Traffic management

Fiscal measures
Road-pricing can take a number of forms, from road tolls to fuel duty to congestion charging. The main charges on car use at present are duty on fuels and ownership taxes. The cost of driving also varies considerably between countries and between vehicle types, from around 0.6 cents/km for a fuel-efficient vehicle in the US to 6.5 cents/km if an inefficient vehicle in the UK (Weiss et al, 1999). Studies suggest that increased costs for petrol fuel do lead consumers to consider purchasing more fuel-efficient vehicles (Bell et al, 2001). A study by the US EPA estimates that raising tax on gasoline by $0.50 per gallon (about 5 times the current rate) could reduce CO2 emissions by over 5% and increasing it by $2.00 could reduce CO2 emissions by around 25% (EPA, 1998). This would however have major economic impacts and is generally a controversial topic.

In the UK, an petrol car with fuel consumption of 7.2 l/100km travelling 15,871 km per year will pay £688 per year in tax on fuel.

The focus is shifting from a straight fuel tax to addressing specific problems such as congestion. Most organisations agree that congestion is a serious environmental and economic problem and several cities in Europe and elsewhere are investigating road pricing options. There is resistance from motoring organisations and road lobby groups and public opinion may also a barrier to introducing road-pricing. Studies suggest that initial resistance reduces somewhat once tolls have actually been introduced, for example reduction in negative attitudes to tolls in Oslo went from 70% prior to tolling to 54% now (with very negative responses from 40% to 17%), but tolls are still not popular. However, well-designed systems with the aim of reducing congestion and generating funding for public transport have a good chance of reducing car traffic by 5-10%. EU demonstration projects have shown reductions of 5-25% in traffic flows for charges of 1-3 EUROS (EC, 2001b).

Road-pricing in Singapore, with accompanying aggressive financial penalties such as high registration fees for new cars reduced morning peak-flows by 50% between 1975 and 1992. In Trondheim, tolls introduced as a revenue generating measure saw a reduction of 5-7% in traffic flow.

Predictions for London congestion charging suggest that a £5 charge for most vehicles and a £15 charge for HGV would result in a 12% reduction of traffic in the inner area and generate revenues of over £200 million, to contribute towards improvements in public transport.

Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS)
In Europe ITS are under development through the Trans-European Network for Transport (TEN-T) which aims to use ITS and projects such as Galileo, a European satellite system, to allow advanced road traffic management to improve the efficiency of traffic flows and tackle congestion.

Galileo System (source: European Space Agency)

Tokyo introduced the first Advanced Traffic Information System in 1994, with VCIS introduction in 1998. This provides real-time information on traffic flows, lane closures, construction and parking to provide information to motorists.

Infrastructure
Land use management and planning to create an infrastructure to meet transport demands are essential for reducing congestion and emissions, and improving the quality of life in many cities. Developing integrated transport systems which link up cities and provide free flows of people are key policy areas for most city administration. Designing a transport infrastructure which provides mobility while, to encourage use of alternative forms of transport particularly in rapidly growing cities in developing countries, where two-wheelers and non-motorised transport are common will help alleviate the problems caused by rapid urban population increases. The World Bank is financing a host of infrastructure projects, from improving the bus service in Riga to urban road rehabilitation in Benin, Bangladesh and elsewhere.