Shadow toll
Encyclopedia
Shadow tolls are payments made by government to the private sector operator of a road based, at least in part, on the number of vehicles using the road. First proposed by the UK Government in 1993, they are currently in operation on some roads in the UK. The system of shadow tolling provides the revenue for privately-funded road schemes under the Private Finance Initiative
known as the Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) programme. They have also been adopted in other countries.
A commonly claimed advantage of the shadow tolling system is that it eliminates the need for drivers to pay tolls directly, thus avoiding toll collection costs, however this claimed advantage misleadingly ignores the traditional direct government funding option which would be dependent on neither direct tolling nor the additional cost of continuous vehicle counts and complex contract arrangements between parties.
Disadvantages include the fact that because drivers typically pay for their road use through fuel taxes, vehicle registration fees, and other charges that are not based on time of road use, it is not possible to use this system to implement congestion pricing
, which would give drivers an incentive to take alternate routes, carpool, or otherwise curtail their usage of their road during rush hour.
Another disadvantage of shadow tolls and other PFI schemes is that in the post economic collapse financial environment, the cost of private borrowing has increased dramatically in relation to the cost of direct government borrowing. In August 2011 the UK Parliamentary Treasury Select Committe announced that PFI deals were an "extremely inefficient method of financing [public infrastructure] projects" and that the rules needed to be reformed to prevent the promotion of PFI funding of infrastructure development though misleading cost calculations and perverse "off balance sheet" incentives.
The UK is still the biggest user of shadow toll roads however several schemes have been developed across Europe (Belgium, Finland, Netherlands & Spain) and also in Canada. Shadow toll projects were also introduced in Portugal in 1999 but ended up being cancelled and replaced with the "real toll" model in 2004 after the Portuguese government found that "payment obligations in connection with the shadow toll system are not compatible with the need to spend on improving and maintaining the other national motorways".
Canada
Finland
Netherlands
Spain
UK
Private Finance Initiative
The private finance initiative is a way of creating "public–private partnerships" by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital...
known as the Design, Build, Finance and Operate (DBFO) programme. They have also been adopted in other countries.
A commonly claimed advantage of the shadow tolling system is that it eliminates the need for drivers to pay tolls directly, thus avoiding toll collection costs, however this claimed advantage misleadingly ignores the traditional direct government funding option which would be dependent on neither direct tolling nor the additional cost of continuous vehicle counts and complex contract arrangements between parties.
Disadvantages include the fact that because drivers typically pay for their road use through fuel taxes, vehicle registration fees, and other charges that are not based on time of road use, it is not possible to use this system to implement congestion pricing
Congestion pricing
Congestion pricing or congestion charges is a system of surcharging users of a transport network in periods of peak demand to reduce traffic congestion. Examples include some toll-like road pricing fees, and higher peak charges for utilities, public transport and slots in canals and airports...
, which would give drivers an incentive to take alternate routes, carpool, or otherwise curtail their usage of their road during rush hour.
Another disadvantage of shadow tolls and other PFI schemes is that in the post economic collapse financial environment, the cost of private borrowing has increased dramatically in relation to the cost of direct government borrowing. In August 2011 the UK Parliamentary Treasury Select Committe announced that PFI deals were an "extremely inefficient method of financing [public infrastructure] projects" and that the rules needed to be reformed to prevent the promotion of PFI funding of infrastructure development though misleading cost calculations and perverse "off balance sheet" incentives.
The UK is still the biggest user of shadow toll roads however several schemes have been developed across Europe (Belgium, Finland, Netherlands & Spain) and also in Canada. Shadow toll projects were also introduced in Portugal in 1999 but ended up being cancelled and replaced with the "real toll" model in 2004 after the Portuguese government found that "payment obligations in connection with the shadow toll system are not compatible with the need to spend on improving and maintaining the other national motorways".
List of shadow toll roads
Belgium- A605 / E25European route E25European route E 25 is a north-south European route from Hoek van Holland in the Netherlands to Palermo in Italy which includes ferry crossings from Genoa to Bastia , from Bonifacio to Porto Torres and from Cagliari to Palermo .It passes through the following cities:Hoek van Holland –...
Cointe Tunnel
Canada
- Alberta Highway 216 (Anthony Henday Drive) Southeast leg
- New Brunswick Highway 2 Fredericton to Moncton
Finland
- VT4 / E75European route E75European route E 75 is part of the International E-road network, which is a series of main roads in Europe.The E 75 starts from Vardø, Norway in the Barents Sea and runs south through Finland, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia and Republic of Macedonia to Sitia, Greece on...
Järvenpää-Lahti
Netherlands
- A9 Wijkertunnel
Spain
- Madrid M-45 Road
UK
- A1 Darrington to Dishforth
- A1(M) Alconbury to Peterborough
- A13 Limehouse to Wennington (Greater London)
- A19 Dishforth to Tyne Tunnel
- A249A249 roadThe A249 is a road in Kent, England, running from Maidstone to Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey. It mainly functions as a link between the M2 and M20 motorways, and for goods vehicle traffic to the port at Sheerness....
Stockbury (M2) to Sheerness - A30 Exeter to Bere Regis
- A417A417 road-Streatley - Gloucester :It runs from Streatley at its junction with the A329 to Wantage, over the picturesque Berkshire Downs. In Wantage, it negotiates the market place -Streatley - Gloucester (M5):It runs from Streatley at its junction with the A329 (between Reading and Wallingford) to Wantage,...
Gloucester to Cirencester - A419A419 roadThe A419 road is a primary route between Chiseldon near Swindon at junction 15 of the M4 with the A346 road, and Whitminster in Gloucestershire, England....
Swindon to Cirencester - A50 Stoke to Derby link
- A55A55 roadThe A55, also known as the North Wales Expressway, is a major road in Britain. Its entire length is a dual carriageway primary route, with the exception of the point where it crosses the Britannia Bridge over the Menai Strait. All junctions are grade separated except for two roundabouts — one...
Llanfairpwll to Holyhead - A69 Carlisle to Newcastle
- M1M1 motorwayThe M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
Lofthouse to Bramham link road - M40M40 motorwayThe M40 motorway is a motorway in the British transport network that forms a major part of the connection between London and Birmingham. Part of this road forms a section of the unsigned European route E05...
Denham to Warwick - M80M80 motorwayThe M80 is a motorway in central Scotland, running through Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Falkirk and Stirling and links the M8, the M73 and M9 motorways. Following completion in 2011, this road is long. From 1992 - 2011, the road was in two sections; the southern section, Glasgow to Stepps and the...
Stepps to Haggs (Under Construction)