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Road maintenance and road charging in the European Policy context

Bringing Policy & Practice TogetherIRF summit11-12 December 2013

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Road maintenance – an EU-wide problem

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Road maintenance – an EU-wide problem

• Between 1995 and 2009 (EU15):• +40% motorways (EC)• +20% investment in inland transport

infrastructure (ITF)

• GERMANY: road maintenance funding gap of €2.5 billion/year (Daehre Kommission, 2012)

• FRANCE: cumulated transport infrastructure deficit projected to grow by €130 billion in 20 years (Cercle des transports, 2012)

• UNITED KINGDOM: € 5 billion/year projected road deficit (McKinsey, 2011)

• POLAND: expenditure on maintenance of national roads covers 62% of the needs (Ernst&Young, 2012)

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Public (budget) financing – problems?

Insufficient spending Irregular spending

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Solution – self-financing roads with fair and efficient road pricing

Road tolls:•Support or replace public sources to finance maintenance expenditure•Constitute a stable source of money to allow long term maintenance planning•Send price signals to the users to shape more sustainable mobility behaviour:•avoiding peak hour congestion•reducing unnecessary trips•accelerating fleet renewal

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Current EU legislative framework for road charging

• No specific legislation on car tolls• Mandatory interoperability of electronic tolls (Directive

2004/52/EC "EETS")• Directive 1999/62/EC ("Eurovignette") regulates road

user charges for heavy goods vehicles on the main road network

• Deployment of road charges not mandatory• Time-based (vignettes) or distance-based (tolls)• Maximum, but no minimum tolls• No obligation to reinvest revenues in transport

CONSEQUENCE: A patchwork of different systems across the EU

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Road charging in EU Member States (1) – technical solutions

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Road charging in EU Member States (2) – network coverage

Charged roads (HGVs) as % of total motorway and national road network.

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

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Road charging in EU Member States (3) – toll levels

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Road charging in EU Member States (4) – use of revenues

• General budget - "Eurovignette countries" • "Road fund" – PL, HU, SK, RO• Management of conceded network – FR, IT, ES, SI, GR,

PT• Earmarking to transport in general (road, rail…) – eg.

CZ, DE• Special cases, e.g. BG: revenues only used for

maintenance• Hybrid cases, e.g. FR (concession + financing HST);

DK, BE (vignette to general budget, tolls to finance road projects)

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Future of EU legislation on road charging (1)

• 2011 White Paper, initiative 39:"Phase I (up to 2016)Transport charges and taxes should be restructured (…)• Phase in a mandatory infrastructure charge for heavy-goods vehicles.

The scheme would introduce a common tariff structure and cost components such as the recovery of wear and tear, noise and local pollution costs to replace the existing user charges.

• Create a framework for earmarking revenues from transport for the development of an integrated and efficient transport system

Phase II (2016-2020)• Building on Phase I, proceed to the full and mandatory internalisation

of external costs (including noise, local pollution and congestion on top of the mandatory recovery of wear and tear costs) for road and rail transport(…)."

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Future of EU legislation on road charging (2)• New legislation is needed to facilitate harmonised

transition to infrastructure funding based on the user-pays and polluter-pays principles.

• A proposal is under consideration by the Commission.

It is also recalled that:• Directive 1999/62/EC (revised) Art. 11.2:"By 16 October 2015, the Commission (…) shall present a report to the

European Parliament and the Council on the implementation and effectiveness of the provisions [of the Directive].

The report shall be accompanied, if appropriate, by a proposal to the European Parliament and the Council for further revision of the

Directive."

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Thank you for your attention

• Jan Szulczyk – Policy Officer• Jan.szulczyk@ec.europa.eu• http://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/road/road

_charging/index_en.htm