Skip to main content

Dutch move forward on road pricing

Companies are being invited to consult with the Dutch government on systems for road pricing. Camiel Eurlings, the Dutch Minister of Public Works, Transport and Water Management, said that he would like market parties to play a leading role in this process, which involves developing, together with businesses, certification requirements which the future road pricing system must meet.
July 6, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
The Dutch government is moving forward on road pricing and motorists will be paying per all kilometres driven
Companies are being invited to consult with the Dutch government on systems for road pricing.

Camiel Eurlings, the Dutch Minister of Public Works, Transport and Water Management, said that he would like market parties to play a leading role in this process, which involves developing, together with businesses, certification requirements which the future road pricing system must meet.

The government will also examine how the market can set up a solid business case for its implementation. The market can then develop the system on its own, based on the certification requirements. There will also be a ‘guarantee track’.

Tendering will now begin for this fallback scenario, after which the system can be tested on a large scale.

Vehicle owners will be able to choose the service provider from which they obtain road pricing services. Tendering has began for several critical areas. These areas concern the components which form the heart of the system, needed for large-scale practical tests of the road pricing system in 2010. Tendering will take place by means of a ‘competitive dialogue’.

The main characteristic of this type of European tender procedure is that parts of the system (and with it their respective requirements) will be discussed in a competitive dialogue with a number of selected participants

The government decided late last year to introduce road pricing. Motorists will be paying per all kilometres driven. The price will depend on when and where the kilometres are driven as well as the environmental characteristics of the vehicle. Road pricing will eventually replace the motor vehicle tax (MRB) and purchase tax (BPM). The government has chosen this approach because it is based on the principle of fairness: those who drive more kilometres and pollute more pay more; those who drive little and pollute less pay less.

Related Content

  • Europe's smart road pricing project
    April 12, 2012
    New trials pave the way for smart road pricing using Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). In recent years, the concept of road charging has been gaining acceptability among Europe's policymakers.
  • Europe's smart road pricing project
    February 20, 2012
    New trials pave the way for smart road pricing using Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). In recent years, the concept of road charging has been gaining acceptability among Europe's policymakers.
  • Make the case for electronic tolling, ASECAP conference delegates heard
    September 14, 2015
    Mobility pricing and electronic tolling is the future, delegates to a recent ASECAP Study Days conference, reports Geoff Hadwick at the Lisbon event. The international road tolling industry is failing to make its case and the sector is losing out to other social and political lobby groups. As a result, “tolling is still on the sidelines”, according to the head of the Washington-based International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association. IBTTA chief executive Pat Jones issued his stark warning at the
  • Success of toll road operators' conference
    July 12, 2012
    The 37th ASECAP Annual Study and Information Days held in Krakow, Poland, gathered some 300 road transport CEOs, experts and government decision-makers making the event "a huge success." Patrick Smith reports Toll road operators from across Europe have met to discuss the state of their businesses in the current economic climate and how to tackle it. Fabrizio Palenzona, the outgoing President of ASECAP (the European professional Association of Operators of Toll Road Infrastructures) and president of AISCAT (