EU to implement fairer rules for road charging

EU countries will need to switch to distance-based road use charges for trucks and buses in 2023 and for cars in 2026. The European Parliament’s Transport Committee has voted on new amendments in a bid to meet emission reduction targets and make charges fairer. Distance-based charging is intended to ensure vehicles are charged according to actual road use and pollution generated. The rule will also apply to goods vans over 2.4 tonnes from 2022. EU countries would need to set different road charging ra
May 29, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
EU countries will need to switch to distance-based road use charges for trucks and buses in 2023 and for cars in 2026. The European Parliament’s Transport Committee has voted on new amendments in a bid to meet emission reduction targets and make charges fairer.


Distance-based charging is intended to ensure vehicles are charged according to actual road use and pollution generated. The rule will also apply to goods vans over 2.4 tonnes from 2022.

EU countries would need to set different road charging rates based on carbon dioxide emissions to encourage use of environmentally-friendly vehicles. Charges for zero-emission trucks would have to be 50% below the lowest rate.

External cost charges for traffic-based air or noise pollution would need to be applied to heavy-duty vehicles and goods vans on tolled roads from 2021.

Road charging would also need to be applied to all heavy-duty vehicles and goods vans from 2020 to ensure fair treatment of all hauliers.

These rules would enable countries to offer discounts in situations where frequent users of light vehicles in the areas of dispersed settlements and the outskirts of cities.

Until the switch to distance-based charges takes place, the draft rules set limits to the short-term charges that can be imposed on drivers from other member states. MEPs also want Vignette stickers to be available for shorter periods of one day and one week.

Revenue from distance-based charges would be invested in transport projects.

Enforcement

Related Content

  • Germany unveils plan to introduce car tolls
    August 11, 2014
    Germany's transportation minister, Alexander Dobrindt, has unveiled plans to introduce a toll on cars using the country's roads. However, it is not clear whether the proposal will meet with the approval of the EU. Germany has imposed a toll on trucks using its autobahns and other major thoroughfares since the start of 2005; the new toll would apply to all cars using all roads in Germany from the beginning of 2016 and could even extend to motorcycles. Dobrint said experts at the Transportation Ministry ha
    Read More
  • Clean diesel technology most cost-effective way to reduce emissions, officials told
    April 7, 2017
    The state environmental policymakers attending the Spring Meeting of the US Environmental Council of States (ECOS) have heard how states can achieve the most cost-effective and immediate air emission reductions by targeting the largest sources of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions and replacing or upgrading those with the newest generation of clean diesel technology. Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum, highlighted the environmental benefits of new diesel technology dur
    Read More
  • Funding boost for London’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure
    August 4, 2017
    Transport for London (TfL), London Councils and the Greater London Authority (GLA) have announced funding of almost US$6 million (£4.5 million) to London boroughs to install electric vehicle charging infrastructure on London’s streets. A total of 25 boroughs, each receiving up to US$394,000 (£300,000), will install up to 1,500 standard-speed on-street charging points in residential areas, as part of Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s long-term vision for zero-carbon transport in the Capital another step closer.
    Read More
  • Smoothing out city freight movements
    May 28, 2014
    David Crawford welcomes a national first. Urban freight movements, while commercially and socially vital, are a growing logistical headache for planners and people alike. Figures from France’s Lyon Laboratory of Transport Economics indicate that goods transport in major urban areas accounts for: 20% of traffic; 35% of CO2 emissions made by all urban trips; and 50% of the diesel used; while final km delivery runs account for 20% of the total cost of the transport chain.
    Read More

Highlighted Content