An Overview of Road User Charging Systems Polish Ministry of Transport and World Bank Workshop on Road User Charging Systems Cesar Queiroz Roads and Transport Infrastructure Consultant World Bank Warsaw, Poland June 2007

Presentation Outline Alternative road finance methods Why user charging systems? Historical overview Some currently used charging systems How private financing can help

Why User Charging Systems? Reduce congestion Generate revenue Increase investment in transport infrastructure Apply the “users pay” principle Provide “value for money” (VfM) to paying users

Historical Overview Toll road at Wadesmill in Hertfordshire, UK, established in 1663 by Act of Parliament 19th century concessions: toll roads, bridges, tunnels in US; railways in France; subway in London Suez (1860) and Panama (1880) canals Decline around 1930 (great depression) Resurgence in the 1980s: collapse of the state-owned monopoly paradigm

The Maysville Turnpike, USA, 1830

U.S. 1 in South Carolina, 1921 A toll house at the approach to a bridge

Backup at Toll Plaza Bay Bridge toll booths, beach-bound traffic August 1999 Source: The Washington Post

Riverside Freeway, SR 91, CA First fully automated toll road (free-flow system), 16-km long, opened on December 27, 1995 Serves commuters on Riverside Freeway (SR 91), Orange County, south of Los Angeles Original developer and operator: California Private Transportation Company Achieved cash flow break-even in mid-1998 (can pay operating and debt expenses from revenues)

Riverside Freeway, SR 91, CA

SR 91 Express Toll Lanes

SR 91 Express Toll Lanes Typical PM Peak

Toll Collection System: overhead antennas and transponder

Windshield-mounted Transponder

FasTrak Transponder

Heavy Goods Vehicle Charging in Germany Since 1 January 2005, all trucks exceeding 12 tons pay for each kilometer of motorway traveled Fee is based on emission classes and number of axles GPS-based “on board unit” (OBU) mounted on a truck Source:

Objectives of Heavy Goods Vehicle Charging in Germany To introduce infrastructure charging based on the “user pays” principle To secure funding for the further upgrading and maintenance of transport infrastructures To provide an incentive to shift freight traffic to the rail and waterway modes, in the interests of the environment, and to deploy HGVs more efficiently To promote innovative technologies Source: Edith Buss, “The German Tolling Prospects,” Poland MOT and WB RUC Workshop, June 2007

Cameras Should Catch Toll Road Cheaters Virginia DOT has installed a $7.6 million camera system at booths on the Dulles Toll Road and other pay-to- drive highways Violators are confronted, since January 2007, with a picture of their license plates taken at the time of infraction Cheat drivers on Dulles Toll Road: 1.7%; in the US: 3%

Revenue from Users and Road Expenditures EUR billion Source: Poland RUC Workshop Questionnaire, Country Answers

Strategies to Increase the Impact of Available Funds Reduce costs: appropriate technology, competitive bidding, value engineering Reduce corruption Public-private partnerships, usually associated with an appropriate road user charging system

Where and How Can PPP help? In While PPPs are not a panacea, experience in a number of countries, both in the developing and developed worlds, have shown that well structured PPPs can help a country expand its transport infrastructure without overburdening its budget The experience of several countries will be reviewed in this workshop

Road Investments in Chile

Upcoming Paper “An Overview of Road User Charging Systems in European Countries” Will incorporate results of this Workshop Expected in July 2007 [If not, please blame Cesar, Michel and Barbara]

Thank you Barbara!

Thank you!

Cesar Queiroz Road and Transport Infrastructure Consultant Tel Cel