The CEDAR project: charging electronically by distance and road: a trial of distance-based road user charging in southern England

CEDAR is a technology trial of Distance-Based Road User Charging in Southern England, using GPS-based On-Board Equipment to improve transport logistics and reduce congestion, extending the successful trials Thales carried out for Transport for London. CEDAR Partners are: o Thales (Project Leader, technology developer); o University of Southampton Transportation Research Group (user studies) o Swindon Borough Council (User Partner, vehicle provider, trial site). The project is part-funded by the UK Technology Strategy Board, and began in May 2008. The objectives are to: o demonstrate that the technology works reliably to implement Time-Distance-Place (TDP) charging in a typical area of the UK o use more advanced OBEs and algorithms than in the TfL trials – using the software developed for the RCI (Road Charging Interoperability) project o identify additional value-added applications of the technology o understand how a complete system can influence the behavioural response of private & commercial drivers o assess the potential to reduce congestion and pollution Two sets of field trials and user studies will be undertaken: o 20 Swindon Borough Council vehicles will travel their normal routes. o Another 20 volunteer drivers/vehicles from organisations in Swindon -- to determine behavioural change. The trials will start in early 2009, using two charging zones, one in the centre of Swindon, the other covering a larger area including the M4 motorway