In recent years Hague Consulting Group has been involved in a number of studies for the Dutch Ministry of Transport to evaluate different schemes for implementing road user charges including road pricing in The Netherlands. Special attention has been given to those aspects which might influence the travellers reactions most. These include: (a) possibilities to avoid charges by taking another route; (b) charges per day, per trip or distance-based; (c) charges all day or limited periods; (d) charges only on highways or on closed cordons; (e) inclusion or exclusion of urban ringways; (f) possibilities to buy a pass for unlimited crossing; (g) ratio of pass-price and per-trip-payment price; (h) delays at the toll booths; and (i) reduction of congestion. The Dutch National Model System (NMS) has been used to forecast the impact of the different schemes on the travel behaviour of travellers. Additional market research led to implementation within the NMS of a model to derive the probabilities of households purchasing a pass. The paper describes the different policy levers that are available and the way in which they will influence the results.
Abstract