Drivers prefer fair user-pays system: Transurban study

A fair user-pays system for road usage is acceptable to drivers, says a new study by toll-road operator Transurban.

Transurban CEO Scott Charlton in Melbourne. Picture: Stuart McEvoy

A fair, user-pays system for road usage is acceptable to drivers and can help them change their driving habits, provided it is clear and transparent, according to the findings of a landmark study by toll-road operator Transurban.

The 18-month project, led by Transurban and supported by independent research and technology specialists, looked at how people used their cars on Melbourne’s road network under different charging options.

“We have a window of opportunity now with new technology advances to lay the foundations for the kind of system that will support our new transport landscape,’’ Transurban Group chief executive Scott Charlton told the Infrastructure Partnerships Australia annual conference in Melbourne yesterday.

The trial involved a sample of Melbourne car owners installing a small GPS device in their vehicles, providing important insights at regular intervals throughout the study period.

More than 1600 motorists drove 12 million kilometres under a range of charging options — a charge per trip model, a charge per kilometre model and a flat-rate model, similar to a capped plan for mobile phones.

“We didn’t see significant change in the way participants used their vehicles under those charging options at an aggregate level, suggesting that the road usage charging model did not impede their regular driving behaviours and activities,’’ Mr Charlton said, adding the charge per kilometre distance plan, arguably the most transparent, was the most popular.

The flat capped rate was the second most preferred plan and feedback showed it appealed to people who wanted predictably in their monthly budgets. The charge per trip plan was the least preferred option but it could appeal to people who have to travel longer distances per trip.

“Our research clearly found that the more information people received about how Australia currently funds its roads, the more positive they became about the need for reform,” Mr Charlton said.

He said people were also more willing to consider changing their driving habits, even after only a short period of time, if they received direct and transparent feedback.

Each participant in the study had a travel account and the potential to receive up to $80 a month while they were testing the charging options.

“For many the incentive to change would be greater if they were actually having to pay for their road use rather than being presented with potential incentive dollars in their travel account,’’ Mr Charlton said.

Transurban, the Australian Automobile Association and IPA have all been pushing road-user pricing as an alternative to the current system of funding new highways with petrol excise.

Dynamic road pricing has been implemented in some of the world’s major cities