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London congestion charging scheme
Since February 2003,
the already famous congestion-charging scheme has been in operation. The scheme
requires all drivers to pay £5 per day if they wish to continue driving in
central London during the scheme’s hours of operation (Monday to Friday
from 7am to 6.30pm).
1) Main objectives
of the congestion-charging scheme
The primary objective
of the central London congestion charging scheme is to reduce traffic
congestion, since congestion and under-resourced public transport were
identified as London’s most pressing problems. Congestion charging is aimed at deterring
non-essential journeys into the congestion charging zone during charging hours,
thereby making essential journeys easier, and reducing traffic and increasing
journey time reliability in the congestion charging zone. Also, the scheme is
designed to encourage Londoners to use alternative modes of transport if
possible.
Whilst there are some
secondary benefits arising from the congestion charge, such as notably raising
revenue and some environmental benefits, these were not primary aims of the
scheme.
2)
Congestion-charging scheme as part of an integrated approach, complementing
other measures in favour of sustainable mobility (i.e. promoting cycling and
walking)
The Mayor published his
Transport Strategy in July 2001 with the aim of reducing congestion and
improving public transport. Congestion charging, however, is one of many
integrated measures that have been introduced, or are in the process of being
introduced in order to tackle these issues. Indeed, congestion charging was
only implemented after the introduction of enhancements to public transport
beforehand, and the subsequent freed road-space has allowed cycling and walking
facilities to be improved.
3) Main results and
impacts of this scheme
After one year, the
main results of the charging scheme show that congestion charging was
introduced successfully. Operation and enforcement are now working well.
Congestion within the charging zone has reduced by 30 %, and the volume of
traffic in the charging zone has reduced by 15 %. Bus services have improved,
and public transport satisfies displaced car users. The impact of congestion
charging on business is small and there are already benefits for the
environment, with lower emissions and fuel consumption in the charging zone.
4) Major social,
economic and environmental benefits of the London
congestion-charging scheme
The initial
environmental impacts in particular are encouraging. There have been reductions
of approximately 12% in emissions of both NOx and
fine particulates (PM10) from road traffic inside the charging zone.
There is no evidence of significant change to the ambient noise climate, though
Londoners already recognise the beneficial effects of congestion charging and
other initiatives on environmental quality.
Accidents have also
been reduced compared to 2002, although this is a continuation of a recent
trend in central London. The number of accidents involving powered two-wheelers
has not, however decreased disproportionately.
There have been a lot
of claims regarding the effect of the congestion charge on business, in
particular on the retail sector. However, statistics show that central London’s economy outperformed the rest of the country in the
first quarter of 2004; therefore, the effect of the congestion charge on the
business sector is benign.
Reduced traffic delays,
improved journey time reliability, reduced waiting time at bus stops, better
fuel consumption, less pollution and accidents and a more pleasant environment
all have an economic value. TfL estimates that the
congestion charge produces net transport benefits of £50m per annum.
5) Next steps in
your congestion-charging scheme
All aspects of the
scheme are constantly under review, the main focuses being the improvement of
customer service and maintaining the effectiveness of the scheme.
During the first few
months of the scheme, the quality of service provided by the main contractor
was not to the required standard. An extensive programme of improvements across
IT, management, process and staffing was implemented, along with a tougher
quality performance management regime. The performance across a number of areas
increased, in particular in relation to performance of the call centre, the
number and quality of penalty charges being issued and the end-to-end
enforcement process. Some of these changes are still being implemented.
TfL is also currently investigating methods to make payment
easier. Improvements to the fleet operator scheme (for organisations with 25 or
more vehicles) are being implemented and more are underway. In addition, TfL is considering the possibility of automatic pre-payment
for members of the public.
In the future, in order
to maintain the effectiveness of the congestion charge, it may be necessary to
increase the charge, though there are no plans to do this in the short-term. TfL is also undertaking trials in new technologies such as
‘tag and beacon’ and GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) systems. These could
shape the way the charge is collected, and even the structure of the charge in
10-15 years time.
Genoa activities in the road pricing research programme
Summary
With the EU PROGRESS
project, Genoa has performed the test of a cordon-pricing scheme in the
central area of the city: this area includes the old historical centre, the
heart of commercial activities and the main pedestrian streets. The trial was
run in 2003 divided into 2 phases in order to evaluate differences in drivers’
behaviour varying the fare. Data collected during the demo were used (with a
statistical analysis to project the results to the overall city population) to
calibrate the full-scale simulation model, so several scenarios were modelled
varying fee level, public transport network, % of exemption, etc. The results
of modelling were used to start the consultation phase with politicians,
stakeholders and citizens.
The state of the art
Genoa is one of the most active cities in Europe in the
field of sustainable mobility, with its participation in several EU projects
concerning the research and the implementation of innovative techniques applied
to transports. In this sense, road pricing is a groundbreaking measure for the
management of private traffic demand and Genoa is one of the first cities having run a pilot
demonstration.
Within the EU PROGRESS
project, Genoa has performed the test of a cordon pricing scheme in the
central area of the city (1 km2): this area includes the old
historical centre, the heart of commercial activities and the main pedestrian
streets and is subject daily to about 54500 entrances, of which 56% is made by
cars.
The trial was run in
2003 in two phases: 3 months (March-May) with a fare of 2€ and 3 months
(June-August) with a fare of 1€, in order to evaluate differences in behaviour
varying the fare. Data collected during the demo were used (with a statistical
analysis to project the results to the overall city population) to calibrate
the full-scale simulation model, so several scenarios were modelled (starting
from the one here presented) varying fee level, public transport network, % of
exemption, etc. The results of modelling were used to start the consultation
phase with politicians, stakeholders and citizens.
The road pricing
trial
The aim of the trial
was to evaluate the efficiency of urban road pricing in terms of congestion,
pollution reductions and energy savings, to test the technological equipments
and to analyse social and economical impacts of the road pricing schemes in the
city centre.
The demonstration was
run with the collaboration of 200 volunteers chosen between frequent users of
city centre by car; the volunteers singed a contract with the Municipality that
assigned them.
There was a virtual
budget of 200€, delineated the trial forms (monitoring of the accession,
reduction of the budget at every passage, privacy issues); it was foreseen to
pay, at the end of the demo, the residuals.
In the pre-demo phase,
volunteers were evaluated and the non-representative cases were discarded: 159
volunteers ended the demo; among them, 125 were closer to the requested
requirements (to enter in the RP area at least 4 times a week) and were of a
higher reliability.
At the end of the demo
the volunteers filled in a questionnaire. The results were that:
- 82,7% sometimes adopted a
different behaviour (mode change, route change);
- 50% used PT as an alternative
to car (or in integration: park & ride, park & walk;
- the alternative route / mode
caused on average an extra travel time of 12 minutes (+30%);
- 43% judged the applicability of
RP in Genoa positively, but this opinion
was strongly related to the existence of supporting measures
(interventions on PT, road network and parking).
Full-scale modelling
A statistical analysis
showed a reduction of entrance of 38% with a fare of 1.50 €. A curve describing
the relationship between the reduction of passages and the fee paid was built
up using modelling tools (taking into account the exemptions and the fact that,
in the real case, citizens will be subjected to a real fare and not to a non
profit): the reduction of 38% corresponds to a fee of 0,67 €; this result was
very close to the expected value of 0,75 € (considering the ratio between a
real sustained cost and a non profit being 1:2).
The fee of 0.67 € was
used to model the main full-scale scenario. Four different scenarios were
modelled: the base one (RP1, of which main results are reported) considers the
outcomes of the demo with the present road network and public transport
service. The inputs were: RP fee = 0.67€, motorbikes and 30% of cars exempted.
Main results were:
Car reduction in RPA = -26%
- Equivalent Vehicle reduction in
Road Pricing Area (RPA) = -21%
- Equivalent Vehicle increase in
Cordon Area (COR) = +3%
- CO emissions in RPA = -13%
- CO emissions in COR = +1%
- Global shift to public
transport =0,4% (2000 pas*km)
- Yearly revenues = 1.72 M€
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Figure 1: Volunteers’ behaviour
during the demo phase
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Figure 2: Results of statistical
analysis
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Figure 3: Model relationship between reduction of passages and fee
paid
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Figure
4: Road Pricing Area (RPA) and Cordon Area (COR) |