Australian passenger vehicle classification and distance‐based charging: current practices and the way forward

Road congestion and infrastructure funding challenges have become a major concern in urban centres in Australia. Recent debates pertaining to private motor vehicle usage have renewed interest in alternative road user charging (RUC) to internalise the external costs associated with private motor vehicle usage. One possible solution is distance‐based charging (DBC), which could provide a more transparent road pricing system. We review the salient features of RUC and DBC, the costs associated with private vehicle usage that DBC is expected to capture, and undertake an analysis of existing vehicle classification systems that underpin current RUC schemes within Australia. Based on this, we propose a new vehicle classification system that could be used to support the design of a workable DBC scheme.