WRITTEN QUESTION E-3665/02

by Paul Rübig (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(18 December 2002)

Subject: Harmonisation of driving-distance-dependent toll systems for commercial vehicles

In the EU states there are currently various types of toll charging for use of networks of major roads. In some states, charges are collected at permanent toll booths; others are planning to introduce modern, nationwide systems, or are about to do so, with the technical wherewithal to calculate and charge tolls, e.g. microwave systems (as in Italy, for instance) or GPS-based systems (as has been decided upon in Germany, for instance).

1. Can the systems currently under discussion be regarded as technically equivalent in terms of their performance ranges? Can all systems provide, for instance, information on traffic management and tailback avoidance to individual drivers with the same degree of quality?

2. Against the backdrop of EU enlargement and the likely increase in heavy goods traffic, which system offers the greatest technical potential, from today's perspective, of meeting these future requirements?

3. Are there candidate country preferences?

4. Which system costs the least to introduce and with which system is the break-even point reached the soonest?

5. With the systems currently under discussion, is there also a possibility of charging for the use of certain information services (e.g. inquiries as to road conditions and weather conditions en route, and accident and tailback reports, but also in-house transport logistic arrangements) within the same bandwidth? Have there been economic feasibility studies on the possible use of such services?

6. Will transnationally operating hauliers have to equip their heavy goods vehicles with different on-board units according to the different national technical solutions adopted? If so, what would be the financial impact of fitting the different systems needed on the haulage industry overall?

Answer given by Ms de Palacio on behalf of the Commission

(5 February 2003)

The systems mentioned, namely the microwave Dedicated Short Range Communications or DSRC system and the satellite solution (satellite positioning in conjunction with mobile telephony) are not equivalent.

In terms of toll charging, the satellite solution is the most promising system for the future since it enables practical applications relating to the whole European road network, without roadside equipment or specific infrastructure needing to be installed. The DSRC solution was originally designed to be used in existing toll barriers in certain countries: it is therefore mainly adapted to this context.

With regard to other applications linked to road telematics (information for travellers, monitoring hazardous materials, automatic emergency call in the event of an accident, etc.), the box used for the satellite solution facilitates the implementation of all these services. The DSRC badge, however, does not enable any of these services, as it was not designed for this purpose.

According to the information available to the Commission, there is no comprehensive economic feasibility study on the deployment of these telematic services. The big unknown for all the forecasts is how many customers will be interested in paying for the services on offer, and when. It seems that the number of customers, which is low today, will increase when efficient and interesting services have been deployed, not only for road transport, but also combining all modes of land transport.

Some candidate countries already have DSRC electronic toll systems. This type of toll will probably still be used to finance the construction of new infrastructures. However, countries seeking to establish a toll system for freight transport on their network will tend to prefer the satellite solution.

The costs of telematics systems stem from:

- ground systems (infrastructure, roadside equipment, central systems),

- on-board equipment.

With regard to the costs of the ground systems, the DSRC solution is much more expensive in terms of installation and the maintenance of roadside equipment. For on-board equipment, the satellite solution is currently more expensive than the DSRC solution. The Commission considers, however, that the price of satellite equipment will fall by 2010 due to economies of scale.

By 2010, the costs of the satellite solution should fall considerably and the outstanding technical problems should be largely resolved. This solution should therefore become optimal for all scenarios, and also offer good opportunities to use the European satellite positioning system, Galileo, which will be operational from 2008.

Despite the sustained efforts of the Commission to increase the interoperability of national systems, in support of the Council resolution of 17 June 1997, there is the risk that there will be a multiplication of incompatible equipment in heavy goods vehicles. In view of this, in its White Paper on transport policy the Commission announced a draft European directive that will be proposed to the Council and the European Parliament during the course of 2003.