Behavioural responses to road pricing. Empirical results from a survey among Dutch car owners

This paper presents the results from a questionnaire among Dutch car owners. We have analysed the behavioural responses to three different, policy relevant, road pricing measures. Depending on the type of measure and type of trip affected, we find reductions in the number of car trips of, on average, 11%. A flat kilometre charge affects social trips considerably more than commuting trips. However, when policy makers want to affect peak time (commuting) traffic, a time differentiated measure is more appropriate. Slow traffic and trip suppression are most popular alternatives for non-commuting trips. Departure time changes become very attractive for all purposes when the proposed measure varies over time.