Toll roads around the world

Asia

China

Nearly all Chinese expressways and express routes charge tolls, although they are not often networked from one toll expressway to another. However, beginning with the Jingshen Expressway, tolls are gradually being networked. Given the size of the nation, however, the task is rather difficult.

China National Highways, which are not expressways, but "grade-A" routes, also charge tolls. Some provincial, autonomous-regional and municipal routes, as well as some major bridges, will also charge passage fees. In November 2004, legislation in China provided for a minimum length of a stretch of road or expressway in order for tolls to be charged.

In Hong Kong, most tunnels and some bridges that form part of the motorway networks are tolled to cover construction and maintenance costs. Some built recently are managed in the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) basis. The companies which build the tunnels or bridges are given franchise of a certain length of time (usually 30 years) to operate. Ownership will be transferred to the government when the franchise expires. See also "Tunnels and bridges in Hong Kong".

India

The "Mumbai-Pune Expressway", spanning 95 km (49 miles) between the outskirts of the twin cities of Mumbai and Pune, is India's first access controlled turnpike. The project was completed under the stewardship of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) [http://www.msrdc.org/projects/mumbai_pune.html] in 2002. The new route cuts the time taken to travel between the two cities to approximately 2 hours

Another expressway project which was completed in year 2004, was Ahmedabad-Vadodara expressway (NE 1 - 100 km) which takes nearly one hour (start to end of expressway) compared to 2-3 hours travel by conventional highway NH-8. Later is the busiest highway in India stretching from Mumbai to New Delhi.

Pakistan

The construction of motorways in Pakistan was first proposed by deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, in which he called for a motorway between Lahore and the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The idea behind a motorway was supported by many in the country, however, Nawaz Sharif was criticized for the plan. Instead, many wanted the first motorway to be built between the two largest cities in Pakistan (Lahore and Karachi). However the plans went ahead and in 1997 the M2 was opened to the public. Since then the M3, M9, M10, and M1 has become operational. The M8 will continue to be built up until late 2010

Indonesia

Indonesia opened its first toll road in 1978 when the Jagorawi Toll Road linking the capital city of Jakarta to Bogor and Ciawi, about 60 km south, completed. Still limited in existence, it has just completed a 50 km mountainuous toll from Cikampek to the highland city of Bandung in West Java and is named Cipularang Toll Road. This latest toll also connects to the existing Cikampek Toll Road that runs from Jakarta.

Israel

Highway 6 in Israel, widely known as the Trans-Israel Highway or Cross-Israel Highway, is to date the only electronic toll highway in Israel. Currently Highway 6 is 110 km long, all of which is a freeway. This figure will grow in the next few years as additional segments, currently undergoing statutory approvals and permitting processes, are added to the main section of the road. Highway 6 uses a system of cameras and transponders to toll vehicles automatically. There are no toll booths, allowing Highway 6 to be designed as a normal freeway with interchanges.

Japan

The vast majority of Japan's extensive expressway consists of toll roads. Payment of the fare can either be made in cash as you exit or using the electronic toll collection card system. As of 2001 the toll fees for an ordinary passenger car was 24.60 yen per kilometre (15.29 yen per mile) plus a 150 yen terminal charge.

Malaysia

Malaysia has extensive toll roads that forms the majority of country's expressways which in length spans more than 1400 km ranging North to the Thai border, South to the Causeway and Second Link to Singapore, West to Klang and Pulau Indah and East towards Kuantan. Most of the toll roads are in major cities and conurbations such as Klang Valley, Johor Bahru and Penang. All of Malaysian toll roads are managed in the Build-Operate-Transfer basis as in Hong Kong and Japan (see below).

Philippines

The Philippines have six toll roads, all on the main Island of Luzon.The most modern is the 84-kilometre-long North Luzon Expressway, connecting Manila with Santa Ines in the North and the longest is the 94-kilometre-long Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, connecting the Subic Bay Freeport, Clark Freeport Zone, and the Central Techno Park in Tarlac. It is also connected to the North Luzon Expressway via a Spur Road in Mabalacat, Pampanga.

The South Luzon Expressway and the Skyway connect Manila with the southern part of Luzon.

The Coastal Road is a short (under 10 kilometres long) urban expressway in the south of the Manila metropolitan area.

The Subic Bay Freeport Expressway is a six-kilometre non-divided toll road running east from the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. It is operated by the same operator as the North Luzon Expressway and will be extended east to connect to the North Luzon Expressway north of San Simon in Pampanga.

The STAR Tollway runs south from Santo Tomas in Batangas to the City of Lipa.

Only the North Luzon Expressway and the South Luzon Expressway / Skyway have an electronic toll collection system, which is based on the 5.7 GHz standard.

Singapore

"Further information: Singapore Area Licensing Scheme, Electronic Road Pricing"

In Singapore, toll stations are automated, thus reducing manpower. The automated toll stations, also known to the locals as ERP or Electronic Road Pricing, was introduced by Land Transport Authority (LTA) to reduce city traffic jams. Although it is advanced, it is still unpopular among Singaporean drivers. Fact|date=February 2007

Taiwan

Freeways in Taiwan are not exactly toll roads in the sense that toll gates/stations are not located at the entrance and exits of the freeway. Toll stations with weigh stations are located every thirty to forty kilometres on the No. 1 and No. 3 National Freeways of the Republic of China. There are usually no freeway exits once a toll station notification sign appears, making it necessary for the driver to be familiar with the locations of the toll stations in advance.

"See Highway System in Taiwan#Toll station for more detailed information."

Other toll roads in Taiwan are usually newly built bridges and tunnels. Tolls are frequently collected to pay off the construction cost and once paid off, the tolls may be repealed.

Thailand

Most of the toll roads in Thailand are either within Greater Bangkok or originated from Bangkok. They are called expressways, tollways, and motorways. Two government agencies under the Ministry of Transport, namely the Expressway and Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand (ETA) and the Department of Highways (DoH), own networks of toll roads. Some are operated by the agencies themselves; others are operated by private concessionaires. ETA is in charge of Chaloem Mahanakhon Expressway, Si Rat Expressway, Chalong Rat Expressway, Udon Ratthaya Expressway, and Burapha Withi Expressway. DoH is in charge of Uttraphimuk Tollway (formerly Don Mueang Tollway), Motorway no.7 (Bangkok-Chonburi), and Motorway no.9 (Eastern Outer Ring Road). Both agencies have plans to build more toll roads in the future, expanding their networks to the provinces.

Electronic Toll Collection using active RFID tags is used in Chaloem Mahanakhon and Chalong Rat expressways, while Burapha Withi Expressway employs passive IC-card-based Touch-and-Go system. There are plans to upgrade and expand ETC systems in the near future.

United Arab Emirates

The toll system Salik started in Dubai in July 2007.

Africa

outh Africa

In South Africa most of the main highways between the major cities charge a toll. However in the major cities such as Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg, the freeways are free of charge. Toll Roads are run by the [http://www.nra.co.za/index.html The South African National Roads Agency Limited] .

Morocco

Morocco has an extensive system of toll roads or Autoroutes. These were for the most part recently built, and from Casablanca connect all of Moroccos major cities such as Marrakech, Rabat, and Tangier. Operator Autoroutes Du Maroc runs the network on a pay-per-use basis, with toll stations placed along its length. Goal is completing a North-South and a East-West link crossing the country. Both axis will be important sections of the "Pan-African" main links. [Moroccan operator ADM's [http://www.adm.co.ma/admin_files/rapport2007.pdf Year 2007 report] , PDF file, downloaded 22 August 2008]

Europe

Toll roads in Europe have a long history. Norway has a sixty-year experience in road tolling. The first turnpike road in England was authorised in the seventeenth century. The term "turnpike" refers to a gate on which sharp pikes would be fixed as a defence against cavalry. Early references include the (mythical) Greek ferryman Charon charging a toll to ferry (dead) people across the river Acheron. Germanic tribes charged tolls to travellers across mountain passes. Tolls were used in the Holy Roman Empire in the 14th century and 15th century.

In some European countries payment of road tolls is made using stickers which are affixed to the windscreen. Germany uses a system based on satellite technology for large vehicles. In other countries payment may be made in cash, by credit card, by pre-paid card or by an electronic toll collection system. Tolls may vary according to the distance travelled, the building and maintenance costs of the motorway and the type of vehicle.

Some of these toll roads are privately owned and operated. Others are owned by the government. Some of the government-owned toll roads are privately operated.

Croatia

Almost all Croatian highways are toll roads with the exception of the Zagreb bypass. Most of the highways feature a closed toll collection system. Tolls are usually calculated according to the basic formula of 0,40 kn/km, multiplied by a factor according to the vehicle category. There are four vehicle categories in Croatia:

# two-axle vehicles, up to 1,30 m tall measured at the front axle, including motorcycles
# three and multi-axle vehicles, up to 1,30 m tall measured at the first axle, including all vans
# vehicles more than 1,30 m tall measured at the first axle, including all vans with trailers
# same as 3rd class, but at least four axles

Each class of vehicles pays approximately 1,5 times the toll paid by the previous class. The length and the exact toll for a highway section can be found at the official website of Croatian highway authority. If a highway features an open toll collection system, the toll for the whole highway is paid at a mainline plaza. Such toll collection attracts the shunpikers. [http://www.hac.hr HAC - Croatian highway authority] ]

There are four Croatian companies that build and maintain highways and collect tolls:

* Hrvatske autoceste (Croatian highway authority)
* Autocesta Zagreb-Macelj [http://www.azm.hr/?en Autocesta Zagreb-Macelj] ]
* Autocesta Rijeka-Zagreb [http://www.arz.hr Autocesta Rijeka-Zagreb] hr-icon]
* Bina-Istra [http://www.bina-istra.com/Default.aspx?sid=2 Bina-Istra] ]

France

In Europe, the most substantial use of toll roads is in France, where most of the autoroutes carry quite heavy tolls. In a number of countries the companies have often fallen in and out of the public sector,Fact|date=February 2007 and many have had financial problems.Fact|date=February 2007

Italy

In most Italian motorways are toll roads. Major exceptions are the beltways around larger cities. Toll roads form one network: you pay only as you exit. Toll can be paid in cash, by credit card, by pre-paid card, or by Telepass.

61% of the Italian motorways are handled by the "Autostrade per l'Italia S.p.A." company, and its subsidiaries. All of these carriers are now privately owned and supervised by ANAS. The network of highways covers most of Italy: northern and central Italy are well covered, the south and Sicily are scarcely covered, Sardinia is not covered at all.

The motorway operators are required to build, operate and maintain their networks at cost and to cover their expenses from the toll they collect. The tolls vary according to the building and maintenance costs of the motorway and the type of vehicle.

The Netherlands

In the beginning of the 20th century, almost all communities collected toll on all passing traffic, usually including pedestrians and livestock. In 1953, the central government abolished all communal tolls.

As of 2008, there are three effective toll roads in Netherlands. They are for the Western Scheldt Tunnel, Kil tunnel, both major arteries, and the "Tolbrug" (Toll Bridge) in Nieuwerbrug, a local hand-drawn bridge. Also, for the Wijkertunnel, a "shadow toll" is paid by Rijkswaterstaat for each passed vehicle.

Norway

Norway has a sixty-year experience in road tolling for financing bridges, tunnels and roads. Norwegian authorities closely monitored Singapore's use of tolls as a means to discourage urban traffic and Bergen got its first toll zone outside the ring road on 1 February 1986. Any driver wishing to enter central Bergen by car had to pay the fee.

There are several toll roads to finance road infrastructure and highways in other parts of Norway.

Portugal

In Portugal a certain number of roads are designated Toll-Roads. They charge a fixed value per kilometre distance, with several classes depending on vehicle type and regulated by the government. Several authorised franchises run them, the largest at present being BRISA. For cash-free payments there exists the Via Verde, an electronic toll collection system. On leaving the motorway, charges are automatically debited from a bank account.

Russia

A number of toll roads in Barnaul and Pskov Region (Nevil-Velezh (RUR 190 ($8)), Pechori-state border RUR 140), also M4-Don (18 km close to Lipetsk costs RUR20($0,75) for cars and RUR40 ($1,7) for trucks).

Overall toll network is 383km or 0,05% of total road network. Average price in Pskov region having 226 km of toll roads is RUR 2,4-5,5 per km for cars, and RUR 7,9-19,5 for trucks. This comes close to $1 per km for trucks and makes Russian toll roads one of the most expensive in the world.

Ordinary speed limits apply so far. In 2007 adopted Toll Road Law and Concession Law in 2005 to develop this sector.

Slovenia

Slovenia switched to vignettes on July 1st, 2008. For the use of 464,7 km of the Slovenian freeways and expressways use of toll stickers is obligatory for all vehicles with the permissible maximum weight of 3.5 tons on motorways and expressways as of July 1, 2008. [ [http://www.cestnina.si/Default.aspx?id=19766&lang=2 DARS - Motorway company in the Republic of Slovenia ] ]

Spain

Most Spanish toll roads are networked, so you must get a ticket on entering and pay when leaving the road. Technically, all roads belong to the Government, although toll roads are built and maintained by private companies under a State concession; when the concession expires, the road is reverted to State ownership, however most of then are renewed. Toll roads are called in Spanish "autopistas". Freeways, many times comparable to "autopistas" as for their building and ride quality, are called " autovías".

There are some "autovías" which are actually built and maintained by private companies, such as Pamplona-Logroño A-12 [ [http://www.navarra.es/home_es/Actualidad/Informes/Obras+Publicas+Transportes+y+Comunicaciones/Autivia+Pamplona-Estella+Logrono.htm Navarra.es Navarran Autonomous Community news bulletin, february 5 2007] ] [ [http://www.noticiasdenavarra.com/ediciones/2006/04/26/vecinos/estellaymerindad/d26est31.586230.php Noticias de Navarra, may 2005] ] or Madrid access road M45. [ [http://www.elpais.com/articulo/madrid/M-45/negocio/sombra/elpepuespmad/20050808elpmad_1/Tes El País, august 8 2005] ] The company assumes the building costs and the Autonomous Community where they are located (in the given examples, Navarre and Madrid) pays a yearly per-vehicle fee to the company based upon usage statistics, called "toll in the shadow" (in Spanish, "peaje en la sombra"). [ [http://www.capitalmadrid.info/2007-04-02/4293.html Capital Madrid, march 30 2007] ] The system can be regarded as a way for the Government to finance the build of new roads at the expense of the building company. Also, since the payment starts only after the road is finished, construction delays are usually shorter than those of regular state-owned freeways. However, those cannot be classified as toll roads since drivers do not need to pay any fees.

Sweden

The Oresund Bridge and Svinesund Bridge have tolls.

United Kingdom

Road rates were introduced in England in the seventeenth century. The first turnpike road, whereby travellers paid tolls to be used for road upkeep, was authorised in 1663 for a section of the Great North Road in Hertfordshire. The first turnpike trust was established by Parliament through a Turnpike Act in 1706. From 1751 until 1772 there was a flurry of interest in turnpike trusts and a further 390 were established. By 1825 over 1,000 trusts controlled 25,000 miles (40,000 km) of road in England and Wales.

The rise of railway transport largely halted the improving schemes of the turnpike trusts. Unable to earn sufficient revenue from tolls alone the trusts took to requiring taxes from the local parishes. The system was never properly reformed but from the 1870s Parliament stopped renewing the acts and roads began to revert to local authorities, the last trust vanishing in 1895. The Local Government Act 1888 created county councils and gave them responsibility for maintaining the major roads.

Most UK roads today are maintained from general taxation, some of which is raised from motoring taxes including fuel duty and vehicle excise duty. Today, there are few tolls on roads in the United Kingdom - mainly toll bridges and tunnels. Until recently there were only two public toll roads (Roydon Road in Stanstead Abbots and College Road in Dulwich) together with another five or so private toll-roads. However, the motorway recently constructed to the north of Birmingham levies a usage charge, and is therefore known as the M6 Toll. It is potentially the first of a new generation of toll roads.

North and South America

Brazil

In Brazil, toll roads are a recent institution, and were adopted mostly in non-federal highways. The state of São Paulo has the highest length of toll roads, which are exploited either by private companies which bought a concession from the state, or by a state owned company (see Highway system of São Paulo). In São Paulo there is also a statewide electronic collection system using a plastic transponder (e-tag) attached to the windscreen, named "SemParar"'. There is a growing trend towards tolling in all major highways of the country, but some resistance by the population is beginning to be felt, particularly due to some abuses which are being imposed, restricting the constitutional rights of coming and going (because the Brazilian highway system has very few non-tolled vicinal roads in parallel to highways) and making some trips an extremely expensive affair, as compared to average Brazilian earning power (in São Paulo, a 1,000 km round trip may cost upward of sixty Brazilian real in some roads, higher than petrol expenses).

Canada

Most tolled roadways in Canada are bridges to the United States, although a few domestic bridges in some provinces have tolls. Toll highways disappeared, for the most part, in the 1970s and 1980s. In the 1990s, political pressure dropped the new tolls on an upgraded section of the Trans-Canada Highway in New Brunswick. Highway 407 in the Greater Toronto Area is a modern "toll route". Nova Scotia has a toll highway on the Trans Canada Highway between Debert and Oxford. Another toll highway in Canada is the Highway 5/Coquihalla Highway in British Columbia.

Colombia

Many highways in Colombia charge tolls. Motorcycles are allowed to bypass for free.

Ecuador

The Pan-American Highway in Ecuador charges tolls. Motorcycles pay a reduced fare.

Mexico

Mexico has an extensive system of toll roads or Autopistas. Autopistas are built and funded by Federal taxes and are built to nearly identical standards as the US Interstate Highways System. Also, many states in Mexico have their own toll roads such as Puebla, Veracruz and Nuevo Leon. Motorcycles pay the same fare as cars.

Panama

Most of the toll roads in Panama were built in mid 90s, with the exception of the Arraijan-Chorrerra Highway. The three modern toll roads were built after the transportation plan made by the Govertment of Japan in mid 80s using the BOT formula. This highways are the Corredor Norte in the north of the Panama City, and the Corredor Sur in the south. Another highway was built and is the Panama-Colon Highway.

United States

A "toll road" in the United States, especially near the east coast, is often called a "turnpike". The term turnpike originated from the "turnstile" or gate which blocked passage until the fare was paid at a "toll house" (or "toll booth" in current terminology). Some states have an RF tag that automatically bills the commuter's account electronically for tolls. Examples of this are the E-ZPass electronic toll collection system used on most toll bridges and toll roads in the eastern U.S. from Virginia to Maine, and recently extended into Illinois; Houston's EZ Tag, which also works in other parts of the state of Texas, California's FasTrak, Illinois' I-Pass, Florida's SunPass, and more recently Indiana's I-Zoom. Traffic in these special lanes can move well with minimal slowing. Toll roads are only in 26 states as of 2006. The majority of states without any turnpikes are in the West and South.

After a halt in toll road construction following the establishment of the Interstate Highway System in 1956, many states are going back to implementing tolls to fund capital improvements and manage congestion. This is because the cost of expanding and maintaining the highway network is increasing faster than the amount of revenue that can be generated by the federal gasoline tax for the National Highway Trust Fund. Years after abolishing tolls, Kentucky and Connecticut are both re-examining the possibility of reinstating tolls on some highways, while several other states are advancing the construction of new toll roads to supplement their existing networks of toll-free expressways.

Oceania

Australia

In Australia, a small number of freeways have been tolled due to cover the expense of their construction. Such roads can be found in the Australian cities of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. There are no toll roads in the Australian states of South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania or any of the mainland territories. Toll collection is by both electronic toll collections and traditional toll booth collection, although Australia is moving towards completely electronic toll collection, with Melbourne now completely electronic and all recent tollroads in Sydney being opened as electronic only.

The Queensland Motorways network includes the Gateway Bridge, Gateway Extension, Logan Motorway and Port of Brisbane Motorway. The Port of Brisbane Motorway is free.

In Melbourne, there are two companies that operate tollways within the Melbourne metropolitan area. Transurban operates CityLink covering sections of the Monash Freeway, Southern Link, Western Link and the upgraded sections of the Tullamarine Freeway. ConnectEast operates EastLink that runs through the Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne. All Melbourne tollways are electronically tolled. The West Gate Bridge opened as a toll bridge upon its completion in 1978, however the toll was abolished in 1985.

In Sydney, many of the primary arterial roads (known as Metroads) contain at least one tolled section with a mixture of government and private ownership. The State Government owns the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Harbour Tunnel, while the M2 Motorway, M4 Motorway, M5 Motorway, Eastern Distributor, Westlink M7 and Lane Cove Tunnel are privately operated by a number of companies.

As well as the Metroad tollways, the Cross City Tunnel - an east-west route underneath the Sydney CBD - was opened to traffic in 2005. This road has become somewhat controversial due to the relatively high toll charge and the closure of surrounding roads designed to funnel traffic through the tunnel.

All Sydney tollways accept E-tags; the Westlink M7, Sydney Harbour Tunnel, Cross City Tunnel, Lane Cove Tunnel and from 1 December 2007 on the M2 Motorway [http://www.hillsm2.com.au/transurban_online/ne5nav_hills.nsf/LinkView/7701C3D3519B46E2CA2572C80075D69CABD5DAB709F88F70CA25703E0064DA30] [http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22023173-5001021,00.html] have no cash booths, just E-Tag readers to zoom on through as they charge their tolls only through electronic tolling methods or through the use of number plate reading as you go through, then you have to pay after a certain time frame (for example; before 24 hours), otherwise you will get a fine in the mail. The Sydney Harbour Bridge, Eastern Distributor (M1), M5 Motorway and M4 Motorway use e-Tags in addition to traditional cash toll booths. An E-Tag is an RFID device that allow a driver to pass through a toll point without physically stopping. When a vehicle fitted with an E-Tag passes through a toll collection point, the E-Tag identifies the electroinic account of the vehicle passing through and the toll-road operator recovers the toll via that account. There are four providers of E-tag accounts in New South Wales (RTA, RoamTag, Interlink Roads, and M2 Consortium). All tags provided by these four providers can be used on every E-Tag-enabled tollway in Australia.

New Zealand

Auckland Harbour Bridge was opened in 1959 and operated as a toll bridge until 1984. In the 1960s a group of university students attempted to disrupt the toll system by repeatedly crossing the bridge using motor-scooters (to which a very low toll applied), and paying their toll in £5 notes; the hope was that they would exhaust the supplies of change held at the toll booths. However, the toll authority got wind of their plans, and laid in a very large supply of small change (copper coinage), so that the students were soon weighed down with large amounts of small change.

The Lyttelton Road Tunnel, linking the city of Christchurch with the harbour at Lyttelton, was originally a Toll Tunnel built in 1962. The government of the day promised that as soon as the tunnel was paid for, the toll would be removed, and true to their word the toll was indeed removed in the mid-1970s once the tunnel had been paid off. The Tunnel Authority building and toll booths are still present and in place at the Heathcote end of the tunnel to this day.

See also

* Toll road
* List of toll roads
* High-occupancy toll
* Private highway
* Electronic toll collection
** TELEPASS (Italy)
** SunPass (Florida, USA)
** E-PASS (Florida, USA)
** E-ZPass (eastern USA)
** I-PASS (Illinois, USA)
** FasTrak (California, USA)
** Pikepass (Oklahoma, USA)
** TxTag (Texas, USA)
** 407 ETR (Toronto, ON, Canada)
* CityLink (Australia)
* London congestion charge
* Turnpike trusts the first organisations empowered to collect tolls on English roads
* Malaysian expressway system
* Tunnels and bridges in Hong Kong
* Expressways of Japan
* Toll roads in Europe
* Toll roads in the United States

External links

* [http://eh.net/encyclopedia/Klein.Majewski.Turnpikes.php Turnpikes and Toll Roads in Nineteenth-Century America] (EH.Net Economic History encyclopedia)
* [http://www.notolls.org.uk/index.htm National Alliance Against Tolls] (British anti toll group, but "News" pages includes USA and other countries.)

References