Can Sweden Reach Consensus on Congestion Charging?
Oscar Alarik is Deputy Officer at the Congestion Charge Secretariat in Stockholm, Sweden. He has worked on the project for two years now, about the same time as it has taken to implement and, since January 3, 2006, trial it for the Swedish public. The trial concluded at the end of August, and the system went to referendum on September 17, 2006. The following is adapted from Alarik’s remarks at the W2i Digital Cities Convention in London, September 25–26, 2006. Stockholm is a beautiful town, and in Sweden we think we are known everywhere for being environmentally friendly… but we have environmental problems, and they are severe. And congestion has always been quite severe as far back as the 1950s. Now this has grown to a problem costing $300–800 m euros per year, and it’s a problem the average Stockholm resident recognizes. Stockholm is not big, but there are certain things that are causing the problem. The Baltic Sea and Lake Mälaren split Stockholm in two parts, and there are only a f
