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Variable Tolls in France

Variable Tolls in France. International Symposium on Road Pricing Key Biscayne, Florida – November 19-22, 2003 David LECOFFRE, Transportation Attaché Embassy of France Washington, D.C. Overview. Toll Roads in France Toll Rates in France Variable Tolls in France

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Variable Tolls in France

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  1. Variable Tolls in France International Symposium on Road Pricing Key Biscayne, Florida – November 19-22, 2003 David LECOFFRE, Transportation Attaché Embassy of France Washington, D.C. International Symposium on Road Pricing, Nov 19-22, 2003

  2. Overview • Toll Roads in France • Toll Rates in France • Variable Tolls in France • Case Studies of Variable Tolls • Conclusions International Symposium on Road Pricing, Nov 19-22, 2003

  3. Toll Roads in FranceGeneral Information about France • Area : 550,000 sq. km • Population : 60 million • 22 “regions” • 100 counties • 36,000 cities/local districts • Private cars : 29 million • Comm. vehicles: 5.5 million International Symposium on Road Pricing, Nov 19-22, 2003

  4. Toll Roads in FranceFrench Road Network • National Highways • 6,500 miles (75% toll roads) • Traffic > 30,000 vehicles per day (vpd) • Other National Roads • 20,000 miles • Traffic > 10,000 vpd • County Roads • 200,000 miles • Traffic > 1,000 vpd • Local Districts Roads • 300,000 miles • Traffic > 100 vpd • France is in a process of shifting road ownership of a large part of the road network from national level to county level International Symposium on Road Pricing, Nov 19-22, 2003

  5. Toll Roads in FranceHistory of French Toll Roads • ~ 50 years of toll road concessions experience • 1955 Toll Act authorizing: • creation of state owned toll road companies • right to levy tolls to finance the “construction, maintenance and operation of highways” • Profitable toll roads have subsidized non profitable • 5,000 miles toll roads constructed and now in operation in France International Symposium on Road Pricing, Nov 19-22, 2003

  6. Toll Roads in FranceFrench Toll Roads Today • ~ 5,000 miles of toll roads concessions • 4,500 miles operated by 6 mainly publicly owned companies (ASF, SAPRR, SANEF, ESCOTA, AREA, SAPN) • 500 miles operated by a private company (COFIROUTE) • 2 international tunnels operated by publicly owned companies (ATMB, SFTRF) International Symposium on Road Pricing, Nov 19-22, 2003

  7. Toll Roads in FranceRole of the French Government • Perspectives of “privatization”: France studies the possibility of selling more of its shares in publicly owned toll road companies • Main Agencies involved : Road and Highway Administration (Dept. of Transportation) and Budget and Treasury Administrations (Dept. of Finance) • Role of the French Government evolves from Shareholder/Operator to Regulatory Authority • French Government has an important role in setting toll rates International Symposium on Road Pricing, Nov 19-22, 2003

  8. Toll Rates in FranceGeneral Information • Average National Toll Rate (private cars):~Eur 0.07 / km • Annual increase (Feb 1st) • a little more than inflation • Rate varies from toll company to toll company (up to 30% variance) • Toll Rate evolution policy is determined by the French Gov’t. and the toll companies: • in the concession contract (general framework) • In the details, every 5 years, in a sub-contract International Symposium on Road Pricing, Nov 19-22, 2003

  9. Toll Rates in FranceDefinition of “Toll” • The “legal definition” of a toll is complex : Fee for service, Tax, Price… lots of jurisprudence on the issue • For a long time, tolls used to cover the cost of infrastructure financing (construction, maintenance, operation) • In the future, a vocation to use tolls for : • traffic management • cover external costs (ex. environmental costs) • Several “variable tolls” experiences have been implemented in France in the last 10 years International Symposium on Road Pricing, Nov 19-22, 2003

  10. Variable Tolls in France Definition of “Variable Tolls” • Variable tolls modify toll rates according to parameters such as time of day, itinerary, environmental reasons, etc. • A broadly used Variable Tolls : toll rates vary according to vehicle type (i.e.: passenger cars, commercial vehicles) • Three other interesting categories of variable tolls: • Time-variable tolls: toll rates based on the time of day • Itinerary-variable tolls: toll rate determined by route traveled (when two or more possible routes) • Environmental-variable tolls: toll rates based on vehicle emissions levels International Symposium on Road Pricing, Nov 19-22, 2003

  11. Variable Tolls in FranceFrench Government Position on Variable Tolls • French Government has favorable view of variable tolls • Has taken a pragmatic approach • No specific and strict policy : “learning period”, step by step • There are some general principles : • Main legal principle: Two users may pay two different toll rates if and only if they are in « significant » different situations (legal jurisprudence) • No revenue increase: a toll rate increase during a time of the day must be compensated by a decrease during another time • Clarity and Simplicity: the user must easily understand the variable toll system implemented • Public interest : ex. Variable toll fees may be used for road safety (tunnels) International Symposium on Road Pricing, Nov 19-22, 2003

  12. Variable Tolls in FranceCase study #1 : A1 Lille-Paris (SANEF) • First Time-variable toll, North of Paris, from 1992, still in operation • Toll rates increased on Sunday evenings (weekend rush hour) • Toll Rate + 25% during « red hours » : 4:30-8:30 pm • Toll Rate –25% during « green hours » : 2:30-4:30pm and 8:30-11:30 pm • Success : 10% traffic transfer from red to green period, easing congestion International Symposium on Road Pricing, Nov 19-22, 2003

  13. Variable Tolls in FranceCase study #2 : A10-A11 (COFIROUTE) • Southeast of Paris • Connection A10-A11 • March to November 1996 • Sunday evenings • Assessment : positive, 8 to 12% traffic transfer, easing congestion • Initial evaluation period has not been extended due to public concerns • Cofiroute evaluates the opportunity of starting again International Symposium on Road Pricing, Nov 19-22, 2003

  14. Variable Tolls in FranceCase study #3 : A14 (SAPN) • A14 Urban Toll Highway • Paris - 10 miles, open 1996 • A13 : free alternative but congested during rush hours • 1998 : Implementation of Time-Variable Tolls • Toll Rates vary according to the time of the day. From 4 Euros to 6 Euros. • Objective: no traffic jams • Toll subscription policy • Electronic Toll Collection System • Car pooling, public acceptance International Symposium on Road Pricing, Nov 19-22, 2003

  15. Variable Tolls in FranceCase study #4 : A1-A26 (SANEF & SAPRR) • Itinerary-Variable tolls • Objective : avoid traffic around Paris by using route A26-A5-A31 instead of route A1-A6 • During Summer Holidays 93 and 94 • Toll Rate + 1.5 Euros on route A1-A6 • Toll Rate – 5 Euros on route A26-A5-A31 • Success : users now know the alternative route • Initial evaluation period not renewed because A 31 now congested International Symposium on Road Pricing, Nov 19-22, 2003

  16. Variable Tolls in FranceCase study #5 : A5-A6 (SAPRR) • Itinerary-variable toll rate • Winter Holidays 1995 to 1997 (Paris to the Alps) • South of Paris, use A5 instead of A6 • Success : 20% more traffic used A5 instead of A6 • Experiment not extended after opening of A19 in 1997 for technical reasons International Symposium on Road Pricing, Nov 19-22, 2003

  17. Variable Tolls in FranceCase study#6:Alpine tunnels (ATMB-SFTRF) • Environment-Variable Toll Rates • Mountain regions : the Alps are an environmentally sensitive area • Mont Blanc Tunnel : 7 miles • Frejus Tunnel : 8 miles • Variable Tolls applies to Commercial Vehicles • “Euro” Classification (according to vehicle emissions) • Commercial vehicles pay an additional fee (~5 to 10 %) to use tunnels for environmental and safety reasons • Transfer Freight on Rail • Acceptance of the infrastructure by local population International Symposium on Road Pricing, Nov 19-22, 2003

  18. In conclusion… • Long experience : 50 years tolling, 10 years using variable tolls • Variable tolling in France : a pragmatic approach, no specific public policy at this time, French Government sets general principles as it goes along • Evolution of the concept of tolls : from a financing purpose (cover infrastructure cost) to a broader purpose (traffic management & cover external costs) • France--with its European partners--is in the process of forging new public policy by redefining tolls and determining to what extent variable tolls should be used. International Symposium on Road Pricing, Nov 19-22, 2003

  19. THANK YOU ! • Contacts: David LECOFFRE, Transportation & Infrastructure Attaché Embassy of France 4101 Reservoir Road, Washington, D.C. 20008 Tel: (202) 944-6304 Email: david.lecoffre@dree.org • Additional contacts (French Road and Highway Adm.) Patrick Vieu, Toll Roads and Concessions Email : AR.DR@equipement.gouv.fr Alain Fayard, Economic and European Affairs Email : CM-EE.DR@equipement.gouv.fr International Symposium on Road Pricing, Nov 19-22, 2003

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