Copenhagen road toll shelved

The Danish government has shelved the plans for a road toll scheme for Copenhagen. The decision has been welcomed by opposition parties, and the government is now set increase funding for public transport so that ticket prices can be reduced. However, full details of the increased financing of public transport are yet to be disclosed. A government appointed expert committee will also study how to reduce congestion.

Network road pricing is inevitable to manage increasing congestion on city motorways and to facilitate more efficient transport networks, says Transurban chief executive Scott Charlton. In a speech to the Infrastructure Partnerships Australia’s annual conference in Melbourne, Charlton urged governments to use every lever possible from user charges to diverse funding sources to innovative solutions such as tolled express lanes.