The Social Impacts of Road Pricing
This report assesses how road pricing impacts are distributed amongst citizens. It specifically examines how the reallocation of road space can improve the wellbeing of the community at large, looks at the relationship between road tolling and public transport pricing, and explores how simulation models can help develop measures to minimise negative impacts of road pricing. It also reviews current road pricing schemes in Sweden and Singapore. The report summarises the findings of an ITF Roundtable held in Auckland, New Zealand, in December 2017 that brought together 18 experts from eight countries.
Policy Insights
- 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.