Congestion Tax in Stockholm Mats Karlsson Swedish Road Administration

1. Congestion Taxin Stockholm Mats Karlsson Swedish Road Administration

2. Background

3. 18 control points Vehicles are taxed when entering/ exiting the Stockholm city centre Stockholm - a City on water

4. June 2003 The Stockholm City Council passes a decision to conduct a trial implementation of environmental charges in the Stockholm inner city zone An inquiry into congestion charging, commissioned by the Government, finds that congestion charges has to be collected as a state tax

5. Procurement IBM Svenska AB was contracted by the SRA to develop, construct and operate the technical system. The procurement of the technical system was subjected to legal investigation. The case was tried by the Stockholm County Administrative Court, the Administrative Court of Appeal and the Supreme Administrative Court during the summer and autumn of 2004 and continued into early 2005.

6. Three components Congestion tax More park and ride-facilities Expanded public transport

7. The full-scale trial – core objectives • reduce traffic to and from the city by 10–15 percent during rush hour • better level of service in Stockholm city traffic • reduction in the emissions of carbon dioxide, nitric oxide and particulate matter • city residents will experience a better city environment

8. How the system worked

9. Ministry of Finance Ministry of Industry Stockholm Transport (SL) City of Stockholm SRA IBM Tax Authority Enforcement Service SAP NOFA Riz IT eWork Q-Free Connecta Manpower Bravida Stokab Focus Neon Nordea Posten Courts Sweco VBB AB Elan IT Resource FORTUM DISTRIBUTION AB VÄGVERKET PRODUKTION VÄGBELYSNING I SVERIGE AB Reitan Servicehandel Sverige AB

10. No congestion tax levied on vehicles driving on the E4/E20 (Essingeleden) past Stockholm. No congestion tax for vehicles driving from Lidingö past the bridge control point if they subsequently pass another control point to exit the inner city zone within 30 minutes. 18 control points located at Stockholm city entrances and exits.

11. Congestion tax levied between 6.30 a.m. and 6.29 p.m • Owners of vehicles registered in Sweden were required to pay the congestion tax if their vehicle passed a control point on the way in or out of the Stockholm inner city area • The maximum amount per vehicle and day was SEK 60 • The congestion tax law applied only tovehicles registered in Sweden

12. Vehicles registered automatically • Two ways to identify vehicles: - through photographing the number plates - via the onboard unit • No opportunity to pay at the control points - Payment could only be made retroactively - traffic flow was not affected as drivers were not required to stop when driving past a control point.

13. High resolution camera withan infrared flash • Takes photographs of front and rear number plates • Number plates are identified directly in the cameras using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software

14. Laser detectors • Senses when a vehicle drives past a control point • The lasers activate the cameras, at which point the number plates are photographed, first from the front and then from the rear

15. Transceiver aerials The aerials transmit a signal to activate the onboard unit in the vehicle The onboard unit transmits a unique ID number to the receiver aerials in order to identify the vehicle

16. The photo is cropped in the camera

18. Data from the passage is packaged in a file Camera Laser Aerials Vehicle profile Onboard unit ID number TimeDateControl point At least two photo images ABC 123

19. Passage informationgenerates a tax decision • Only one tax decision per vehicle and 24-hour period– the tax decision can include several passages • Tax decision available by 7 am the day after passage • No tax decision generated for exempted vehicles

20. Manual identification if needed Number plate photos that could not be read automatically were forwarded to Customer Services for manual examination

21. Tax decisions on the Internet • Published no later than by 7 a.m. the day after passage. • Information about the amount payable could also be obtained through Customer Services or when paying at a Pressbyrå kiosk or 7-Eleven shop.

22. Web Portal • ”My tax decisions” • Onboard unit orders • E-mail form (to contact Customer Services) • Tool for Customer Services, SRA and National Tax Board Traffic RegistryUpdates the system with vehicle and ownership data System Architecture • National Tax Board • Reviewals • Receives appeals • Exemption, respite and • reimbursement decisions • Control Points • Two photos • Onboard unit readings • Time and place • Number plates • Pre-processor • Offline OCR • MCR to Customer Services • Onboard units  Number plates • Reads photos • Eliminates exempted vehicles • Generates tax decisions per day • Stores detailed passageinformation • SAP System • Accounting • Payments • Reminders • CRM • Reports • Postal Services • Scans • Print-outs • Distribution • Website for companies • Enforcement Service • Handles unpaid tax decisions Payment Services Nordea SRA account Bank Giro CentreDirect debit Other banksPayments • Pressbyrån / 7-Eleven • Payments • Onboard unit orders • Onboard unit returns • Internet payments

23. 24 Hour Operational Cycle

24. Payment • Payment to be registered in the SRA congestion tax account no later than 14 (five) days after the passage of a control point. • No invoice was sent out. - Responsibility of the vehicle owner to ensure that the tax was paid in time.

25. Automatic payment through an onboard unit and direct debit • Payment at Pressbyrå kiosks and 7-Elevens • Payment via Plusgiro and Bankgiro • Paymentby credit card via the Internet Methods of payment

26. Communication

27. Overall communication goal Everyone entering Stockholm after January 3, 2006 in a vehicle registered in Sweden should be aware of the congestion tax and of the fact that the car owner must pay without having been prompted to do so. Traffic, the system, and Customer Services will run smoothly from Day One. High penetration level that the target group assimilates the information is a key success factor. Strategy: Intensive communication, keeping a low profile

28. Two direct channels to the general public • www.stockholmsforsoket.se • General information • Individual tax decisions • Payment by credit/charge card • Order onboard units Customer servicestel: 0771-29 29 29open Monday – Friday 7 am to 9 pm

29. Simple, consistent announcements • Strategy: • Intensive communication • while keeping a low profile • Focus on ”HOW” messages • Factual – neutral – no value judgements • Informative – not opinionated • High penetration level – actually getting across the message was crucial.

30. Extensive media coverage3 Jan 2006: ”Every fourth car disappeared”

31. Number of calls to Customer Services 3 Jan- 31 July

32. Passage statistics3 January - 31 July Number of days when the tax was levied 139 Total number of passages at control points 46 500 000 Number of passages liable for the tax 33 500 000

33. Passage statistics • 28% of the passages were not liable for the tax: • 9% ”Lidingö rule” exemptions • 8% Taxis • 3% ”Green” cars • 2% Buses • 2% Vehicles with disabled person parking sticker • 4%Other

34. Tax decisions and charges Total of 14.5 million tax decisions amounting to SEK 399 million 96% of the tax decisions were paid on time Number of reminderswith a service charge (SEK 70) 643 000 Number of reminderswith a surcharge (SEK 500) 169 000

35. Payment channels - direct debit account 63% - via Pressbyrå kiosks / 7-Eleven shops 24% - via banks 13%

36. > 99.9% Operational reliability Total number of lane hours 140 946 Lost operational time, number of lane hours 57 Non-identified vehicles 1% Lane Minutes % of total number of lane minutes/month (0.20%) (0.05%) (0.02%) (0.01%) (<0.01%) (<0.01%) (<0.01%) The 18 control points cover 78 traffic lanes. Every control point is operational 13 hours (780 minutes) per day, which amounts to 60 840 lane minutes per day.

37. Traffic reduction – on average

38. End of charge period -3% -5% -28% -24% -23% -22% -22% -22% -24% The effects stabilised quickly– and disappeared quickly Vehicle passages across the charge cordon, weekdays between 6 am and 7 pm (estimated) ”Remnant” effect probably due to road works

39. 30-50% less time in traffic queues Queuing times, morning rush-hour a.m. a.m. Inner city through-routes (southbound) Inner city approach (inbound) Inner city streets Inner city approach(outbound) Inner city through-routes (northbound)

40. The goals were achieved ”Reduce traffic at rush hours by 10-15% to/from the city” Reduction, 20-25% ”Better accessibility – higher traffic service level”Queuing time reduction, 30-50% in the city Essingeleden (city by-pass) + 4-5% ”Reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, nitric oxide and particulate matter” - 14% reduction in city; 2.5% in Stockholm County ”A better environment for city residents”Imprecise – difficult to define and measure “More resources for public transport”Net income estimated at some SEK 500 million/year during permanentoperation

41. What´s next? • On April 12 the Government submitted a Bill to the Swedish Parliament proposing the reintroduction of a congestion tax effective from 1 August 2007 • The Bill contains a proposal on how the Congestion Tax Act should be formalised in connection with a reintroduction • Parliament is expected to handle the Bill in June • The Swedish Road Administration has a Government mandate to prepare a reintroduction of the congestion tax pending the decision of Parliament