Brussels charges to tackle traffic turmoil

The EU capital may start charging drivers per mile to combat congestion, writes Trent Broad.

FOR two years running, Brussels has been named the most congested city in Europe, a mark of shame for the capital that guides Europe’s environment and transport policies.

The disgrace has, however, had the effect of uniting Belgium’s environmentalist Green Party, centre-right rivals N-VA, and business and motoring groups in a call for a solution whose time may finally have come — charging drivers for distance travelled. And tests have already begun.

Others are watching keenly to see what will work in a city the size of Brussels, whose issues are different from megacities such as Beijing or London, with its central congestion charge.

“Since London brought in their congestion scheme, technology has come a long way,” said Nina Renshaw, deputy director of sustainable transport campaign group Transport & Environment.

“Today it’s possible using GPS to have precise billing per kilometre, which wasn’t possible even 10 years ago. That makes it much more attractive for cities to consider it.”

The European Commission estimates traffic congestion costs nearly €100bn per year, or 1% of the EU’s gross domestic product, not including the health costs of pollution.

The latter has led to the rise of low emission zones in cities from Umea in northern Sweden to Naples in southern Italy. Air pollution prompted Paris to ban cars with even number plates from entering the city for a day in March.

Bruno De Lille, Green Party member and mobility secretary for the Brussels region, is sceptical that his city really is the developed world’s capital of congestion, as traffic services provider INRIX says, but acknowledges his city has some unique problems.

One is Belgium’s high population density, but it also has a tax system that encourages company cars and makes the cost of driving to work tax deductible.

Moreover, more than half of the 650,000 people employed in Brussels live outside city limits and around half of those commute into the city by car, a higher proportion than in most European cities.

So far, Brussels has tried to fight traffic creep by making public transport more attractive with special bus or tram lanes. That has worked by convincing many commuters to switch to public transport or bicycles, but has also created its own problems.

“What we’ve seen in the last 10 years is that we’ve got 7% fewer cars on the roads, but the jams have got longer. That’s because there’s less room for cars,” Mr De Lille said.

On weekday mornings, there are 150km-200km of jams on 7,000km of Belgian highways on average, according to motorist association Touring. The record was 1,400km of jams, set on one day in March last year.

The most common way of tackling traffic congestion has been a congestion zone. London’s £10 charge has reduced car traffic by 27% since its introduction in 2003. Milan dropped off the top of the INRIX congestion standings after it introduced a charge in 2012.

Brussels is considering a combination of steps, including a rapid regional rail system.

“But if we want the cars to move more freely then we have to take another step,” Mr De Lille said.

The proposal to charge drivers per kilometre travelled is already on trial with around 1,000 volunteers in the city and neighbouring regions of Flanders and Wallonia.

The volunteers’ driving patterns and distances are measured and if they subsequently drive less they are rewarded with cash. In real life, people would be charged electronically or via ticketing for driving during peak hours.

First public responses have been negative: An online petition opposing the scheme quickly gained more than 170,000 signatories.

In the past decade, plans for congestion charges in Manchester and Edinburgh were rejected in referendums.

However, public opinion can shift sharply once road pricing is set up. In Stockholm, for example, a poll showed very strong support for its congestion charge a year after its launch.