Strictly speaking, tolls are not a modern invention. Tolling is, in fact, an ancient tradition, with its origins rooted in history.

 

Tolling has served numerous and wide-ranging purposes across the ages. While initially providing right of way, tolls were later used to finance the building and maintenance of infrastructure, before becoming a means of internalising external costs and managing demand. Nowadays, two main arguments are put forward for the introduction of tolls: to meet funding requirements and to respond to society’s desire for efficient use of infrastructure. However, as this Round Table shows, tolls are not a universal panacea and the introduction of road tolls is a politically delicate issue.

The Round Table provides a broad view of both the theoretical aspects of tolling and the practical problems posed by its introduction. It takes a scientific look at what is a burning issue, at a time when a number of countries are envisaging the widespread adoption of electronic tolls.