Implementing Transport Pricing Reform in Germany Wolfgang Hahn Director Transport Policy, Internatio

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Implementing Transport Pricing Reform in Germany
Wolfgang HahnDirector Transport Policy,
International Relations IMPRINT-EUROPE Seminar
ThreeBrussels, October 2002
Federal Ministry of Transport Building and Housing
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Current situation

• Traffic volumes are continuing to rise as a
  consequence of the Single European Market, the
  enlargement of the EU to the east and
  globalization
• Forecasts for the Federal Transport
  Infrastructure Plan predict the following trends
  between now and 2015
• passenger traffic will grow by 20 and
• freight traffic will grow by 64

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Scenarios and traffic forecasts
Overload HGV and car toll
Integration HGV toll
Laissez faire without toll
1997
 
Passeng.
Share
pkm (bn)
Share
pkm (bn)
Share
pkm (bn)
Share
pkm (bn)
73
768
77
873
79
915
79
750
Road
12
123
9
98
7
87
8
74
Rail
9
93
8
86
7
76
9
83
Public transport (road)
6
71
6
73
7
78
4
36
Air
100
1055
100
1130
100
1156
100
943
Total
Overload
Integration
Laissez faire
1997
 
Freight
Share
tkm (bn)
Share
tkm (bn)
Share
tkm (bn)
Share
tkm (bn)
58
353
62
374
70
422
64
236
Road
28
169
24
148
16
99
19
73
Rail
14
86
14
86
14
87
17
62
Waterway
100
608
100
608
100
608
100
371
Total
Buses, trams and undergrounds
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Changes in the cost burdens on users as
afunction of the scenarios
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Transport policy challenges

• Create an efficient transport infrastructure to
  cope with the forecast growth in traffic volumes
• Double railfreight mileage by 2015 compared with
  1997 and increase inland navigation by 40 over
  the same period

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The approach

• Create fair conditions of competition to exploit
  the advantages inherent in each mode of transport
  by changing the price ratios

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Modal priorities

• Change price ratios through
• introduction of HGV tolls
• competition on the railways
• emission-related landing charges

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Advantages of the distance-related user charge
for heavy goods vehicles

• More rigorous application of the "user pays"
  principle to domestic and foreign road users
  (toll rate based on infrastructure costs)
• Additional relief for public budgets by switching
  from tax-funded to user-funded infrastructure
• Fairer competition between roads and railways
• Additional revenue for the funding of transport
  infrastructure
• More efficient use of transport capacities
• Toll is emission-related and thus contributes to
  the protection of the environment

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Legislation
On 12 April, the Act on the Introduction of
Distance-Related Charges for the Use of Federal
Motorways by Heavy Goods Vehicles entered into
force.
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Main features of the Act

• HGVs with a maximum permissible weight of at
  least 12 t
• Charging based on the exact number of kilometres
  driven
• Charges for the use of federal motorways
• Tolled road network can be extended to cover
  sections of federal highways, where there are
  safety reasons for doing so
• Differentiation by number of axles, pollutant
  emission categories possibly, at a later date,
  by place and time of use
• Toll rate to be set by regulations
• Relief of the financial burden on hauliers for
  reasons of harmonization
• Revenue to be ring-fenced for infrastructure
  projects

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Toll rate

• Rate in line with EU Directive 1999/62/EC The
  weighted average tolls shall be related to the
  costs of constructing, operating and developing
  the infrastructure network concerned.
• The infrastructure costs caused by heavy vehicles
  on federal motorways, projected to 2003, will
  amount to around 3.4 billion euros
• The average toll rate resulting from these
  infrastructure costs is 15 cents per kilometre
• Toll rates staggered in accordance with the
  number of axles and emission categories will
  probably be between 10 cents and 17 cents

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Infrastructure costs(Prognos expert opinion)
2003 2005 2010 Total costs
fed. motorways 7.51 billion
8.03 billion 9.30 billion
Infrastructure costs for HGV on fed.
motorways 3.4 billion 3.62
billion 4.13 billion
45 of
total of fed. motorways
Infrastructure costs of 3,4 billion caused by
HGV on federal motorways
- result in an average toll rate of 15 cents per
kilometre,
- will, because of the differentiation according
to axle and emission categories, probably vary
between 10 cents and 17 cents per kilometre
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Future tolled road network (forecast for
2003) Federal motorways Length approx. 12,000
km Junctions 2213 Intersections 251 HGVs
subject to tolls Approx. 1.2 m to 1.4 m, of
which approx. 400,000 to 500,000 foreign
HGVs Mileage subject to tolls Approx. 22.7 bn
vehicle kilometres per year, of which approx. 35
driven by foreign vehicles
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Indispensable requirements for Germany

• No system-inherent interference with the traffic
  flow
• no system-inherent stopping
• no compulsory toll lanes
• no speed limits as a result of toll collection
  
• Non-discriminatory access for foreigners (EU law)

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System structure
manual
others
Satellite-based positioning system
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Booking system
Central computer
Call centre
a
.
(z
o
Sales point (currently approx. 3,00)
Online
Local currency or , common credit cards
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Receipt of booking operation

• Address
• ID of sales point and terminal
• Voucher number
• Date of issue
• Vehicle registration number
• Number of axles,
• Pollutant emission category
• Booked route
• Length of booked route
• Period of validity
• Transaction number, MAC
• Toll paid
• Means of payment
• Reference number of receipt

Tankstellenanschrift
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Automatic Toll Collection - Satellite-based
positioning system (GPS) and virtual collection
points
GPS
AS
AS
GSM
-Virtual collection points
GPS -Global Positioning System
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Enforcement concept

• Objective
• - to guarantee an optimum amount of toll
  revenue,
• - to ensure the fairness of duties

• Solution
• - effective spot checks and appropriate fines
• - four different types of check
• - system for recovery of tolls
• - administrative fine proceedings (fines of
  up to 20.000 )

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Four types of check

• automatic checks supported by video,

• stationary checks following automatic checks,

• mobile checks,

• checks in the transport operators companies

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Contents of the call for tender

• Overall system
• Single operator
• Pre-financing by operator (project financing)
• All revenue from charges to be transferred to the
  Federal Government (to be used partly for anti-
  congestion scheme)
• Performance-based remuneration of the operator

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Project status

• Contract awarded to ETC.de bidding consortium on
  20 September 2002
• Toll collection to commence in August 2003

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Motorway widening (A model)

• Widening with A model only possible with HGV
  toll
• Provision of additional lanes, maintenance and
  operation of all lanes and financing by
  private-sector operator
• HGV tolls from the section to be widened to be
  given to private operator (30-year concession
  agreement)
• Infrastructure costs caused by cars/LGVs to be
  raised in the form of initial funding from the
  road construction budget, amounting to approx. 50
  of construction costs
• Advantages
• Motorway sections can be widened earlier
• Budget relieved of approx. 50 of funds required
• Public sector relieved of operation and
  maintenance

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Harmonization efforts

• Any other transport-specific levies paid within
  the scope of the HGV Toll Act are to be taken
  into account
• Consideration is currently being given to an
  EU-compatible model for offsetting some of the
  fuel duty paid by HGVs subject to tolls against
  the future toll

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Reform of the railways

• Enhance productivity by converting the railways
  into a private enterprise - Deutsche Bahn AG
  (1993)
• Other objectives
• Introduce customer-focused competition on the
  network, including within the existing holding
  structure
• Benchmark paper currently being prepared
• The First Regulations amending the Public
  Procurement Regulations, which are designed to
  enhance the federal states discretionary powers
  for the development of appropriate competition
  strategies, have been passed to the Bundesrat
• Non-discriminatory access to railway
  infrastructure
• Draft of a Third Railway Regulations Act to
  transpose three EU directives (infrastructure
  package) and implement the findings of the
  Future of the Railways Task Force is currently
  being coordinated

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Outline of DB AGs rail infrastructure charging
system (1 April 2001)

• Advantages
• Same prices for all customers, regardless of the
  capacity purchased
• Major structural features
• Basic price based on line categories, as an
  incentive to use lines with a lower level of
  capacity utilization
• Product factor takes speed of routes into account
• Special factor takes out-of-gauge loads, for
  instance, into account

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Emission-related landing charges

• Landing charges are charges for the use of
  central infrastructure as such, they are one of
  the airport charges
• Airport charges must comply with ICAO policy,
  i.e. they must be cost-related,
  non-discriminatory and transparent
• An emission-related charging system is currently
  being developed to reduce gaseous emissions at
  German airports
• This will create financial incentives to operate
  lower-emission aircraft