ITSWCLIVE.com
OCTOBER 2020
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ext year, Q-Free will lead a first-of-itskind European pilot to consider the viability of use-based driver fees to help fund and promote sustainable transportation. The brainchild of Q-Free engineers, notably overall pilot lead, Ola Martin Lykkja, the study aims to develop a solution for a problem many countries face; declining fuel tax revenues as a result of increasingly efficient vehicles and the growth of electric and alternative vehicle technologies. While the worldwide reduction of vehicle emissions is a crucial goal, one unfortunate byproduct is the ever-reducing fuel tax revenue stream that could eventually spiral down to zero. Lykkja says the future of mobility lies in equitable user fees. “Mobility has a value and we should all contribute to help offset the societal burden we cause by putting our cars on the street,” he said. “That burden includes traffic congestion, accidents, air and noise pollution. We’re operating the pilot in Norway but we believe it will have implications around the world.” Conceived by Q-Free, the pilot is run in close collaboration with the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA) and non-profit research organisation, SINTEF. For the three months of the study, 200 drivers will travel around Norway with Q-Free technology on board. That technology will assign user fees based on distance travelled, location and
Q-Free's Ola Martin Lykkja: 'We hope to make a difference in how people perceive the future of mobility'
Q-FREE PILOT “WILL HAVE IMPLICATIONS AROUND THE WORLD” traffic volumes. In addition to assessing the viability of user fees, the project will address privacy and the protection of location and time data generated by test vehicles, and Q-Free hopes one of the
principal outcomes will be in driving sustainability. “This is a significant step on the path to smarter mobility in urban areas,” said Lykkja. “It applies to electric vehicles and new mobility modes as well as
conventional fuel vehicles. With congestion and pollution pricing as cornerstone considerations, we hope to make a difference in how people perceive the future of mobility.” www.q-free.com
Powerful. Flexible. Sustainable.