The road to success

EU Infrastructure talks with Ingemar Skogö, Director General of the Swedish Road Administration, about the challenges of managing a national road network.

EUI. International surveys have shown that Sweden has a comparatively low traffic accident rate. To what do you attribute your success in this area?
IS. We have worked patiently on this issue, together with many partners, and on many fronts; our work on higher traffic safety started as early as the 1950s in Sweden. But we still have a long way to go to reach our vision. Today, Sweden has a high usage of safety belts, a low percentage of drunk driving and we have improved the road infrastructure – the addition of centre guardrails on the roads is just one example of that. Fortunately for us, the Swedish car fleet consists of safe cars and Sweden has car manufacturers that are interested in safety issues.

EUI. The number of cars on European roads has surged in recent years, leading to increased congestion and rising pollution levels. Is this a problem in Sweden? What solution are you exploring to address some to these issues?"
IS. In some Swedish regions – mostly in the bigger cities, such as Stockholm and Gothenburg – we have congestion and pollution to the extent that it causes problems. In an effort to combat this, Stockholm has a congestion tax for the inner city zone. Congestion tax is also under discussion in Gothenburg.

We also manage different kinds of traffic information that the drivers can receive, both through the radio and via our traffic management system, and provide data for navigation systems. Where possible, we adjust the road design to maximise the capacity of the roads and, together with municipalities, cities and other partners, try to improve the conditions for other transportation modes such as combination terminals for goods, and improvements for cycling and public transportation.

The pollution levels have generally improved through the combination of several of the above measures. From time to time, we unfortunately experience problems with high levels of particles along the roads in periods of dense traffic. This is mainly due to our winter roads and the high usage of studded tyres. As a result, we are working on new ways of decreasing the spread of particles, as well as a reduced usage of studded tyres.

EUI. Do you think road charging is the answer to easing congestion? What would it take in terms of infrastructure improvements to implement such a scheme? What are the benefits/drawbacks?
IS. We have a positive experience from our road charging experiment in Stockholm City, where we have undertaken a fully automatic congestion tax in the city centre. Our experience is that the congestion has decreased by approximately 10 percent, and acceptance from the public is, overall, positive. However, I think that these kinds of actions must be complemented with improvements in public transport, new trains and buses, traffic planning, parking places adjacent to train and bus stations and also new infrastructure. Success demands a number of coordinated actions in the field of society and traffic.

One additional observation on this point is that, despite the congestion tax, we have seen that the volume of traffic is increasing again slowly due to the fact that people are now getting used to the extra expense.

EUI. This challenge of how to improve mobility while at the same time limiting congestion and pollution is common to countries across Europe. Are you seeing any innovative approaches in other countries that could be adopted in Sweden? To what extent do you collaborate with national road network agencies in other countries to establish best practices and exchange ideas?
IS. The problems and challenges in the Swedish road transport system are not unique to Sweden, and neither are the solutions. We have to collaborate with other countries to adopt their solutions, if appropriate for us. We cannot afford to tackle all the problems and challenges ourselves, even though we already spend significant financial resources on initiating and undertaking research and development activities.

Around Europe and the rest of the world, we see a lot of innovative road infrastructure solutions that we would like to adopt in Sweden – for example, different solutions to solve congestion by using the road area more effectively and through more effective traffic management. Examples of this include hard shoulder running, different times for delivery transport to use narrow roads for unloading, ‘slot times’ and so on.

We try to follow new innovative solutions around the world. Our experience is that international networks are a valuable tool for collecting information and also initiating innovative projects in cooperation with other countries. The World Road Association (PIARC), the Nordic Association for Road and Traffic Association (NVF) and the Conference of European Directors of Roads (CEDR) are valuable forums for us.

Also promising is our ERA-NET ROAD collaboration funded by the European Commission. This collaboration has demonstrated that the national road administrations are more or less facing the same problems and challenges for the future, and thus we are able to jointly formulate common research needs. The most appropriate research provider in Europe is then contracted to undertake this research.

In Sweden, for instance, the last year has seen us examining the importance of integrated land-use and urban planning. The urban areas and their road networks must jointly be designed in such a way that we achieve a transport-efficient society – one where the importance of demand management must be stressed. Another aspect of our research into greenhouse gas emissions is to focus on the importance of developing energy efficient road management and operation. After all, cars are not the only GHG emitters.

EUI. How are you partnering with the private sector to map out the strategic development of Sweden’s road infrastructure?
IS. The Swedish Road Administration has long had an open dialogue with representatives of the private sector, car and truck producers, transport companies and so on. Through this we can identify their different needs within our remit of responsibility. We also need to cooperate with contractors, consultancy firms and other businesses within the construction field in order to improve and develop Sweden’s infrastructure. Therefore, we have several collaborative projects in this area. The major one was initiated by the Director General of the Swedish Rail Administration and myself, and is called FIA ( FIA is a Swedish acronym that translates as ”renewal in the construction industry”) . The private sector is involved and the goal of the FIA is to rethink construction by sharing the knowledge we all have and together renew and develop the industry and thereby the road infrastructure.

EUI. Technological innovation has a huge role to play in enabling better use of the transportation infrastructure. What impact is the application of technology such as intelligent transport systems having on the Swedish road network?
IS. ITS is a tool that can contribute to greener, safer and smarter transport, and plays a key role in delivering safe, efficient, sustainable and seamless transport systems. Examples are through traffic management and traffic control, road charging, route navigation, and in-vehicle support systems that enable lane control, speed control (ISA), provide assistance at an emergency situation through automatic communication with rescue services (eCall) and systems for collision avoidance. These research and development activities are in many cases undertaken within the framework of the Swedish public-private joint research program Intelligent Vehicle Safety Systems (IVSS).

EUI. With environmental considerations currently enjoying such a high profile, what is your organisation doing to promote greener, more sustainable use of the road network?
IS. We take part in national and international negotiations (for instance, in the EU), providing facts about vehicles and fuels and how their environmental qualities can be improved. We are also involved in the discussion about taxation per kilometre by providing knowledge and facts about the conceivable environmental benefits of this. The Swedish Road Administration supports the business world and organisations with knowledge and experience in order for them to develop a more sustainable business. Examples are eco-cars, car pools, planning of public transportation and eco-driving.

The Swedish Road Administration has overall responsibility for the entire road transport system in Sweden, and is focused on a number of key challenges – more efficient road management, better mobility for commuters and goods transport and making the road network a more accessible and sustainable transport system.

The value of ITS
There are various types of IT support available along main roads in Sweden that offer support during a journey. There are also a large number of sensors along the roads that collect traffic data.

Electronic signs
Along roads, mainly on approaches to main cities, there are signs that provide information about possible accidents or if there is a risk for queuing. Some signs are used to direct and control traffic if this is necessary. There are signs along the roads that show road surface and air temperature. Trials are also in progress to warn motorists if wildlife is approaching the road.

Variable speed limits
Speed signs that change the highest permitted speed limit depending on the condition of the road, the number of cars on the road, visibility etc are being tested at several locations in Sweden. The trial is in part to show that the motivation to maintain speed limits increases when speed limits are based on prevailing conditions.

Finding an available parking space
There are signs in many cities and towns that indicate how many parking spaces are available in a specific part of town.

Automatic speed surveillance
Automatic speed surveillance has proven to be a good method to reduce speeds, increase road safety and reduce environmental impact. Seven of ten motorists approve of the system.

Smart traffic signals
Some traffic signals can manage traffic to minimise queues. This flow is based on how the traffic situation is at that time. Smart traffic signals can also prioritise public transport and emergency services at a junction and make it easier for pedestrians to cross a busy street.