The Gothenburg Congestion tax

Purpose and goal

The project has evaluatef the effects of congestion charging in Gothenburg, how well the traffic impact could be forecast by the National Prognosis Tool Samper, and identified factors for political and public acceptance of congestion charges. The effects have been evaluated in terms of socio-economic benefit of the charge, congestion/travel times and reliability, travel by public transport, destination and departure time choices and equity. The project clarifies to what extent the experience from Stockholm is transferable between cities.

Expected results and effects

Differences and similarities between Gothenburg and Stockholm has given insights in variations relating to the size, the initial congestion and access to public transit. This knowledge has improved the understanding of congestion charges in an international perspective. The project has made the results available internationally, through scientific publication and dissemination of scientific and industry conferences, international visits. Consulting organizations has participated, promoting exports and receiving in industry and public administration.

Planned approach and implementation

The project has been structured by four scientific papers. These has been conducted in close cooperation between KTH and Trafik-kontoret in Gothenburg, which has proven to be essential because KTH has had the time, research competence and experience from the charges in Stockholm, while knowledge of the data collection and local traffic conditions and the opportunity to extract new data from databases and quality assessment of this is on the Trafikkonoret and at M4Traffic in Gothenburg. Partly different constellations of researchers / PhD students will work in various essays.