Helsinki to study introduction of congestion charge
The City of Helsinki plans to examine various alternatives for the introduction of congestion charges for rush-hour traffic. The project is to be approved next week, once the City Council has voted on the proposals of the City’s energy policy report.
The final talks on the proposals will be conducted on Monday, and the Social Democats and the Left Alliance have already announced their plan to support the proposal - made by the Green League - to look into congestion charges.
"If the proposal is accepted, we will take action", said Hannu Penttilä (SDP), the Deputy Mayor for City Planning and Real Estate, on Thursday.
According to Penttilä, at least the technical implementation, the range of the congestion charge, the area to be covered by the charge, and the use of the collected funds will all have to be looked into.
The system could be based for example on GPS locators, as the idea is that drivers would not have to stop in order to pay.
"The congestion charge zone should cover an operational city area, preferably all 14 municipalities in the Helsinki region", Penttilä suggests.
The SDP group on the Helsinki City Council announced on Wednesday that it is in favour of the project.
However, the introduction of congestion charges would need an amendment in legislation. Moreover, the municipalities will be unlikely to approve such charges if the funds are to be collected by the state.
The municipal decision-makers would like to use the funds for the development of public transport and other transport systems in the capital region.
The issue of the use of congestion charges in the Greater Helsinki area has not been studied much. Moreover, the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council (YTV) reports that currently they do not have any such studies under way.
In previous surveys made by YTV, the payments were dependent on rush hours, staggered zones, and the number of kilometres. Two years ago, the estimated revenues were EUR 50 to 100 million.
Deputy Mayor Penttilä, the Greens, and the Social Democrats all agreed that the potential congestion charge will have to be a regional one, argunig that if charges were made only in the immediate downtown area of Helsinki it would not work, while the National Coalition Party (the largest political grouping on the council) is opposed to the entire plan.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 25.1.2008 - TODAY |
 Helsinki to study introduction of congestion charge |
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