Most EU Member States have some kind of toll on specific road sections like bridges or tunnels, some of these being cross-border like the Oresund Bridge between Sweden and Denmark or the Mont Blanc tunnel between France and Italy. Some Member States have area-based congestion charges for access to or through city centres, e.g. London, UK.
Inter-urban traffic tolls are based on distance and levied for special chargeable events like the crossing of a particular point of a road network.
Advantages: Tolls are distance-based charges and therefore directly linked to infrastructure use. They are, in principal, non-discriminatory regarding nationality. They can also be differentiated to reflect the environmental performance of the vehicle or its contribution to infrastructure wear and tear.
Disadvantages: The levying of tolls at barrier points can cause congestion on toll plazas. Electronic tolling can require on-board units and expensive roadside equipment. Toll systems therefore entail additional costs for the construction, maintenance and operation of toll collection facilities. As regards effects on traffic, charging may lead to a shift of traffic towards non-toll roads.
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