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Stockholm Congestion Charge Decision Welcomed by International Union of Public Transport - UITP
28th September 2006
Brussels, 18 September 2006
UITP welcomes the positive vote of the inhabitants of the city of Stockholm in favour of a permanent congestion charging system. Tested in the city between 3 January 2006 and 31 July 2006, congestion charging has proven its efficiency even beyond the initial expectations:
- The traffic has gone down by 22% over the charge cordon when the initial objective was 10 to 15%. This represents around 100,000 passages less per day over the charge cordon.
- The effects of the measure were particularly stable during the period and they were also noticed far from the charge zone. 1
- Benefiting of previous experiences, the technical device has enhanced its economical effectiveness. In spite an increased complexity of the charging scheme; costs have been reduced compared to previous European experiences. Moreover the system is extremely reliable as only 100 tax decisions were investigated and 5 appealed.1
- It is estimated that the number of accidents where people were injured have fallen by 5 to 10%.1
As today the final decision on the future of the congestion charging system lies with the new Swedish parliament, UITP would like to restate its support to congestion charging as an efficient means to limit car use and its negative effects.
Congestion charging should be considered both as a way of ensuring that all road users pay the full internal and external costs of their journeys and as a mean of managing demand to improve conditions for car users, operational efficiency of buses and trams as well as the attractiveness of public transport overall.
Space is scarce in urban areas and the central objective of any congestion charging system is to control congestion and free space for public transport. However, congestion charging systems are also a source of additional funding for public transport providing they are reinvested in the development of improved public transport services for all.
"Congestion charging system is a powerful and cost-effective dissuasive measure that can encourage behavioural changes but UITP is fully aware that a massive shift in favour of collective forms of transport also requires excellence in the service provided by public transport" says Hans Rat, Secretary General of the UITP.
This referendum takes a particular resonance while almost a thousand cities are celebrating the European Mobility Week trying to re-think urban mobility in order to improve life quality in urban centres. It proves that policy-makers can consider congestion charging schemas as an efficient tool to tackle urban gridlock.
1 Source : Facts and results from the Stockholm Trials, First version - June 2006
Congestion charge secretariat, City of Stockholm
