Skip to main content

Drastic action needed to boost EU-wide user-friendly road toll services, says Transport Committee

To improve interoperability of road charging systems, the European Commission must focus on better implementation of existing legislation and assess the need for new measures to encourage the development of a EU-wide electronic toll system, according to an own-initiative report adopted in the Transport and Tourism Committee. MEPs say incentives for road operators and toll service providers have not been sufficient and criticise lack of action by Member States to develop EU-wide standards, as set out in a Di
April 24, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
To improve interoperability of road charging systems, the 1690 European Commission must focus on better implementation of existing legislation and assess the need for new measures to encourage the development of a EU-wide electronic toll system, according to an own-initiative report adopted in the Transport and Tourism Committee.

MEPs say incentives for road operators and toll service providers have not been sufficient and criticise lack of action by Member States to develop EU-wide standards, as set out in a Directive on interoperability of electronic toll systems in 2004.

The resolution calls the Commission to provide an overview of existing studies by the end of 2013 for policy options in the medium and long term including the deployment of technologies, such as GPS/GNSS to prevent and reduce congestion caused by physical barriers.

The report urges the take-up of mobile payments, facilitation of pre-payments online, and clear indications of prices in order to enhance user-friendliness and informed customer choices. Transport MEPs reiterated that distance-based tolling systems should be favoured, as they are a fairer, non-discriminatory type compared to the vignette-type system.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • ANPR technology aids barrier-free parking
    May 22, 2012
    APT Controls Group CEO Dermot Murphy introduces a new suite of parking solutions and explains the benefits of barrier free parking systems Following its acquisition of Parking Applications in September 2011, the APT Controls group is launching a new barrier-less parking and payment solution called Veri-park. This is based on proven automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology and flexible payment channels. At present the concept of barrier-less parking using ANPR is still a relatively new one, which
  • Kerb your enthusiasm, warns Passport
    March 4, 2019
    Dynamic kerbside management is crucial if urban authorities are to address increasingly chaotic situations caused by the gig economy and mobility innovation, says Adam Warnes at Passport Demand for the kerbside is growing and changing and it’s no surprise when you consider the recent innovations within the mobility industry. For starters, there are new modes of transport, including ride-shares, electric vehicles (EVs), dockless cycles, last-mile consolidations and autonomous vehicles (AVs). Secondly, the
  • EU funding for Danish EV charging project
    February 24, 2015
    Fast charging of electric vehicles (EVs) in Denmark is about to become easier thanks to over US$1.1 million of funding from the EU's TEN-T Programme, which is funding a pilot project upgrading the existing charging stations in Denmark to common European standards. This will allow different types of electric vehicles from all over Europe to travel freely in Denmark and will serve as best practice to other European countries. The pilot project will transform 40 of Denmark’s 46 existing charging stations into
  • Standardise global ITS protocols to enable interoperability
    January 26, 2012
    ITS America has a new chief technology officer. ITS International caught up with Nu Rosenbohm at this year's World Congress to gather his thoughts on the main challenges at home and abroad