Trondheim Toll Scheme
Encyclopedia
Trondheim Toll Scheme or Trondheim Package (Norwegian: Trondheimspakken) was the result of that in the 1980s politician
s and road authorities in Trondheim
, Norway
wanted to accelerate the investments in road
s and motorways around the city through an investment package and toll scheme
to ease construction and generate more funds. Between 1991 and 2005 there were more than 20 toll plazas throughout the city that help finance the new roads. Toll plazas will still remain east of the city at least until 2012. The toll collection is administrated by Trøndelag Veifinans.
, a new motorway east of the city to Stjørdal
and Trondheim Airport, Værnes
on E6, upgrades to E6 south of the city, including a new intersection at Sandmoen, a new Kroppan Bridge and a four-lane motorway between Klett and Melhus
. a road from Ila via Brattøra
to Lademoen
, named Nordre Avlastningsvei, is under construction with plans to be finished in 2009 while an extension of E6 between the airport and to Kvithamar north of Stjørdal is in the start fase. Projects still not started include putting Osloveien in Byåsen
in a tunnel, a new Sluppen Bridge and a four-lane motorway between Tonstad in Tiller
to Klett in Leinstrand
. There was also a political consensus that some of the money generated by the system should be used to improve public transport in the city
. Some environmental projects in the area also benefit from the toll income.
More than twenty toll booth
s were built, closing off all approaches to the city. It was impossible for anybody driving a car to get in for free weekdays between 6am and 6pm. The charge was NOK
15 for cars and 30 for trucks. The systems has been designed to be user friendly through AutoPASS
technology developed by the local company Q-Free
, involving a radio-transmitted registration of passing cars, allowing cars to pass the toll booths at 60 km/h (but at most toll booths the speed limit was 50 km/h). All the driver need to do is fit a little plastic device to the windscreen of the car. This communicates with the toll booth when the car passes through, deducting money from the user's account
. Those who (intentionally or by negligence) passes a toll booth without an operating toll device (or paying manually where possible) are subject to a fine. Motorists using a toll device are eligible to a toll discount
.
The toll ring was not juridically considered a road pricing
scheme, since the income from the tolls goes to road infrastructure. To be considered a road pricing in accordance to Norwegian law the scheme must be organised such as to charge most when the congestion
is largest, i.e. in rush hour
. Secondly a road pricing scheme cannot primarily finance road investments, but must go either to public transport subsidies
or to infrastructure for public transport and pedestrian
s and bicycles.
The system was initially introduced to fund the building of new ring roads so that the heaviest traffic would not have to pass through the city centre. But part of the reason for this traffic is that Trondheim Port is located on an artificial island only accessible via the city centre and Trondheim has yet to do like most cities and move its port
out of the city centre, like the London Docklands and Fjordbyen in Oslo. There are ongoing discussions on whether the port should be moved from its current location. The lack of a bypass outside the residential areas, along with less than optimal railroad capacity; also contributes to the heavy road traffic trough the municipality
.
The initial development of the project came at the same time as the city council
decided to close the Trondheim Tramway
in 1988, with arguments that diesel buses are cheaper to operate. Trondheim has a notoriously low public transport ridership, at 11% of the total transport trips using public transport, compared to almost 50% in Oslo
. Part of this is credited the low frequency
and high time costs of using public transport in Trondheim, partially due to high investments in road infrastructure compared to public transport infrastructure.
After the toll ring was closed in 2005 some politicians, environmental advocates and others have suggested reintroducing the toll ring. While some are wanting to use the funds to complete the Trondheim Package, others are wanting to use it to reduce traffic congestion and use the funds for public transport subsidies.
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
s and road authorities in Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
wanted to accelerate the investments in road
Road
A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...
s and motorways around the city through an investment package and toll scheme
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
to ease construction and generate more funds. Between 1991 and 2005 there were more than 20 toll plazas throughout the city that help finance the new roads. Toll plazas will still remain east of the city at least until 2012. The toll collection is administrated by Trøndelag Veifinans.
Project size
The system financed by the scheme includes a ring road around the city on European route E6European route E6
European route E 6 is the designation for the main north-south road in Norway, and the west coast of Sweden, running from the southern tip of Sweden, at Trelleborg, into Norway and through almost all of the country north to Finnmark. The route ends close to the Norwegian border with Russia...
, a new motorway east of the city to Stjørdal
Stjørdal
is a municipality in Nord-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Stjørdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Stjørdal, also called Stjørdalshalsen...
and Trondheim Airport, Værnes
Trondheim Airport, Værnes
Trondheim Airport, Værnes is an international airport located in Stjørdal, east of Trondheim, Norway. Operated by the state-owned Avinor, it shares facilities with Værnes Air Station of the Royal Norwegian Air Force. In 2010, the airport had 3,521,734 passengers and 55,747 air movements,...
on E6, upgrades to E6 south of the city, including a new intersection at Sandmoen, a new Kroppan Bridge and a four-lane motorway between Klett and Melhus
Melhus
Melhus is a village and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Gauldalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Melhus...
. a road from Ila via Brattøra
Brattøra
Brattøra is an artificial island in the city of Trondheim in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The island is located at the mouth of the river Nidelva just north of the city centre , west of Nyhavna, and south of Trondheimsfjord. There is a canal that divides the mainland from what is now the island of...
to Lademoen
Lademoen
Lademoen is a residential area in Trondheim, Norway about two kilometers east of the city centre located just east of Nedre Elvehavn, west of Leangen, south of Nyhavna and north of Rosenborg....
, named Nordre Avlastningsvei, is under construction with plans to be finished in 2009 while an extension of E6 between the airport and to Kvithamar north of Stjørdal is in the start fase. Projects still not started include putting Osloveien in Byåsen
Byåsen
Byåsen is a district in the city of Trondheim, Norway, situated to the west of the city centre. This is mainly a residential area, with 32 136 residents as of January 1, 2003. The name Byåsen can be translated into "City Hill", which describes its elevated position, overlooking the rest of...
in a tunnel, a new Sluppen Bridge and a four-lane motorway between Tonstad in Tiller
Tiller
A tiller or till is a lever attached to a rudder post or rudder stock of a boat that provides leverage for the helmsman to turn the rudder...
to Klett in Leinstrand
Leinstrand
Leinstrand is a former municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. The area of Leinstrand encompasses the south central part of the city of Trondheim. The local Leinstrand Church was built in 1673.-History:...
. There was also a political consensus that some of the money generated by the system should be used to improve public transport in the city
Team Trafikk
Team Trafikk is the bus company in Trondheim, Norway and is owned by Nettbuss. The company has 225 buses, 600 employees, a revenue of NOK 270 million and a daily ridership of ca 70,000 passengers. The company receives subsidies from the City of Trondheim for their operations...
. Some environmental projects in the area also benefit from the toll income.
More than twenty toll booth
Toll house
A tollhouse or toll house is a building with accommodation for a toll collector, beside a tollgate on a toll road or canal. Many tollhouses were built by turnpike trusts in England, Wales and Scotland during the 18th and early 19th centuries...
s were built, closing off all approaches to the city. It was impossible for anybody driving a car to get in for free weekdays between 6am and 6pm. The charge was NOK
Norwegian krone
The krone is the currency of Norway and its dependent territories. The plural form is kroner . It is subdivided into 100 øre. The ISO 4217 code is NOK, although the common local abbreviation is kr. The name translates into English as "crown"...
15 for cars and 30 for trucks. The systems has been designed to be user friendly through AutoPASS
Autopass
Autopass is an electronic toll collection system used in Norway. It allows collecting road tolls automatically from cars...
technology developed by the local company Q-Free
Q-Free
Q-Free ASA is an electronic toll collection technology development company based in Trondheim, Norway. The company delivers systems for toll collection and automated ticketing globally and is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.-History:...
, involving a radio-transmitted registration of passing cars, allowing cars to pass the toll booths at 60 km/h (but at most toll booths the speed limit was 50 km/h). All the driver need to do is fit a little plastic device to the windscreen of the car. This communicates with the toll booth when the car passes through, deducting money from the user's account
Bank account
A Bank account is a financial account recording the financial transactions between the customer and the bank and the resulting financial position of the customer with the bank .-Account types:...
. Those who (intentionally or by negligence) passes a toll booth without an operating toll device (or paying manually where possible) are subject to a fine. Motorists using a toll device are eligible to a toll discount
Discounts and allowances
Discounts and allowances are reductions to a basic price of goods or services.They can occur anywhere in the distribution channel, modifying either the manufacturer's list price , the retail price , or the list price Discounts and allowances are reductions to a basic price of goods or services.They...
.
The toll ring was not juridically considered a road pricing
Road pricing
Road pricing is an economic concept regarding the various direct charges applied for the use of roads. The road charges includes fuel taxes, licence fees, parking taxes, tolls, and congestion charges, including those which may vary by time of day, by the specific road, or by the specific vehicle...
scheme, since the income from the tolls goes to road infrastructure. To be considered a road pricing in accordance to Norwegian law the scheme must be organised such as to charge most when the congestion
Traffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. The most common example is the physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction...
is largest, i.e. in rush hour
Rush hour
A rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice a day—once in the morning and once in the evening, the times during when the most people commute...
. Secondly a road pricing scheme cannot primarily finance road investments, but must go either to public transport subsidies
Subsidy
A subsidy is an assistance paid to a business or economic sector. Most subsidies are made by the government to producers or distributors in an industry to prevent the decline of that industry or an increase in the prices of its products or simply to encourage it to hire more labor A subsidy (also...
or to infrastructure for public transport and pedestrian
Pedestrian
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In some communities, those traveling using roller skates or skateboards are also considered to be pedestrians. In modern times, the term mostly refers to someone walking on a road or footpath, but this was not the case...
s and bicycles.
The system was initially introduced to fund the building of new ring roads so that the heaviest traffic would not have to pass through the city centre. But part of the reason for this traffic is that Trondheim Port is located on an artificial island only accessible via the city centre and Trondheim has yet to do like most cities and move its port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
out of the city centre, like the London Docklands and Fjordbyen in Oslo. There are ongoing discussions on whether the port should be moved from its current location. The lack of a bypass outside the residential areas, along with less than optimal railroad capacity; also contributes to the heavy road traffic trough the municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
.
Criticism
The initial reaction to the toll system in Trondheim was mixed. Some daily commuters felt the extra cost was unjustifiable, but most drivers were quite happy to pay in order to get some of the heaviest traffic out of the city centre. Ten years on, most drivers in and around Trondheim do not give the toll system a second thought. They have become used to it over time, and the system was also cleverly designed to be extremely user-friendly .The initial development of the project came at the same time as the city council
City council
A city council or town council is the legislative body that governs a city, town, municipality or local government area.-Australia & NZ:Because of the differences in legislation between the States, the exact definition of a City Council varies...
decided to close the Trondheim Tramway
Trondheim Tramway
Trondheim Tramway located in Trondheim, Norway consists presently of one 8.8 km tramway line, Gråkallbanen, from St. Olav's Gate in the city centre through Byåsen to Lian Station in Bymarka...
in 1988, with arguments that diesel buses are cheaper to operate. Trondheim has a notoriously low public transport ridership, at 11% of the total transport trips using public transport, compared to almost 50% in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
. Part of this is credited the low frequency
Headway
Headway is a measurement of the distance/time between vehicles in a transit system. The precise definition varies depending on the application, but it is most commonly measured as the distance from the tip of one vehicle to the tip of the next one behind it, expressed as the time it will take for...
and high time costs of using public transport in Trondheim, partially due to high investments in road infrastructure compared to public transport infrastructure.
After the toll ring was closed in 2005 some politicians, environmental advocates and others have suggested reintroducing the toll ring. While some are wanting to use the funds to complete the Trondheim Package, others are wanting to use it to reduce traffic congestion and use the funds for public transport subsidies.