Victoria's draft 30-year infrastructure strategy has suggested that governments look at new options to fairly charge people to use our roads.
In its latest draft strategy, Infrastructure Victoria says that road user charges can help manage congestion and improve productivity.
It introduces options such as car parking levies, off-peak freeway tolls, congestion pricing trials, or road user charging for all motorists with lowered fixed road charges (for example, car registration).
Such concepts are usually opposed by motorists but where politicians have persisted, the most recent example being the remarkably successful Manhattan congestion charge, they soon become popular.
Every day the roads are packed with drivers for whom that trip by car was not especially essential but when trips are charged for in some way, drivers think twice: do I really need to take the car?
The result is that car trips without a compelling purpose drop right off, freeing up the roads for those who really need to take that trip, and are happy to pay a few dollars.
Infrastructure Victoria says roads will get busier over time and more cars and trucks will mean longer, less predictable travel times.
"Inner Melbourne is the most congested part of the state,” the strategy says. "By 2030, Melbourne’s traffic delays might cost over $14 billion each year in time, vehicle costs and extra pollution.”
"Building more roads does not solve congestion, but changing how motorists pay to use roads can help reduce it.”
Infrastructure Victoria says the government has several options to change how motorists pay for roads, including:
- further expand the reach and scope of Melbourne’s congestion levy to include current and future higher density precincts and activity centres
- introduce cheaper tolls on freeways outside of peak hours
- trial low-emission zones or congestion charging at ports, in major precincts or inner Melbourne
- work with the Australian Government to introduce variable distance-based road user charging.
Most bike infrastructure more than pays for itself, mainly because of the large economic benefits of healthy physical activity, but drivers are heavily subsidised by tax payers. If they had to pay to use roads they might decide they can take more trips by walking, cycling or catching public transport.
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