Ref. Ares(2012)75556 - 23/01/2012
Ref. Ares(2018)3432564 - 28/06/2018
1 Summary of the possible congestion charge in Budapest
1.1 Introduction
Similarly to other large cities the
congestion in the inner city of
Budapest became
more
frequent in the past few years. As a result, the surface transportation got
slower, the travel times became unreliable for cars and for public transport vehicles
as well. These generate higher general travel costs, and decrease environmental
quality (air and noise pollution). Urban road pricing systems are established in many
European cities. The main example is London and Stockholm, but Rome and Milan
also made some steps in the same direction.
Based upon previous
pre-feasibility studies the preparation of a decision support
document has been started in order to justify the introduction of the congestion
charge in Budapest by the
Centre for Budapest Transport (hereafter referred to as
BKK) accordance with the decision of the General Assembly of the Municipality of
Budapest (13/2011 I.12). BKK has been allocated the necessary financial and human
resources for the
preparation phase.
1.2 Framework of the project
Taking into account the
traffic situation in Budapest and the condition of Metro Line
Nr. 4. funding, BKK suggests the introduction of congestion charging system.
Congestion charge, as a
complex financial control tool for transport needs,
increases environmental quality, and with the appropriate allocation of the large-scale
revenues it provides additional funding possibility for the transportation system in
Budapest, which
suffers from the lack of financial resources.
The European Commission White Paper [COM (2011) 144] paragraph 32 highlights
the role of congestion charging: „Road pricing and the removal of distortions in
taxation can also assist in encouraging the use of public transport and the gradual
introduction of alternative propulsion.”
The
main objective of the proposed congestion charging scheme for Budapest is to
reduce the number and the scale of congestions, which increases the environmental
quality within the city, and makes the transportation system more efficient.
The introduction of congestion charging:
increases average travelling speed within the affected areas,
realizes more reliable and shorter travel times,
makes public transport more reliable,
reduces environmental impact (air and noise pollution, GHG emission)
increases energy efficiency of the transport network,
creates a more livable environment in the inner city,
generates revenue, which can be used for the improvement of the transport
system.
The lack of financial resources for environmental friendly and sustainable (primarily
public) transport system in Budapest are indicating the need for mapping of possible
financing solution.
Two pre-feasibility studies were made related to the possible introduction of
congestion charging in Budapest:
„Efficient transportation management in Budapest” – Study of the justification,
possible introduction and zone system of the congestion charging in Budapest
(2008),
„Preliminary feasibility study of the congestion charging in Budapest” (2009)
These studies were determined only the basic concepts of the congestion charge,
but detailed analyses of the possible effects are still missing.
Meanwhile the decision of the European Commission related to funding the
Metro 4
project (CCI No. 2008HU161PR003, 2009.09.02) stated that congestion charging
has to be introduced for the inner areas of Budapest in accordance with the accepted
Transport Development Plan of Budapest (BKRFT). Therefore the
introduction of
the congestion charge in Budapest is a criterion for the Metro 4 project
funding.
The decision of the Municipality of Budapest by the General Assembly on introducing
congestion charging scheme in Budapest is expected in summer 2012 after
discussing the decision support study currently under preparation by BKK.
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1.3 Possible technical alternatives
The implementation of congestion charging is possible in several ways according to
the technical parameters, financial options and operating alternatives. The next table
(Table 1) shows these possible alternatives.
Possible alternatives for the introduction of the congestion charging in Budapest
Option „A1”
Option „A2”
Option „B1”
Option „B2”
Complex traffic monitoring, managing
Congestion charge with some
and security system
Function
additional features
(differentiated pass. car and truck
Technical
(e.g. controll for truck permits and
charges, parking fees, traffic
parameters
smog alert)
monitoring and counter-terrorism )
Type
Zone(s) and cordon
Zone(s)
Technology
Automatic licence plate
Automatic licence plate recognition
recognition system
system with/or On-Board Units
Municipality
Municipality own
own resources,
resources, EU
Financing options
PPP
PPP
EU funds,
funds, EIB/EBRD
EIB/EBRD loan
loan
Municipality /
Municipality /
Operator
Concessionaire
Concessionaire
BKK
BKK
No investment
No investment
Indicative investment costs
cost, but revenue
cost, but revenue
3-5 billion HUF
10-12 billion HUF
sharing according
sharing according
(only the core infrastructure)
to the contract
to the contract
Indicative time frame
30-45 month
25-30 month
42-60 month
30-45 month
Legislative
environment,
Legislative
Legislative
Legislative
lack of
Indicative list of the main
environment,
environment,
environment,
resources, lack
risks
additional risks
time overrun, lack additional risks
of
due to PPP
of resources
due to PPP
infrastructure
developments
Joint investments have a key role in the succesfull implementation of the congestion charge scheme. These
necessary investments are including M4 metro and other investment projects currently managing by BKK
(reconstruction and extension of tram lines Nr. 1 and 3, interweaving tram lines in Buda, modernization of PT
fleet, etc). Further investments: public transport network, parking system, modal shift possibilities (P+R, B+R),
communication and campaigns will be specified during the current preparation phase.
Table 1: Possible alternatives for the introduction of the congestion charging in Budapest
1.4 Premises
The current worldwide economic and financial crisis and the lack of financial
resources for the Budapest transport system indicated the acceleration of the
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preparation process. To speed up this procedure the following premises has been
stated based on the preliminary feasibility studies.
In the preliminary studies there are three possible zone boundaries as the
possibilities of the core network are very restricted:
Inner ring road (Nagy körút)
Outer ring road (Hungária körút, Budai körút)
City border (M0 motorway)
From which the outer ring road (Hungária körút, Budai körút) is suggested.
The second main decision is related to the pricing scheme. The concrete financial
model is under development, but BKK have some guidance for the price. A driver
who drives in the zone every day should pay the same amount as a monthly public
transport ticket. Therefore a daily limit has to be around a 1/20 of a monthly PT ticket.
Other regulatory consideration is to improve the attractiveness of the modal shift.
Possible discount for the citizens within the zone boundary and others will be
designed carefully.
These premises led BKK to focus on option “A1” during the preparation phase.
Provisional assumptions for financial framework are the following:
investment costs of the core infrastructure:
16-22 million EUR (5-7 billion HUF),
system operation and maintenance costs:
16 million EUR (5 billion HUF) per
year,
expected revenue:
38-80 million EUR (12-25 billion HUF) per year.
1.5 Action plan
The preliminary work plan were composed by BKK for “A1” option, where BKK
defined the
following milestones of the process
(see Table 2).
Possible schedule of the milestones during the introduction of congestion
charging in Budapest
Provisional
Milestone
deadline
1.
Assembly of BKK congestion charging workgroup
November 2011
Detailed elaboration of recommendations for congestion
2.
June 2012
charging
3.
Ensure of the regulatory environment
End of 2012
Owners decision about the introduction of congestion
4.
August 2012
charging
5.
Implementation and introduction of congestion charging
January 2014
Table 2: Possible schedule of the milestones during the introduction of congestion charging in Budapest
Budapest, 2012. január 12.
Document Outline