It might hurt a bit...

Solutions to today's transport problems have to be right for today's technology, and must also be future-proof. A solution which would meet all the criteria for restoring lucidity, clarity and vigour in our traffic systems world-wide is satellite tolling. An evaluation project for mileage-based road-user charging is being undertaken in America. Using technology which took three years to develop, the speedometer is the primary source of data for distances covered. GPS signals are only used to identify where the vehicles move from one jurisdiction to another, for the (currently notional) charging to be fairly distributed, obviating fears of privacy being compromised. The technology has been well tested, so future research will focus on people's attitudes and perceptions. Volunteers can use an extra piece of technology to pay road charges for real, and not pay fuel tax, which makes the trial more realistic. The Netherlands plan to introduce charging on a variable price per kilometre basis on all Dutch roads by 2016, using GNSS technology to assess the fees due. Singapore is also moving towards GNSS tolling, from expensive overhead gantry based electronic charging. Progress in some East European countries has fallen behind schedule. Inserts summarise progress so far and predictions for the future.