Toll systems must reflect environmental costs
EU Road Tolls
The European Parliament’s Transport and Tourism committee has today backed proposals to reform EU-wide car tolls. The report includes a number of demands of the Greens/EFA group:
• External costs such as climate change should be taken into account in future toll systems
• Tolls should be based on distance travelled, rather than the duration of the journey
• The EU should move to setting minimum charges, as opposed to maximum charges as is currently the case, to help encourage modal shift to more sustainable transport
• The report also introduces the option to levy surcharges in mountainous regions where residents and the environment are particularly at risk and infrastructure costs are higher
• Tolls should be based on distance travelled, rather than the duration of the journey
• The EU should move to setting minimum charges, as opposed to maximum charges as is currently the case, to help encourage modal shift to more sustainable transport
• The report also introduces the option to levy surcharges in mountainous regions where residents and the environment are particularly at risk and infrastructure costs are higher
Greens/EFA member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism, Jakop Dalunde comments:
"We need to encourage the shift towards more sustainable transport behaviour. The European Parliament has significantly strengthened the Commission’s original proposals, and we are pleased to have included some key Greens/EFA group demands. By building the cost of environmental damage into road tolls, we can create an added incentive to make use of sustainable transport.
"The European Parliament has delivered a strong set of proposals. We hope the Council will now quickly deliver on its side of the bargain. It is vital that we complete negotiations ahead of next year’s elections so that these improvements can be put in place as soon as possible."
