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Please click the image on the left to open up a pdf version of the PRoGR€SS brochure. (PDF: 253 Kb / 4 pages)

An introduction to the project and its objectives
The PRoGR€SS project has been developed in response to the task on Competitive and Sustainable Growth under the European Commission's Fifth Framework Programme. The overall objective of the PRoGR€SS project is:

"To demonstrate and evaluate the effectiveness and acceptance of integrated urban transport pricing schemes to achieve transport goals and raise revenue."

This objective supports the Commission's policy direction set out in the Communication "Developing the Citizen's Network" and the White Paper "Fair Payment for Infrastructure Use". These documents indicate the importance of urban transport pricing as a tool to support sustainable local transport systems. The key questions for policy developments are:


	The public and political acceptance of urban pricing schemes

	And the effectiveness of these schemes in meeting social and transport goals

Existing research has focused on theoretical studies with limited demonstration. The remaining questions on acceptance and effectiveness can only now be answered with larger scale demonstration and experimentation in order to test pricing schemes in real-life situations. The results from these demonstrations need to support policy development and provide guidance on effective implementation and exploitation of the transport pricing concept. By working together as key leading road pricing demonstration sites, local and EU added value will be generated in the following ways:

	The sites politically support each other, helping local acceptance of schemes.

	Contribution to the development of common standards in equipment.

	The integration of electronic payment systems allowing common payment of tolls, public transport fares, parking costs, and other local goods and services.

	The knowledge gained will contribute to recommendations and guidelines that can be used to help other cities progress their own pricing schemes.

	The results and experience of the PRoGR€SS project can be widely disseminated through city networks such as POLIS and EURoPrice.

How the work will be carried out The overall objective of the PRoGR€SS project will be achieved by focusing on the following project goals:


	To provide effective co-ordination between the demonstration sites, and with the thematic network, CUPID

	To develop and demonstrate integrated urban transport pricing schemes, based on the concept of marginal-cost pricing, in real urban situations

	To develop and assess the political, economic and social framework required for the implementation of urban transport pricing

	To evaluate the impact and effectiveness of these demonstrations

	To support the work of the thematic network by providing policy results at the local level

	To develop material for dissemination of the demonstration and evaluation results at the local and national level, and at the European level through the thematic network

These project goals will be achieved by working through 7 specific workpackages:

Work Package Plan (PDF: 12 Kb / 1 page)

The Project Partnership
The consortium consists of 8 principal contractors, including the co-ordinator, to lead the work in each of the demonstration sites, and 20 other key organisations (or associate contractors) required to carry out the demonstration and validation activities. These organisations come from 8 cities in 6 member states and have the following key characteristics:

Transport authorities - these include city authorities, national road authorities and city mobility agencies. These authorities are critical in providing the policy direction for the pricing schemes, and will be instrumental in the implementation of such schemes. These transport authorities will also be providing significant investment in the development of the road pricing schemes demonstrated in PRoGR€SS.

Public transport operators - these organisations will be central in ensuring that alternatives to car travel are in place, and that the public transport tariff structures and payment systems are complementary to those used for road pricing.

Research and consultancy organisations - these organisations include leading European transport consultancies and university-based research organisations. They will provide essential expertise to support the transport authorities in the development, implementation and demonstration of the road pricing schemes. These organisations will also take a lead role in the validation activities, including the development of key policy recommendations for the European Commission.

For more information on any of these partners, visit the Member Cities pages: click on a city, and you can find out about the work to be carried out at that site, and the companies who will be carrying it out. Hotlinks here can be used to visit the websites of the individual contractors.

PRoGR€SS and CUPID Joint Press Release (PDF: 41 Kb / 3 pages)