High compliance free-flow road user charging systems

The UK has only one free-flow road user charging system - the London Congestion Charge. However this is due to change in the near future with free flow charging schemes scheduled to go live for several river crossings, including the Humber Bridge, the Mersey Gateway, and one of Europe´s busiest crossings, the Dartford river crossing. The biggest challenge of any barrier-free road user charging system is gaining high compliance when there is no physical means of stopping drivers using the scheme without paying. This paper looks to see how operators of free-flow road user charging schemes can maximise compliance with the scheme rules. The paper looks at behavioural aspects of why people pay, and the different reasons why people don´t pay. It looks at dealing with fraud, and dealing with foreign vehicles. It also looks at the role of scheme interoperability and EETS in raising compliance. Finally there is a compliance checklist for scheme operators.