EU draft on road pricing adopts ‘user pays’ principle

Draft rules have been adopted by European policy makers which would bring the idea of widescale ‘user pays’ road pricing one step closer. European Union member states which currently use time-based road user charges will need to switch to distance-based ones for trucks and buses (over 2.4 tonnes) from 2023, and vans and minibuses from 2027, if the rules are made into law. The idea is that vehicles would then be charged according to their actual road use and the pollution they generate. The ‘user
October 31, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Draft rules have been adopted by European policy makers which would bring the idea of widescale ‘user pays’ road pricing one step closer.  


1816 European Union member states which currently use time-based road user charges will need to switch to distance-based ones for trucks and buses (over 2.4 tonnes) from 2023, and vans and minibuses from 2027, if the rules are made into law.

The idea is that vehicles would then be charged according to their actual road use and the pollution they generate.

The ‘user pays’ principle is widely seen as fairer but it has been considered politically difficult to adopt in some cases. The aim of the new rules is also to help meet transport emission reduction targets.

EU countries would need to set different road charging rates based on CO2 emissions, as part of a move to encourage the wider use of environmentally-friendly vehicles.

The new, draft rules would also allow countries to introduce discounts – for example, for light vehicles which frequently use areas on the edges of urban areas.

French socialist MEP Christine Revault d’Allonnes Bonnefoy called it “an ambitious report to achieve the objective of the White Paper on European Transport to move towards the full application of ‘user pays’ and ‘polluter pays’ principles on the European road transport network”.

It was a “turning point for the European transport policy to better tackle CO2 emissions and air pollution from the road transport sector”, she added.

The European Parliament will now negotiate with the European Council on the final wording.

Charging, Tolling & RUC

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • User based insurance is helping good drivers and identifying the bad ones
    November 28, 2013
    Thomas Hallauer gives an overview of Usage Based Insurance (UBI), an industry that is putting telematic devices into more vehicles than fleet management ever did. The insurance market is going through a transformation phase never seen before. Insurers have not only started to track individual cars for Usage Based Insurance (UBI), they are also using the technology to enhance consumer services as more drivers join up to these schemes. Progressive Insurance in the US has 1.4 million customers signed up to
    Read More
  • Enforcement needs automation and communication
    February 1, 2012
    TISPOL's Peter van de Beek questions whether the thought processes which drive enforcement technology development are always the right ones. Peter van de Beek sees an ever-greater role for technology in traffic enforcement but is concerned that the emphasis of technological development and discussion is not always in the right places. 'Old-fashioned' face-to-face policing remains as valid as it ever did, he feels, but adds that there should be greater communication with those engaged at the sharp end of saf
    Read More
  • New constellation will add accuracy and security to GNSS services
    December 20, 2013
    With Galileo’s early services scheduled to start next year, Fiammetta Diani is enthusiastic about the opportunities the EU’s GNSS system will offer. Next year will be a very exciting one for Galileo, the EU’s fledgling satellite constellation; additional satellites are scheduled for launch and, as European Commission Vice President Tajani recently announced, early operational services will be starting towards the end of 2014. So it really is ‘all systems go’ as Fiammetta Diani, market development officer in
    Read More
  • Uber clean-up - those all-important facts and figures
    September 11, 2020
    Ride-hailing giant says it can switch to all-electric vehicles 'in any major city' by 2030
    Read More

Highlighted Content