Road user charging for heavy goods vehicles - Implementation aspects

Abstract: Several factors have influenced the recent development in charging of heavy goods vehicles in Europe. European legislation is changed and the political will is strong in many countries. The public awareness and acceptance is large for the need to put a price and a cost on the use of infrastructure. Environmental concerns are also actuating change in this direction. Systems are being introduced to support and enhance principles of marginal cost, fair pricing, inclusion of emission factors and to support modal shift. This has laid the foundation for a payment will for good technical solutions in the field of road user charging.This licentiate thesis aims at analysing and identifying the most important factors and areas to focus on for reaching a successful implementation of a system for charging heavy goods vehicles based on distance and marginal cost. These are:- Public acceptance and use of opportunities and public opinion- The political process and most important decision points- The legal framework before and during introduction as well as for operation of a system- The institutional framework- Responsibility assignment- System procurement and implementation, including procurement strategy, technology choices, testing and demonstration and interoperabilityAnother important contribution is the implementation process model for an introduction of a distance based system for heavy goods vehicles in a country. The model comprises of the most important aspects to consider which has been made through the study and analysis of both implemented and cancelled systems as well as planned introductions, where the Swedish work in this direction has formed the major part of the analysis. The implementation process model with its main actors, decision points and information flow between actor groups are cornerstones of the model, which can serve as a tool for future implementers to follow.