Dutch Answer to Traffic and Emissions? |
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| Tuesday, 01 June 2010 11:21 |
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Neighbours are watching closely as the Netherlands rolls out its road tax scheme. The two central transport challenges of our time are usually recognized as dealing with vehicle emissions and cutting congestion. Vehicle manufacturers and policy makers are working on various responses to both issues, from green engine technologies to one-way road systems and car-free zones. But what if the two problems could be solved with one measure? That is what the Dutch government is hoping to achieve with its road tax scheme that it announced last year. The measure aims to tax every motorist who gets behind the wheel, and is based on the distance of their trip and the kind of car they drive. The plan, which is expected to be implemented in 2012, aims to eventually halve the the number of traffic jams in The Netherlands. The system would work by requiring every car owner to purchase a GPS device able to send data tracking the distances of trips to a billing agency. Any motorist caught without the device will be fined. People driving a standard family sedan will be charged 3 euro cents per km in 2012, with the tax going up every year until 2018, when it is expected to top out at an average of 6.7 cents per km. So, for instance, a trip from Amsterdam to Eindhoven and back — a distance of about 250 kilometers — will cost the driver of a standard sedan about €7.5 in 2012. Rates will be higher during rush hour and for people who drive gas-guzzlers instead of fuel-efficient models. All the revenue will go toward improving road and rail infrastructure. According to Traffic Minister Camiel Eurlings, the hope is that commuters faced with paying a hefty tax on their driving will opt to start carpooling or riding bicycles to work, and may, in the long term, even move to live closer to their jobs. The plan has its critics. The environmental group Friends of the Earth says it will do little to reduce traffic, since driving, for the most part, will still be cheaper than using public transport, even on long trips. And the European Road Federation (ERF) argues that road improvement projects — such as building better links connecting the main highways that crisscross the country — would be more effective at reducing congestion. But within the Netherlands, everyone agrees that something needs to be done to ease the country's overloaded road network. The country may be known overseas for its cycling culture, but outside the country's city centers, gridlock is the more dreary reality. Vehicle use has risen sharply over the years, but road capacity has yet to catch up — in part due to lack of space. Previous attempts to reduce traffic — from offering incentives to people who carpool to giving away free croissants and newspapers on public transport — have had little effect. The government estimates that a typical rush hour has about 270 kilometers of traffic jams, although other sources often records up to 1,000 kilometers of back-ups during peak hours. Holland is certainly not alone with this problem. Authorities around the world have experimented for years with measures to deal with increased congestion, including creating dedicated lanes for carpoolers, reversing the flow of traffic on roads during rush hours and varying speed limits depending on traffic and weather. Cities such as London, Rome and Stockholm have started charging drivers a daily fee to enter "congestion zones" in their centers. In the US, states like Oregon, California and Massachusetts have mulled levying highway taxes based on the amount of mileage people drive. But the Dutch scheme is by far the most ambitious in the world because it will not only be implemented nationwide, but it also involves technology in the solution like never before. The plan is being watched closely in countries like Germany and Belgium, where officials are also weighing creative policies to slash carbon emissions. If it succeeds, it could usher in a wave of "smart" charges on roads across the continent. If it doesn't, the Netherlands may have to brace itself for a road rage epidemic. |
