Public support for continuation of the central Stockholm toll has surged with the new right/centrist alliance government dedicating it to funding road improvements.

Referendum slim majority for toll last year

Skop newspaper's latest opinion survey shows popular support for the toll or congestion charge now at 67% versus 33% opposed - a big improvement on the 51/49 split in a referendum held with the last election under a social-democrat government last year. That government had insisted that all the toll revenues be used for transit.

60+% opposition before toll demonstrated

Present support is a near full turnaround from clear net opposition to the toll before implementation in 2005.

The trial ran from Jan 3 to July 31 2006.

The new government is accelerating plans to reinstitute the central area toll which delivered on the promise to reduce congestion and speed traffic in central city streets.

After the end of the trial period, from August last, traffic naturally returned to previous congested levels. Opposition to continuation or reinstitution of the toll centered on motorists feelings they were being penalized and messed with by social engineers.

With the leftist administration which had sponsored the toll defeated in elections the new government's attitude was at first unknown. A coalition of center and rightists they managed to gain suburban support for reinstituting the toll on the basis that all the proceeds will be used for roads.

New western expressway first priority

A new north-south expressway through suburbs west of the city is the first project to be supported by the toll revenue. Costing some $3b it is a 2x3 lane road largely in tunnel in order to be environmentally acceptable.

Infrastructure minister pledges dedicated funding of roads

A Swedish newspaper reports: "Infrastructure minister Asa Torstensson said that the money (from tolls) would be used only to finance road building."

Toll gantries and other equipment at 18 toll points around the center city were left in place at the end of the trial in case a decisionw as made to restart.

Target date for the restart is now July 1 2007.

IBM, Q-Free worked well

IBM was the prime contractor, having won a bitterly contested design, install and operations contract against European companies. Norwegian Q-Free was IBM's front end subcontractor. The scheme using 5.8GHz CEN standard passive backscatter transponders worked almost flawlessly from startup through winter snow and into the summer.

NOMENCLATURE:

Swedes call the central Stockholm toll a congestion charge or congestion tax. We use the term 'toll' to describe any charge for access to and use of roads. The Stockholm charge clearly qualifies as a toll since by paying it you buy access to central city roads. It is clearly not a tax.

A tax is a government share or take of one's income (income tax), of the value of a transaction (sales tax), of the value of one's property (a property tax) etc. The nature of the charge is not changed by uses to which the money is put.

TOLLROADSnews 2007-03-06