Variable Tolls in France

1
Variable Tolls in France

• International Symposium on Road Pricing
• Key Biscayne, Florida November 19-22, 2003
• David LECOFFRE, Transportation Attaché
• Embassy of France
• Washington, D.C.

2
Overview

• Toll Roads in France
• Toll Rates in France
• Variable Tolls in France
• Case Studies of Variable Tolls
• Conclusions

3
Toll Roads in FranceGeneral Information about
France

• Area 550,000 sq. km
• Population 60 million
• 22 regions
• 100 counties
• 36,000 cities/local districts
• Private cars 29 million
• Comm. vehicles 5.5 million

4
Toll Roads in FranceFrench Road Network

• National Highways
• 6,500 miles (75 toll roads)
• Traffic gt 30,000 vehicles per day (vpd)
• Other National Roads
• 20,000 miles
• Traffic gt 10,000 vpd
• County Roads
• 200,000 miles
• Traffic gt 1,000 vpd
• Local Districts Roads
• 300,000 miles
• Traffic gt 100 vpd
• France is in a process of shifting road
  ownership of a large part of the road network
  from national level to county level

5
Toll Roads in FranceHistory of French Toll Roads

• 50 years of toll road concessions experience
• 1955 Toll Act authorizing
• creation of state owned toll road companies
• right to levy tolls to finance the construction,
  maintenance and operation of highways
• Profitable toll roads have subsidized non
  profitable
• 5,000 miles toll roads constructed and now in
  operation in France

6
Toll Roads in FranceFrench Toll Roads Today

• 5,000 miles of toll roads concessions
• 4,500 miles operated by 6 mainly publicly owned
  companies (ASF, SAPRR, SANEF, ESCOTA, AREA, SAPN)
• 500 miles operated by a private company
  (COFIROUTE)
• 2 international tunnels operated by publicly
  owned companies (ATMB, SFTRF)

7
Toll Roads in FranceRole of the French Government

• Perspectives of privatization France studies
  the possibility of selling more of its shares in
  publicly owned toll road companies
• Main Agencies involved Road and Highway
  Administration (Dept. of Transportation) and
  Budget and Treasury Administrations (Dept. of
  Finance)
• Role of the French Government evolves from
  Shareholder/Operator to Regulatory Authority
• French Government has an important role in
  setting toll rates

8
Toll Rates in FranceGeneral Information

• Average National Toll Rate (private cars)Eur
  0.07 / km
• Annual increase (Feb 1st)
• a little more than inflation
• Rate varies from toll company to toll company (up
  to 30 variance)
• Toll Rate evolution policy is determined by the
  French Govt. and the toll companies
• in the concession contract (general framework)
• In the details, every 5 years, in a sub-contract

9
Toll Rates in FranceDefinition of Toll

• The legal definition of a toll is complex Fee
  for service, Tax, Price lots of jurisprudence on
  the issue
• For a long time, tolls used to cover the cost of
  infrastructure financing (construction,
  maintenance, operation)
• In the future, a vocation to use tolls for
• traffic management
• cover external costs (ex. environmental costs)
• Several variable tolls experiences have been
  implemented in France in the last 10 years

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Variable Tolls in France Definition of Variable
Tolls

• Variable tolls modify toll rates according to
  parameters such as time of day, itinerary,
  environmental reasons, etc.
• A broadly used Variable Tolls toll rates vary
  according to vehicle type (i.e. passenger cars,
  commercial vehicles)
• Three other interesting categories of variable
  tolls
• Time-variable tolls toll rates based on the
  time of day
• Itinerary-variable tolls toll rate determined by
  route traveled (when two or more possible routes)
• Environmental-variable tolls toll rates based on
  vehicle emissions levels

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Variable Tolls in FranceFrench Government
Position on Variable Tolls

• French Government has favorable view of variable
  tolls
• Has taken a pragmatic approach
• No specific and strict policy learning
  period, step by step
• There are some general principles
• Main legal principle Two users may pay two
  different toll rates if and only if they are in
   significant  different situations (legal
  jurisprudence)
• No revenue increase a toll rate increase during
  a time of the day must be compensated by a
  decrease during another time
• Clarity and Simplicity the user must easily
  understand the variable toll system implemented
• Public interest ex. Variable toll fees may be
  used for road safety (tunnels)

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Variable Tolls in FranceCase study 1 A1
Lille-Paris (SANEF)

• First Time-variable toll, North of Paris, from
  1992, still in operation
• Toll rates increased on Sunday evenings (weekend
  rush hour)
• Toll Rate 25 during  red hours  430-830
  pm
• Toll Rate 25 during  green hours 
  230-430pm and 830-1130 pm
• Success 10 traffic transfer from red to green
  period, easing congestion

13
Variable Tolls in FranceCase study 2 A10-A11
(COFIROUTE)

• Southeast of Paris
• Connection A10-A11
• March to November 1996
• Sunday evenings
• Assessment positive, 8 to 12 traffic transfer,
  easing congestion
• Initial evaluation period has not been extended
  due to public concerns
• Cofiroute evaluates the opportunity of starting
  again

14
Variable Tolls in FranceCase study 3 A14
(SAPN)

• A14 Urban Toll Highway
• Paris - 10 miles, open 1996
• A13 free alternative but congested during rush
  hours
• 1998 Implementation of Time-Variable Tolls
• Toll Rates vary according to the time of the day.
  From 4 Euros to 6 Euros.
• Objective no traffic jams
• Toll subscription policy
• Electronic Toll Collection System
• Car pooling, public acceptance

15
Variable Tolls in FranceCase study 4 A1-A26
(SANEF SAPRR)

• Itinerary-Variable tolls
• Objective avoid traffic around Paris by using
  route A26-A5-A31 instead of route A1-A6
• During Summer Holidays 93 and 94
• Toll Rate 1.5 Euros on route A1-A6
• Toll Rate 5 Euros on route A26-A5-A31
• Success users now know the alternative route
• Initial evaluation period not renewed because A
  31 now congested

16
Variable Tolls in FranceCase study 5 A5-A6
(SAPRR)

• Itinerary-variable toll rate
• Winter Holidays 1995 to 1997 (Paris to the Alps)
• South of Paris, use A5 instead of A6
• Success 20 more traffic used A5 instead of A6
• Experiment not extended after opening of A19 in
  1997 for technical reasons

17
Variable Tolls in FranceCase study6Alpine
tunnels (ATMB-SFTRF)

• Environment-Variable Toll Rates
• Mountain regions the Alps are an
  environmentally sensitive area
• Mont Blanc Tunnel 7 miles
• Frejus Tunnel 8 miles
• Variable Tolls applies to Commercial Vehicles
• Euro Classification (according to vehicle
  emissions)
• Commercial vehicles pay an additional fee (5 to
  10 ) to use tunnels for environmental and safety
  reasons
• Transfer Freight on Rail
• Acceptance of the infrastructure by local
  population

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In conclusion

• Long experience 50 years tolling, 10 years
  using variable tolls
• Variable tolling in France a pragmatic
  approach, no specific public policy at this time,
  French Government sets general principles as it
  goes along
• Evolution of the concept of tolls from a
  financing purpose (cover infrastructure cost) to
  a broader purpose (traffic management cover
  external costs)
• France--with its European partners--is in the
  process of forging new public policy by
  redefining tolls and determining to what extent
  variable tolls should be used.

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THANK YOU !

• Contacts
• David LECOFFRE, Transportation Infrastructure
  Attaché
• Embassy of France
• 4101 Reservoir Road, Washington, D.C. 20008
• Tel [phone]
• Email david.lecoffre_at_dree.org
• Additional contacts (French Road and Highway
  Adm.)
• Patrick Vieu, Toll Roads and Concessions
• Email AR.DR_at_equipement.gouv.fr
• Alain Fayard, Economic and European Affairs
• Email CM-EE.DR_at_equipement.gouv.fr