A Criteria-Based Approach to Evaluating Road User Charging Systems

Abstract

A set of important criteria to consider when evaluating potential road user charging system (RUCS) are identified. These criteria are grouped into five categories: charging precision, system costs & societal benefits, flexibility & modifiability, operational aspects, and security & privacy. The criteria are then used in a comparative analysis of five RUCS candidates for heavy goods vehicles. Two solutions are position-based systems and one is based on tachographs. The two remaining solutions are based on fuel taxes. For each of the solutions we estimate how well it fulfils each of the criteria. One way of making general comparisons of the approaches is to give each of the criteria a specific weight corresponding to how important it is. We show that these weights heavily influence the outcome of the comparison. We conclude by pointing out a number of important issues needing attention in the process of developing RUCS.