Infrastructure for Mileage-Based Tehran Traffic Scheme Is Being Implemented

Infrastructure for Mileage-Based Tehran Traffic Scheme Is Being Implemented

According to a Mehr reporter, changing the method of calculating Tehran traffic scheme tolls and moving toward a mileage-based model requires the technical and software infrastructure to be provided; a matter which, according to the CEO of the Tehran Municipality's Transport and Traffic Organization, the related measures have begun and the necessary contracts have also been signed.

Pouria Alimardani, CEO of the Tehran Municipality's Transport and Traffic Organization, in an interview with a Mehr reporter, said about the latest state of the traffic scheme's move toward a mileage-based model: Given that the traffic scheme was supposed to move toward being mileage-based, the camera and software infrastructure required for this method has not yet been provided.

He added: The contracts related to this sector have been concluded, and the Traffic Control Company is providing the necessary infrastructure so that the possibility of implementing this method is provided.

Stating that these measures are currently at the implementation stage, Alimardani continued: With the creation of this infrastructure, God willing, the traffic scheme can be taken from its current state toward being mileage-based; in the sense that the distance vehicles travel within Tehran's central zone will be influential in calculating the tolls.

The CEO of the Tehran Municipality's Transport and Traffic Organization explained: In this model, the greater the distance a vehicle travels within Tehran's central zone, the higher the toll that will be received from the citizen.

Emphasizing that this method has not yet reached the implementation stage, he said: At present, the same entry-and-exit method that existed in the past is still the basis for calculating tolls, and changing it to the mileage-based model requires completion of the camera and software infrastructure.

Alimardani added: With the creation and strengthening of this infrastructure, for which the arrangements have been considered, its contracts concluded and which is being implemented, it becomes possible for the frequency of trips and the distance vehicles travel within Tehran's central zone to have a greater effect on the amount of toll paid.

He noted: The Traffic Control Company is carrying out the measures related to this sector, and with the completion of the required infrastructure, the possibility of moving toward mileage-based implementation in the traffic scheme will be provided.
Accordingly, while the current method of calculating traffic scheme tolls is still carried out on the basis of vehicles' entry and exit, the Tehran Municipality is completing the necessary infrastructure to change this mechanism, so that in the mileage-based model the volume of trips and the distance a vehicle travels within the city's central zone are also taken into account in determining the toll.