Road
Decarbonisation and the Pricing of Road Transport
Roundtable Report, Policy Insights,
20 June 2023
- Reform fuel taxes
- Supplement fuel taxes with distance-based charges
- Consider opt-in arrangements for the introduction of new distance-based charges
- Introduce congestion charges where required
- Consider earmarking congestion charging revenues for improving public transport and active mobility
- Set the level of road-user charges to meet sustainable transport objectives
- Make introducing differentiated distance-based charges a policy priority
- Reform incentives for the uptake of electric vehicles to better align with policy goals
Travel Transitions: How Transport Planners and Policy Makers Can Respond to Shifting Mobility Trends
Research Report, Policy Insights,
16 August 2021
- Scan for emerging travel trends using a combination of traditional and new data sources.
- Measure the performance of the transport system with indicators that reflect how mobility contributes to societal objectives.
- Take a proactive approach to anticipating travel transitions by scanning developments inside and outside the transport sector.
- Account for uncertainty when making predictions and be explicit about the different sources of uncertainty .
- Shift from a “predict and provide” approach towards a “decide and provide” approach in the face of deep uncertainty.
- Change the mindset and enhance the skillset of the transport-planning workforce.
- Foster a strengthening of international knowledge sharing and co-operation via a “learning by doing” approach.
- Adapt transport governance to better account for uncertainty in planning.
Cleaner Vehicles: Achieving a Resilient Technology Transition
Case-Specific Policy Analysis, Policy Insights,
20 July 2021
- Support the adoption of clean vehicles with targeted policy action and by increasing transparency of their carbon footprint.
- Prioritise a transition to direct electrification of vehicles and renewable energy.
- Address challenges in resource efficiency and sustainable supply chains.
- Prepare for a transition from fuel duties by seizing opportunities arising from increased connectivity and accelerating enabling regulatory actions.
- Include infrastructure for easy access to clean energy and digital connectivity of road transport in Covid‑19 recovery packages.
- Prepare for the impact of the sustainable mobility transition on jobs, required skill sets and social equity.
- Accelerate the development of other low-carbon technologies.
Decongesting our Cities
Roundtable Report, Policy Insights,
10 May 2021
- Present congestion charging in a positive light, as value pricing or decongestion charging, rather than as an additional tax.
- Consider congestion charging as part of sustainable urban mobility plans.
- Make more use of HOT lanes and peak pricing on tolled expressways.
- Ensure adequate user choice to accommodate responses to congestion charging.
- Ensure that congestion charging revenues are used effectively and in ways that have public support.
- Hypothecate revenues from congestion charges flexibly.
- Use differentiated congestion charges to maximise the benefits and minimise the costs.
Reversing Car Dependency
Roundtable Report, Policy Insights,
24 February 2021
- Review the street space and urban land share allocated to cars.
- Use road space allocation to proactively manage traffic.
- Abolish minimum parking space requirements for new developments.
- Consider road pricing to drive more efficient use of scarce road space and urban land.
- Use parking rates to discourage excessive driving.
- End employer-paid parking subsidies.
- Ensure that quality alternatives to private cars are convenient and efficient.
- Work towards integrated planning of transport and land-use.
- Review land-use regulations that hinder compact development patterns.
Smart Use of Roads
Research Report, Policy Insights,
19 March 2019
- Make use of smart technologies part of the response to congestion.
- Invest in improving junctions where these create bottlenecks.
- Use hard-shoulder running and ramp metering to get the most out of trunk road capacity.
- Use congestion pricing for active traffic management as part of integrated urban policies.
- Adopt barrier-free electronic tolling to remove bottlenecks.
The Social Impacts of Road Pricing
Roundtable Report, Policy Insights,
10 October 2018
- Make demand management and congestion reduction the primary objective of road pricing.
- Differentiate road pricing by location and time.
- Combine road pricing and public transport planning to improve efficiency.
- Examine the combined effects of scheme design and mitigation to understand distributional impacts.
- Consider the use of discounts and exemptions carefully.
- Develop road pricing as part of an intervention package to achieve better utilisation of urban space.
- Reconcile economic, practical and political aspects in the design of road pricing schemes.
- Differentiate charges and consider adopting a rules-based pricing approach.