One of the immediate objectives of RECORDIT is to compare real costs
with prices for intermodal and road transport. Therefore the nature and structure of the
taxes and charges in European countries will be identified and the price that shippers
have to pay for intermodal and road transport along the selected corridors will be
calculated. This is the main objective of Working Package 5 (WP5) which will be fulfilled
by dealing with three tasks.
Task 5.1
Identification of relevant taxes, subsidies and charges
A standardised format will be applied to accommodate country-based data
on:
- taxes, subsidies and duties levied at the various steps of the intermodal transport chains
- charges paid by the users/operators.
A table, crossing the types of taxes, subsidies and charges with
countries, facilitates data collection in Task 5.2. A
clear distinction will be made between direct and indirect taxes and subsidies, since they
may result in different incentives on shipper and transporter behaviour. It is assumed
that the relevant taxes (on fuel, on road-rail transhipment, etc.), subsidies, charges,
charging principles and criteria are fairly homogeneous within any given country.
Differences may however appear even within a given country, and the data format will
accommodate such differences as needed, through the introduction of corridor specific
charges. The appropriate distinctions will also be made between loading units and product
categories like e.g. dangerous goods, conditioned goods, etc.
Task 5.2
Collection of relevant quantitative data
Countries with and without a selected corridor will be analysed to
systematically complete the table from Task 5.1. Each mode
as well as transhipment operations will be included. All partners collect data according
to the table in their and neighbouring countries. Input from the User’s group will be
fundamental.
Task 5.3
Calculation of ‘correct’ prices of intermodal and road transport
The RECORDIT corridors will be specifically analysed and compared. In
the selected corridors, the price per consignment of intermodal transport will be
calculated, and estimated as the sum of charges, subsidies and taxes previously defined
and informed. Here again, the experience of the User’s group will prove essential to
validate the results of the price calculation through their comparison with the day-to-day
experience of operators and shippers. It is expected that some difficulties will be
encountered in identifying the national components of selected items, such as e.g. fuel
taxes. Weighing the corresponding tax components by the length of the national segments
and other similar apportionments will be used as a means to resolve such obstacles.
Similar approaches will be followed to account for the distinction between the different
kinds of load units. Corridors will be considered as a sequence of ‘building
blocks’, corresponding to the various links and nodes. Total price per load unit will
be then calculated as the straightforward sum of the price for each building block,
determined by fixed and variable prices, using prices per tonnekilometer.
The final output will be in the form of door-to-door, corridor specific
prices, corresponding to the price values which should in theory be imposed upon users.
All-road prices along the same corridors will be systematically assessed for comparison
purposes in WP6. We will prepare a comprehensive report of WP5 by
the end of January 2001 including price calculation and comparison of prices for
intermodal transport and road transport along the selected corridors.
|
![Home [RECORDIT Logo]](../images/logo1.gif){kind=logo}
![Home [RECORDIT Logo]](../images/logo2.gif){kind=logo}
