Skip to main content

Wales considers road user charging options

The Welsh government has commissioned an independent review into road user charging to understand how such demand management approaches can aid the transition to more sustainable transport.
By Ben Spencer March 20, 2020 Read time: 2 mins
The Severn Bridge: one of the major transport links between Wales and England (© Matthew Dixon | Dreamstime.com)

Wales lies to the west of England and is part of the UK.

The review is expected to provide information on the wider economic implications of road user charging in the context of issues arising from the border with England while also offering lessons learned from the implementation of similar schemes in the rest of the UK or internationally. 

Part of the review will assess the options and costs of different technologies while also making the case for a national framework for road user charging policies to prevent drivers from having to pay more than one charge. 

Ken Skates, minister for economy, transport and North Wales, said in a statement: “It is intended that the review will report this autumn and it will help inform our national and regional policy on this issue in the context of the ongoing work of the South East Wales Transport Commission and the consideration of congestion charging by Cardiff Council.”

“This could include a range of possible objectives such as alleviating congestion, improving air quality or reducing carbon emissions, increasing rates of active travel, encouraging modal shift and travel behaviours – such as travel to school,” he adds. 


 

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Asecap debates the future of tolling
    August 23, 2016
    Colin Sowman reports form Asecap’s Study & Information Days event in Madrid. At Asecap’s (the Association of European Toll Road Operators) recent Study and Information Days event there was no doubt about the subject at the top of the agenda: the European Union Directive 23/2014/EU. This will introduce fundamental changes to the concession model under which Asecap members operate more than 50,000km of tolled highways and, in response, it has compiled a report entitled Proposal for a Sustainable Concession Mo
  • Mexico City seeks solutions to improve air quality
    December 6, 2017
    David Crawford ponders prospects for one of the world’s most congested and polluted cities. In 1992, the United Nations named Mexico City as the world’s most polluted urban centre. In the first half of 2016, following the updating of pollution alert limits to meet international standards, Mexico recorded 115 days where ozone concentrations exceeded the acute exposure health limit.
  • Need for performance standards for road user charging systems
    February 2, 2012
    GNSS-based road use metering systems need performance metrics, as well as ways to test and reliably compare them. Bern Grush and Joaquín Cosmen write about the function of the GNSS Metering Association for Road-use charging (GMAR), recently set up to address this issue
  • Need for best practice enforcement standards
    February 3, 2012
    Leading systems suppliers discuss how recent events in Italy have affected the automated enforcement sector and how the situation might be remediated