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

  • Improving the positional accuracy of GNSS road user charging
    July 23, 2012
    The European GINA project is intended to address and overcome many of the institutional, technical and public acceptance hurdles currently faced by satellite-based road user charging schemes. Dave Tindall and Denis Naberezhnykh, TRL, and Laure Dezes, ERF, write. Pay-as-you-drive Road User Charging (RUC), whereby demand (or congestion) is managed by applying appropriate tariffs in order to encourage drivers to make their journeys at less busy times, on less congested routes or even on different modes, could
    Read More
  • Euro MEPs back plan for automatic 112 call
    February 12, 2014
    The European Parliament's internal market committee has backed EU plans for all new types of car and van to be fitted with automated emergency call devices but opened the door to postponing their introduction beyond the proposed deadline of October 2015. The vote on eCall gives a green light for a pan-European type approval method to ensure the devices meet the necessary technical standards. The decision follows a vote in December in the transport committee to approve legislation for member states to develo
    Read More
  • 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
    Read More
  • Confusing funding and financing can be costly
    September 23, 2014
    Tolling may be the way forward for paying for the roads of the future - but where will concessionaires find the money and do they need funding or financing? Increasingly, governments around the world are concluding that they can no longer pay for new roads and are turning to the private sector for help.
    Read More

Highlighted Content