Territorial Review Copenhagen - Region Hovedstaden

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of demand management tool in the world, linking the demand for the road to the
supply of the road (road capability of achieving reasonable automobile speed).
Nagoya (Japan): The city of Nagoya, headquarters of one of the biggest
automobile companies, Toyota, decided to make an experiment of a congestion
charge for a trial period from October to December, 2008. The aim was to
decrease congestion and CO 2 emission. Car usage accounts for 42% of all
transportation modes in the city. By 2030, the city wants to decrease the
percentage to 35%, by increasing the use of public transportation. The city plans
to return a portion of parking fees to drivers, while giving no return to the
illegally parking cars and through-traffic cars. This return is pending agreement
from the residents of the charged area. This is the first experiment of a
congestion charge in Japan and will be a touchstone for other Japanese cities.
Costs of congestion charges are considerable, but recent experiments
show net benefits for Copenhagen. Experiments conducted in Copenhagen
suggest that congestion charges would have led to reductions in congestion
in Copenhagen had it been introduced in 2005, ranging from a reduction of
0.2% in the small toll ring to 7% under the kilometre-charging system. An
analysis in 2008 by Kommuneforum, a group of municipal representatives
in the Capital Region, showed that the introduction of congestion charges in
2010 could reduce traffic in the payment area by 15% (Kommuneforum,
2008). Different charging schemes affect the origin-destination pattern
differently. Cordon-based charging efficiently reduces the traffic across
cordons, but tends to leave internal traffic unchanged (Schönfelder, 2007).
Introduction in 2005 would have resulted in negative internal rent as
congestion in Copenhagen was modest (Rich and Nielsen, 2007). Reflecting
increased congestion and increasing traffic streams into Copenhagen,
calculations in 2008 pointed to a net benefit of DKK 1.5 billion per year if
congestion charges had been introduced in 2010 (Kommuneforum, 2008).
Political support for congestion charges exists in the city of Copenhagen
and 15 neighbouring municipalities (known as ―The Forum of
Municipalities‖), but is lacking among other relevant actors. The current
Lord Mayor of Copenhagen has been a strong advocate for road charging,
supported by a majority in the City Council. The kilometre-based tariff
system is considered to be the most favourable option, but its technology is
considered to be risky. In order to introduce a charging system as quickly as
possible, the municipality has favoured a toll ring. According to Danish law,
road charges are considered a general tax and therefore have to be decided
by the national Parliament, which has so far opposed road pricing, despite
the strong support of some members.
There seems to be popular support for road charging. Opinion polls
show that the local population is predominantly in favour of road pricing,