The EURoPrice
network was first set up in January 1999 and comprised 8 cities in the
first phase. Possibly the most successful aspect of the project was simply
bringing together like-minded cities and their politicians from across
Europe to discuss their objectives and share their experiences. The success
of this pooling of ideas and stimulation of pan-European debate has been
such that further cities asked to join the network. From this strong foundation
the second phase of EURoPrice was developed.
There is still much
work on road pricing that needs to be carried out for cities across
Europe considering its implementation. Through the work undertaken by
the EURoPrice network the European Commission identified several areas
in the field of road pricing that require further investigation including:
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Funding mechanisms
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Additional value
and links to the commercial sector
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Partnership
and organisational arrangements
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Impacts on freight
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Public and political
acceptance
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Marketing strategies
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Meeting the
concerns of business
Some of this additional
research is being undertaken within other more technical projects. However,
it is at the city level that most can be learnt from the introduction
of a scheme. Therefore, as a political forum, EURoPrice provides a valuable
mechanism for discussion, exchange of best practice and guidance from
a city perspective for policy makers. The network provides an important
link between policy and research.
Transport policies
at European and national level are promoting the reduction of congestion
and improvement to the environment by realising the cost of motoring.
However, all the policies and measures focus on the role of city authorities
to implement local urban schemes. The role of cities in developing and
promoting road user charging policy is vital to their wide scale introduction.
At the city level strong political support is needed for the policy
and its development into a scheme. For a scheme to be successful, community
and business support is required. EURoPrice has a key role to play in
developing the positive arguments for schemes and promoting the technical
and operational issues faced by cities.
As a political network,
major issues including social equity, business and economic concerns
are being addressed. This is being done by working together in a small
forum with wider dissemination of results to interested parties and
key stakeholders, including policy makers at the local, national and
international level.
The key objectives
of the EURoPrice network have been defined as follows:
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To undertake
a series of joint fora addressing the key issues involved in implementing
road pricing schemes - the obstacles and necessary success criteria.
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To develop a
common position on road pricing in European Cities.
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To inform and
support the national and European policy debate on road pricing.
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To take a co-ordinated
approach to demonstration and research efforts in road pricing.
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To disseminate
the experienced gained to other cities in Europe who are considering
road pricing in order to speed up the process of wider implementation.
The EURoPrice network
works also with other networks and projects to disseminate information
and experiences. This will contribute to the development of European
policy on transport pricing and other associated activities.