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

  • IRF recommends action for greener roads
    July 4, 2012
    IRF's 2nd International Conference on Roads and Environment reveals how to make roads greener, cleaner and healthier, and follows through with action recommendations IRF's Conference in Geneva on 10-11 November, 2008 put three issues in sharp focus: innovative materials to save energy and other resources, inspiring solutions for water management; an integrated approach to noise and air pollution; and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions monitoring, accounting and offsetting. Some 140 delegates from 36 countries l
  • Implementing road user charging
    February 14, 2012
    Oregon Department of Transportation's James Whitty spoke with Jason Barnes on the state's progress with VMT fee-based charging
  • Out with Russian bureaucracy, in with foreign road investment
    September 27, 2013
    Transport journalist Eugene Gerden reports on why foreign companies are likely to become keener to invest in Russia’s huge array of major road construction projects The Russian government led by president Vladimir Putin is stepping-up its efforts to get greater foreign company investment in Russian road building by creating favourable trading conditions, including the elimination of bureaucratic and administrative barriers.
  • Asecap Days – Istanbul 2023
    February 16, 2024
    The “vast lakes of data” collected daily by global highway operators are going to waste meaning opportunities to improve services and boost revenue are continually lost. This must change, reports Geoff Hadwick from the ASECAP Days 2023 conference in Istanbul.