Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Shadow toll" in English language version.
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In recent UK projects there has been movement away from demand-based payment mechanisms to those which more clearly link the project company's entitlement to revenues, which are still generated by payments from the host government, to its achievement of certain pre-agreed, quantifiable availability, performance and service/output criteria. These criteria might include: 'ride quality', whether sections of the road are closed (in whole or in part) or traffic flow is otherwise impeded, safety performance and/or traffic monitoring.
Maritime Roads Development Corp (MRDC), the Dragados-led concessionaire has gotten a check for $20m for compensation, and for the remainder of its 30 year concession it will be paid by the provincial government on a per vehicle basis – 'shadow tolls.' MRDC will install inductive loops in the pavement to count and classify vehicles at four points along the road, each close to the two constructed and two planned toll plazas. Vehicles will be classed as cars and larger vehicles with a shadow toll due MRDC of $4 and $12 for each full passage. This compares to about $6 and $18 real tolls in the concession agreement. There is a cap on the amount of shadow toll revenues, but no downside guarantees. The absence of tolls will encourage traffic on the motorway which will save both distance (29km) and time as compared to existing alternative routes.
In recent UK projects there has been movement away from demand-based payment mechanisms to those which more clearly link the project company's entitlement to revenues, which are still generated by payments from the host government, to its achievement of certain pre-agreed, quantifiable availability, performance and service/output criteria. These criteria might include: 'ride quality', whether sections of the road are closed (in whole or in part) or traffic flow is otherwise impeded, safety performance and/or traffic monitoring.
Maritime Roads Development Corp (MRDC), the Dragados-led concessionaire has gotten a check for $20m for compensation, and for the remainder of its 30 year concession it will be paid by the provincial government on a per vehicle basis – 'shadow tolls.' MRDC will install inductive loops in the pavement to count and classify vehicles at four points along the road, each close to the two constructed and two planned toll plazas. Vehicles will be classed as cars and larger vehicles with a shadow toll due MRDC of $4 and $12 for each full passage. This compares to about $6 and $18 real tolls in the concession agreement. There is a cap on the amount of shadow toll revenues, but no downside guarantees. The absence of tolls will encourage traffic on the motorway which will save both distance (29km) and time as compared to existing alternative routes.
The benefits of this system do not therefore stem from the development of a new source of funds, or from making users internalize the external costs of their travel, but rather from: the Government commitment to continued financial support over several years, the involvement of the private sector and their responsibility for efficient delivery of service... The shadow toll approach does not require traffic to slow for toll collection (and does not require additional land take for widening the road around toll booths). However because it requires the Government and private sector to agree the vehicle counts and because of the difficulties surrounding legal arrangements, the transaction costs can be very high. This has led to significant criticism of the approach in the Netherlands.
