Memorandum by Transport for London (RP
38)
ROAD PRICING
1. INTRODUCTION
Transport for London
1.1 Transport for London (TfL) is the integrated
body responsible for the capital's transport system. Its role
is to implement the Mayor's Transport Strategy[64]
and manage the transport services across the capital for which
the Mayor has responsibility. TfL also manages a 580 km network
of strategic roads, all of London's 4,600 traffic lights and is
responsible for the implementation and operation of the central
London congestion charge.
Central London congestion charging
1.2 The central London congestion charge,
a £5 daily charge for driving or parking a vehicle on public
roads in a 22 square kilometre zone of central London, came into
operation on Monday 17 February 2003. The principal aim of the
charge is to reduce traffic congestion in the heart of the capital
where it was at its most severe. Central London was the most congested
area in the UK. Inner and outer London also suffer a high level
of congestion, to the extent that 40% of all the UK's congestion
occurs in Greater London.
1.3 Monitoring results published after the
first 12 months of operation[65]
showed that congestion charging has produced significant benefits
for people travelling in and around central London. Indications
of the impacts of the charge are:
— A reduction of around 30% in traffic
congestion, with diverted traffic being successfully accommodated.
— Car journeys to and from the zone
are quicker and more reliable, with decreased journey times.
— Drivers in the charging zone are
spending less time in traffic queues (stationary or travelling
at below 10 kilometres per hour).
— The majority of former car users
have transferred to public transport, as projected, and public
transport is coping well.
— Reduced congestion has helped deliver
significant improvements in bus journey times and reliability,
with shorter waiting times for passengers.
— A reduction in road accidents has
been recorded, although it is too early to draw firm conclusions;
and reduced traffic has enhanced amenity on central London's streets.
1.4 The scale of reduced travel to central
London resulting directly from congestion charging is very small
and not compatible with the scale of effects claimed by some retailers.
The available evidence suggests the operation of other more pervasive
factors in determining the economic performance of central London
during 2003.
Current developments in road user charging in
London
1.5 In view of the success of the central
London scheme reducing traffic congestion, the Mayor asked TfL
to consult on an outline proposal to extend the current charging
zone to the west, in order to tackle the next most pressing congestion
problem in the capital. An initial round of consultation in spring
and summer 2004 resulted in the publication of a revision to the
Mayor's Transport Strategy in August 2004.[66]
Discussions with the most directly affected boroughs are currently
ongoing and TfL intends to begin the next phase of consultation
on a detailed proposal set out in a draft Scheme Order in early
2005. Subject to a mayoral decision, following public consultation,
the earliest any such extension could begin operating would be
in early 2007.
1.6 In March 2004, the TfL Board gave the
go ahead to TfL to apply for powers to build the Thames Gateway
Bridge. It is intended that a toll would be charged for most vehicles
using the bridge (with discounts for local traffic), to cover
the costs of construction and operation. The bridge could be complete
in 2013. No decision has been made regarding likely charging technology.
1.7 The central London congestion charge
is enforced using a network of CCTV cameras linked to Automatic
Number Plate Readers (ANPR). TfL believes that there could be
benefits to charging using more sophisticated technology and is
investigating the potential of Global Navigation Satellite Systems
(GNSS), such as GPS, as well as microwave "tag and beacon"
and mobile phone technologies, with trials that have taken place
during 2004 and further that are planned for 2005. The trials
thus far have both informed the development of a westward extension
of the congestion charging zone and provided a background to future
policy development. TfL's initial conclusions from the trials
are that GPS and mobile phone technologies currently do not afford
accurate enough location information for charging in built up
urban areas such as London. Further development is required, and
solutions based on these technologies are unlikely to be available
until the next decade. Nevertheless tag & beacon could offer
a more flexible charging solution in the medium term, whilst improved
ANPR systems (digital cameras, roadside ANPR and broadband communications)
could offer benefits in the short term.
1.8 In all these developments, TfL is liaising
closely with the Department for Transport, HM Customs and Excise
(in their work on Lorry Road User Charging) and the European Commission.
1.9 Apart from the developments listed above,
and some smaller scale proposals to improve the operation of the
existing congestion charging scheme, there are no other TfL proposals
for road user charging in other parts of London.
2. THE COMMITTEE'S
INQUIRY
Should road pricing be introduced for certain
sections of the road network in the short term? What role should
local highway authorities play in introducing road pricing?
2.1 Taking the broadest possible definition
of "road pricing" as any form of charge for road use,
TfL believes that the development of local charging schemes in
the short term to tackle congestion, or generate a revenue stream
for the funding of transport investment, should continue to be
encouraged; alongside other means to restrict road use, such as
parking controls. The implementation of any form of national charging
scheme is not anticipated before 2014, partly due to the availability
of an appropriate technical solution. The economic, social and
environmental costs of congestion, which, if unabated, are set
to get worse as a result of increased population, car ownership
and usage, need to be tackled in the short term. Congestion charging
using current and proven technology remains the best tool presently
available to achieve this, where appropriate. Any eventual national
charging policy thus needs to be flexible enough to encompass
the aims of local charging schemes, whilst any new schemes implemented
in advance of a national charging policy will need to be mindful
of the implications of possible future national developments.
2.2 Road user charging schemes should be
introduced in the context of an overall strategy aimed at reducing
congestion and increasing the attractiveness of alternative travel
modes. Schemes introduced by Government on the national trunk
road network are likely to have implications for local highway
networks, leading to the displacement of traffic which could necessitate
complementary measures, including charging, on parallel or alternative
routes. For this to be successful, the involvement of local highway
authorities should be seen as essential. For purely local schemes
the local highway authority should continue to be responsible
for developing and implementing schemes that meet local needs
and policy aims, whilst for national or regional initiatives,
local highway authorities need to be engaged in partnership with
central or regional government to ensure local objectives continue
to be addressed.
If road pricing is introduced, what factors should
determine which roads are priced and what technology should be
used? How "hi-tech" does road pricing need to be?
2.3 The need or otherwise for a sophisticated
charging technology is largely governed by the basis on which
vehicles are to be charged (by distance travelled, crossing of
a cordon or screenline, the use of certain roads, etc.), which
is itself a function of the policy objectives of a charging scheme.
The central London congestion charging scheme has shown that charging
can be carried out on a relatively "low tech" basis,
and without the need for on-board equipment, however, the scope
for the widespread deployment of the charging structure, and thus
the technology, employed so far in London is restricted by a number
of practical considerations. Whilst the all day congestion experienced
in central London means that a flat rate, all day charge is appropriate,
in other locations a more targeted charge, varying perhaps by
time of day or direction travelled, may be a more suitable solution.
The communications links necessary to operate the central London
scheme would present difficulties in using the technology over
a very wide area.
2.4 The Government's work on both Lorry
Road User Charging and a national road pricing scheme indicates
a preference for distance based charging, which is dependent on
the availability of reliable and accurate positioning technology,
probably GPS-based. TfL's initial conclusions from the first stage
of its own technology trials endorse the Department for Transport's
Road Pricing Feasibility Study Steering Group conclusion that
such technology, with the accuracy necessary for the purposes
of road user charging and at an affordable price, is unlikely
to be available before 2014. A European satellite navigation system,
Galileo, should be available in 2010, but it is as yet unclear
what impact that will have on the performance of GPS receivers
in the UK.
2.5 There are particular issues surrounding
the use of GPS in an urban area like London, where the signal
can be affected by local topography. Key to the success of any
such scheme will be the cost of supplying on board equipment and
the retro-fitting of the vehicle fleet. The need for widespread
take up of on board equipment is important in achieving value
for money, suggesting that a larger scheme is more likely to successfully
implement charging using GPS than one covering a smaller area
or network of roads.
2.6 TfL believes that there could be scope
for more flexible charging policies before 2014, enabled by tag
and beacon technology. Although tag and beacon charging systems
have been widely deployed for charging on motorways, their use
in urban areas is currently restricted, in part by the need for
intrusive roadside equipment and overhead gantries. The conclusions
from Stage 1 of TfL's technology trials suggest that a solution
that could be acceptable in an urban area is likely to be possible
and could deliver a flexibility not available through the camera
based system currently employed. The DfT also anticipates that
tag-based solutions with "off-board" charging will be
more mature and deployable over the next four to five years.
2.7 It should be noted that any tag and
beacon or GPS system will require the use of a camera network
for enforcement purposes, and so the proposed investment in an
extended camera network for a western extension of the congestion
charging zone would be complementary to any future change to the
charging technology.
How easy will it be to move from individual toll
roads and local urban congestion charging schemes in the short
term, to national road pricing in the longer term, and what needs
to be done to ensure the transition is a success? How will the
Lorry Road User Charge fit into any national road pricing and
motorway tolling developments?
2.8 The European Commission's Draft Directive
on the Interoperability of Electronic Road Toll Systems[67]
seeks to define the technologies to be used for road charging
throughout Europe, focusing on long-term migration to GPS. There
are, as discussed, a number of factors that make GPS unsuitable
in its current form for widespread road charging. Some of these
issues are being addressed by the EC's Electronic Toll Committee
but the timetable for resolution may be long and it is unlikely
that there will be a substantial population of OBU equipped vehicles
in Europe before 2014. This indicates that although some solutions
based on mobile positioning may exist, DSRC solutions are likely
to dominate in the short to medium term.
2.9 UK road user charging implementation
is currently limited to London, Durham, the M6 toll road and a
series of river crossings (eg Dartford, Severn, Forth). The latter
use, or plan to use, DSRC tag and beacon solutions. The motorways
and expressways of Europe commonly use DSRC microwave detection
systems with tags installed in the vehicles. However, they are
not all working to the same standard and are thus not interoperable.
2.10 There are examples of individual road
user charging systems which have been implemented and subsequently
made interoperable in Spain, Portugal, Norway and France, and
the EC's Interoperability Directive provides the beginnings of
a framework for pan-European interoperability. There is no reason
to believe that the technical and institutional barriers to the
integration of road user charging systems are insurmountable.
Any national policy framework will, however, need to address the
needs of pre-existing charging mechanisms for the purposes of
demand management or revenue generation, and allow operators to
maintain these benefits. However, this migration from simpler
to more advanced technology, as well as more flexible charging
policies, could be viewed as a prudent and sensible way to proceed.
2.11 It is considered that a national charging
scheme is unlikely to have its on-board unit technology selected
in the next few years. The current camera and ANPR technology
used in the central London congestion charging scheme is assumed
to have a life until at 2009 and so is unlikely to present a problem
for national scheme interoperability. When the scheme is re-procured
the design could allow for eventual inclusion of the national
scheme technology.
2.12 It is understood that the Lorry Road
User Charge (LRUC) is intended neither as a tool for demand management
nor as a specific transport-related revenue stream, but rather
as a replacement for the existing taxation mechanisms applied
to heavy goods vehicles. If the technology chosen to implement
the scheme is sufficiently flexible, as seems likely given the
Treasury's aspirations for the charging regime, it is likely to
be a crucial stage in the development of a technology which could
be more widely deployed in the vehicle fleet. If the technology
conforms to standards currently being laid down by the EC Interoperability
Directive, and there is sufficient liaison with the Department
for Transport, it seems reasonable to assume that there will be
no technical barriers to the development or continued operation
of other compatible charging schemes. It is, in any case, likely
that LRUC will itself be impacted by developments towards an EU-wide
charging regime for lorries on the Trans-European Road Network
through the amendment of the Eurovignette Directive.[68]
That Directive, intended to ensure freight traffic pays its full
external costs, already proposes the ability to charge a precept
in sensitive areas. It is worth noting that the central London
congestion charging scheme as it currently operates would, along
with any manually operated toll facility, be unaffected by LRUC.
Are there other measures which could reduce congestion
more effectively?
2.13 Reducing traffic congestion is one
of the Mayor's 10 key transport priorities, as set out in the
Mayor's Transport Strategy. The Strategy outlines the approach
being followed by TfL to reduce congestion and improve traffic
conditions. Congestion charging is one element of a broader strategy,
which includes:
— better management of existing road
capacity through the appointment of a Traffic Manager, the co-ordination
of streetworks, the effective enforcement of parking and loading
restrictions and the use of powers contained in the 2004 Traffic
Management Act; and
— the encouragement of more sustainable
and less congesting modes of travel, including improvements to
the quality, availability, accessibility, security and reliability
of public transport, as well as measures to encourage walking
and cycling.
TfL is presently working on a strategy for London's
roads which will embrace all these activities.
2.14 Whilst these, and other, policies continue
to be an important part of tackling congestion in London, TfL
believes that they alone would not produce the level of congestion
reduction achieved in the central London congestion charging zone,
and the reductions anticipated through a westward extension of
the zone.
November 2004
64 The Mayor's Transport Strategy, Greater London
Authority, July 2001. Back
65
Impacts Monitoring Second Annual Report, TfL, April 2004. A third
annual monitoring report will be available in spring 2005. Back
66
The Mayor's Transport Strategy Revision, Greater London Authority,
August 2004. Back
67
Directive 2004/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
on the Interoperability of Electronic Road Toll Systems in the
Community, April 2004. Back
68
Directive 1999/62/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council
on the Charging of Heavy Goods Vehicles for the Use of Certain
Infrastructures, June 1999. Back
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