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. 


 

Related Content

  • November 8, 2013
    'Smart' motorways on their way to Greater Manchester
    Details of a multi-million pound project have been unveiled that will cut congestion and improve journey times on parts of the M60 and M62 in Greater Manchester. The smart motorways scheme – the first of its kind in the north-west – will be introduced on a 17-mile stretch of the network between junction 8 of the M60 near Sale and junction 20 of the M62 near Rochdale. The system will use the latest technology to monitor traffic levels, provide traffic information to road users, and ease congestion by usin
  • March 19, 2014
    New opportunities in a data-rich future
    Jason Barnes looks at where the detection and monitoring sector is heading. In the future, there will be no such thing as an un-instrumented road. Just a short time ago, that could have been a quote from a high-level policy document but with the first arrivals of vehicles with 802.11p connectivity – the door-opener to Vehicle-to-X (V2X) applications – it’s a statement which has increasing validity. The technology which uses our roads will also provide information on road conditions but V2X isn’t the only
  • March 4, 2019
    International Road Safety Awards: the winners
    Road accidents are a major blight on the world’s highways - but some companies are attempting to stem the tide. David Arminas reports on the annual Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards
  • October 31, 2018
    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