Friday 5 February 2016

Bergen implements congestion charging on its urban toll system

Martin Standley informed me that Bergen has introduced congestion charging on its urban toll ring as of the 1st of February.  This is not a new charge or tolling system, just the evolution of the Bergen toll ring into effectively an urban congestion charge.  The system has 11 charging points.

A map of the tolling points is here.  Road users either use the Norwegian DSRC toll tag account system AutoPASS, pay online up to 3 days after crossing a tolling point or subsequently receive a bill by post (after number plate recognition has detected your vehicle's chargeable activity).

The system has been fully electronic free flow since 2004, and congestion charging applies between 0630-0930 and 1430-1630 (yes you read correctly) weekdays.  The peak charge is 2.3-2.6x higher than the basic charge.  The fee for heavy vehicles (all above 3.5 tonnes) is double that for light vehicles.

The purpose of the congestion charge element is to, unsurprisingly, reduce congestion and lower emissions.

The Bergen "toll company" website explains how Bergen has had tolls since 1956 to fund various road projects, but the Bergen toll ring commenced operation in 1986 as the first toll ring in Norway. 

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