Road pricing is unfair to rural residents. That says chairman Robert Leever of the P10, the partnership for rural municipalities, which also includes De Wolden, Midden-Drenthe, Westerveld, Borger-Odoorn and Aa en Hunze.
Last week, the cabinet shared its intention to introduce a single rate of 7 to 8 cents per kilometre. Car owners pay that amount per kilometer driven, across the country, on any type of road and at any time. Much to P10’s horror. “That is disproportionately hard for rural residents. They usually cannot choose to leave the car at all,” says Leever.
People living in rural areas are often dependent on a car, have to drive further and further because facilities are disappearing from villages and have less or no access to public transport in those places, says P10.
“Introducing a single fare without investment in public transport and in alternative solutions for mobility disproportionately restricts rural residents,” said Leever. P10 wants the road pricing system to take into account the specific needs of rural areas. Money is also needed to maintain the standard of living.
The cabinet will probably introduce a law in the autumn that should make it possible to pay per kilometer.