A. Churchill 
            Road User Charges in Central America. London, Johns Hopkins Press, 1972, XII p. 176 p., £ 2.25

Abstract The current road user charge in Lithuania is based on a temporary system and is not connected to the actually covered mileage. The time-based charge is not considered to be socially fair; therefore, the principles 'user pays' and 'polluter pays' shall be employed. The charge to be introduced will take into account the interests of local road infrastructure users who are currently paying unreasonably high charge for a short distance covered. If the current system is retained and e-tolling system is not established, heavy vehicle drivers would continue paying aroad user charge by purchasing e-vignette. It would mean that road user charges paid by vehicle owners/holders would not cover the damages directly made by the user and the current road charging system would not guarantee sufficient financing for the maintenance and development of the road infrastructure. Legal decisions on electronic road charging system have not been taken yet; however, the project implementation preparation is underway. The latest Parliamentary approvals were received in September 2020, and it is believed that all necessary legal acts will be amended by the end of 2020. The road charging technology has not been selected yet. However, the conducted project's implementation analysis, the assessment of necessary investments and road charging system maintenance costs revealed that a GPS-based technology would be the most economical one. It is planned to implement the electronic road charging system by the beginning of 2023. Upon the project's implementation, additional financing to ensure high quality and safe main roads should be allocated.

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Challenges of raising road maintenance funds in developing countries: An analysis of road tolling in Zimbabwe

Journal of Transport and Supply Chain Management ◽

10.4102/jtscm.v4i1.66 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

T. C. Mbara ◽

M. Nyarirangwe ◽

T. Mukwashi

Keyword(s):

International Markets ◽

Performance Outcomes ◽

Alternative Methods ◽

Road User ◽

Road Maintenance ◽

Service Levels ◽

User Charges ◽

Road Users ◽

Trunk Road ◽

The Government

The condition of Zimbabwe's roads has been declining due to insufficient maintenance and rehabilitation. Year on year, budget allocations have compared unfavourably with funding considered adequate to maintain highway networks and conduct modest construction work. Road infrastructure shortcomings have manifested themselves in the form of high vehicle operating costs and rampant potholes, leading to a decline in road safety and a deterioration of service levels for those who use roads to deliver goods or connect to international markets. In order to try and stop this vicious cycle of decline, the Government of Zimbabwe, on 8 August 2009, introduced a new policy of road-user charges, which involved the setting-up of 22 toll gates on the trunk road network. The overall objective was to raise revenue in order to close the funding gap, blamed for declining road quality. Although alternative methods of financing road maintenance have been debated for years, a generally accepted understanding is that road users should pay costs for road provisioning. This paper assesses the implementation of a road tolling system in Zimbabwe and describes matters relating to, inter alia, implementation strategy, initial performance outcomes and sustainability.

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Using Congestion-Priced Road User Charges to Restore Metropolitan Mobility and Fund Highways

Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board ◽

10.3141/2670-09 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2670 (1) ◽

pp. 68-74 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Patrick DeCorla-Souza

Keyword(s):

Low Cost ◽

User Fees ◽

Road User ◽

Time Dynamic ◽

Limited Access ◽

Transportation Funding ◽

User Charges ◽

Public Acceptability ◽

Highway Facilities ◽

Generation Mechanisms

The purpose of this paper is to introduce and evaluate a congestion-pricing strategy that could be used in metropolitan areas to supplement revenue generation mechanisms such as mileage-based user fees and fuel taxes. Congestion charges would be applied with transponder-based technology only on limited access metropolitan highway facilities to pay for the costs of their reconstruction and maintenance. Since most of the worst congestion in metropolitan and state roadways occurs on limited access facilities, this strategy would address the goal of restoring mobility without raising the kinds of privacy concerns that appear with regard to other types of more comprehensive road user charging systems that use location-based technology, such as mileage-based user fees. Proceeds from congestion charges could be used to pay for new low-cost, part-time (dynamic) shoulder travel lane capacity and transit and carpooling enhancements. This approach can increase public acceptability by providing multimodal travel alternatives. The paper discusses the strategy in the context of the reconstruction of the freeway system in a hypothetical metropolitan area, with an availability payment public–private partnership project delivery model to design, finance, build, operate, and maintain the improved freeway network. The analysis presented in the paper suggests that the approach could be financially viable and more economically efficient than conventional transportation funding approaches.

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