The text on this page was automatically translated and hence may differ from the original. No rights can be derived from this translation.
The government aims to introduce a simple form of road pricing by 1 January 2030: a flat rate for all driven kilometres, without differentiation based on time and location. This requires a kilometre registration system that is as straightforward as possible. The central consideration revolves around accepting the risk of odometer fraud versus the costs and complexity of the registration system. A system based on the existing odometer in a vehicle is simple, relatively inexpensive, but not guaranteed to be tamper-proof. On the other hand, a system using on-board units (devices in vehicles) reduces the possibilities of odometer fraud significantly, but is challenging to implement and relatively costly.
The coalition agreement of Rutte IV includes the implementation of Pay As You Drive (PAYD) on 1 January 2030 to replace the current motor vehicle tax. This means payment will be based not on ownership, but on the usage of the car. The proposal for PAYD involves a non-time and location-dependent charge for all driven kilometres by all Dutch passenger and delivery vehicles. This requires a kilometre registration system that records all the kilometres driven by a vehicle. Dialogic, in collaboration with Decisio and TwynstraGudde, has researched possible kilometre registration systems for PAYD. This involved examining and comparing various systems.
A kilometre registration system can be based on the current odometer reading in a vehicle or through a special device (on-board unit, OBU) that needs to be installed. Both types of systems have drawbacks. A system based on the odometer is simple, relatively inexpensive, but not guaranteed to be fraud-proof. A system with on-board units reduces the potential for odometer fraud significantly, but is not easy to implement and is relatively costly.
Therefore, the central consideration lies in accepting the risk of odometer fraud versus the costs and complexity of the kilometre registration system. At the moment, a significant uncertainty remains regarding the extent of the risk of odometer fraud. This is partly due to the fact that the Dutch proposal for PAYD has not been implemented elsewhere in the world, but also because the specifics of PAYD are not yet clear. Which vehicles will have to pay which fees? And what is the level of support for the ultimate implementation of PAYD? These aspects impact the motivation and rationalisation of possible fraudulent behaviour. The registration system only affects the opportunity, that is, how easy it is to manipulate odometer readings.
Given the uncertainties and the desire to implement the simplest possible system for PAYD, additional research is being conducted to assess whether a registration based on the odometer in the vehicle can be made sufficiently reliable.
Downloads:
Public version research on kilometre registration