The Gothenburg congestion charge scheme: A pre-post analysis of commuting behavior and travel satisfaction

The article uses the Gothenburg congestion charge scheme, implemented in 2013, as a case study to analyze the effects and perceptions of a policy instrument directly aimed to change the travel behavior of individuals. For the study, a survey was conducted including measures of commuting habits, attitudes (toward the congestion charge, the environment, automobility, and public transport), and satisfaction with travel, along with socio-demographic and geographical variables. The survey was distributed to a panel of 3500 car owners in the Gothenburg region before the implementation of the scheme, with a follow-up one year later. The analysis use group comparisons and a binary logistic regression analysis and results show that the difference in accessibility of different societal functions using private versus public transport affected the propensity to reduce car travel, whereas socio-demographic variables had a low statistical significance, with the exception of women who were twice as likely to reduce their car travel than men. All studied groups reported a more positive view of the scheme at follow-up, although this effect was more pronounced among those adapting their commuting behavior. In none of the studied groups did the implementation of the congestion charge scheme correlate with any significant change in satisfaction with travel