Congestion tax in Stockholm - Effects and Lessons learned Christer Rydmell, Swedish Road Adminstration Karin Brundell- Freij, WSPAnalysis 1& Strategy
RUC in Sweden The Öresund bridge The Svinesund bridge Stockholm congestion charging - a succesful trial to re-open in summer 2007 EasyGo, an interoperable electronic Toll service in operation. 2
Three parts of the Stockholm trial Swedish Road Administration Tansport of Stockholm City of Stockholm
Stockholm congestion charging 1-2 per cordon passage, differentiated with respect to time of day No charges evenings and weekends Taxis, buses, alternative fuel vehicles excempted Max 6 /day 4
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Some basic facts Trial period Budget 7 months SEK 1,9 billion Number of tax decisions 14,5 million Revenues SEK 399 million Number of taxable passages 33,5 million Number of onboard units 490 000 Payment methods 64% direct debit 24% shops 13% bank Payment received on time 96% Complaints 13 000 Complaints to court 665 6
7 Total number of lane hours 140 946 Lost operational time, number of lane hours 57 Non-identified vehicles 1% 1000 500 0 Januari > 99.9% Operational reliability Körfältsminuter Lane Minutes 3000 2500 (0.20%) % of total number of lane 2000 minutes/month 1500 (0.05%) (0.02%) (<0.01%) (0.01%) (<0.01%) (<0.01%) Februari Mars April Maj The 18 control points cover 78 traffic lanes. Every control point is operational 13 hours (780 minutes) per day, which amounts to 60 840 lane minutes per day. Juni Juli
Goals essentially reached 10-15 % less traffic to/from inner city Was 20-25% Increased accessibility Queue times down 30-50% near/in inner city Essingeleden about the same Decreased emissions 14% less in inner city; 2,5% in total county Inhabitants should perceive an improved urban environment Unclear difficult to define and measure 9
Effects stabilised quickly and disappeared quickly Passager över avgiftssnittet kl 6-19 600000 500000 end of charges 400000 300000 200000 100000-28% -24% -23% -22% -22% -22% -24% -3% -5% 2005 (beräknat) 2006 0 jan feb mar apr maj jun jul aug sept okt nov dec 10
Less traffic also further out and inside the cordon -25% -20% -15% -10% -5% 0% 5% Minor Innerstadsgata streets inside Larger Innerstadsgata streets inside stor Arterials Innerstadsled inside Veh. Innerstad km. inside (trafikarbete) cordon Across Avgiftssnittet cordon Arterials Inre infart outside cordon Arterials Yttre infart far outside cordon Streets Ytterstadsgata outside cordon Ring Tvärled roads 11
Where did all the cars go? Rough estimate: Half of the cars that disappeared were formerly used to commute to/from work change-over to public transport corresponding to about a 5% increase in public transport travel to/from the inner city The remaining half was related to visits/recreational outings and shopping trips which changed in many different ways: change in destination fewer trips (combined trips, etc.) Inner city commerce was not noticeably affected Other road options relatively little effect 12
30-50% less time in queues morning peak 300% Delay Kötid, time, morgonrusning AM peak 250% fm 2005 fm 2006 200% 150% 100% 50% 0% Access roads, inbound Access roads, outbound Inner streets Arterials inside northbound southbound inreinfartin inreinfartut innerstadsgata innerstadsledn innerstadsleds 13
Even larger effect during evening peak 300% 250% Kötid, eftermiddagsrusning Delay time, PM peak em 2005 em 2006 200% 150% 100% 50% 0% Access roads inbound Access roads, outbound Inner streets Arterials inside inreinfartin inreinfartut innerstadsgata innerstadsledn innerstadsleds northbound southbound 14
Substantial reductions of emissions 10-14% less emissions in the inner city positive longterm health effects 2-3% less CO2 emissions in the county Inner city 10-14% reduction County 2-3% reduction 15
Business and retail Taxi, delivery services, craftsmen: Dependent on a well functioning road transprt system Observed and appreciated travel time reductions Administrative burden No significant effects on retail Most shopping trips are evening/ week-end and non-car trips Models: Marginal effects on land use, real estate prices and regional economy Negligible effects on household purchasing power 16
More positive attitude towards congestion charges Inhabitants of Stockholm municipality that regarded the trial to be a good/bad decision 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% Bra Good Dåligt Bad 10% 0% September 05 Oktober 05 November 05 December 06 Januari 06 Februari 06 Mars 06 April 06 17
Cost-benefit analysis of the congestion charges Shorter, more reliable travel times 590 mkr/year Paid congestion charges -760 mkr/year Health and environment 90 mkr/year Traffic safety 120 mkr/year Revenues from congestion charges 760 mkr/year Other revenues/costs 190 mkr/year Maintenance and running costs -220 mkr/year Net benefit 760 mkr/year Investment and running costs 2006-2000 mkr Shadow prices etc. -1100 mkr Total initial cost -3100 mkr Payback time: 4 years. 18
What surprised us?... that the simple charging structure worked so well that the effects happened and stabilised so quickly that the congestion reduction was noticed by the public the change in attitudes the many ways to adapt to the charges 19
Lessons learned Large effect compared to alternative measures: Large bypass infrastructure: 10-15% car traffic (to inner city) 1,5-2 billion Free Public Transport: 3% car traffic (county), 0,5 billion yearly Bottle-neck effects moderate volume reductions gave large travel time reductions, Many unaffected car drivers gained travel time Not all charging systems are efficient: forecasting is important Forecasts of daily volumes very accurate Forecasts of travel time and time of day less accurate 20
Referendum results 21
And now what? Congestion charges will be reintroduced August, 1 2007 Minor modifications No congestion tax in July Tax deductable Remove exemptions for taxis and mobility service vehicles Excemption for alternative fuel cars time limited (5 years) Revenue to road infrastructure only according to new gouvernment Ongoing negotiatitons national gouvernment region - municipalities A recent poll reports that 67% support the reintroduction of congestion charging 22
Changes in the system - an overview Simpler procedure for ordering direct debit via the SRA website Collective contract account for companies all company vehicles covered by one direct debit account The payer must not be the same as the vehicle owner No onboard unit required for being able to pay via direct debit Better reporting services for companies Re-organised Customer Services 23
Further information/contact christer.rydmell@vv.se Karin.Brundell-freij@WSPGroup.se Internet www.vv.se/trangselskatt Booklet www.stockholmsforsoket.se/upload/infomaterial%20vv/boo klet%20eng.pdf 24