Project background

The need for heavy vehicles in Europe to pay road tax where they drive instead of where the vehicle is registered, combined with the possibilities offered by new technologies triggered the start of the Swedish Tango Collect project to explore the new options between the years 2004-2005. In Tango Collect the idea was born to create an arena for consolidating the overall knowledge within road user charging. This later became the ARENA project, whose first phase started in 2006. ARENA with its interaction with the environment between industry, researchers and authorities had the specific objective of developing a concept for a road user charging system for heavy goods vehicles in Sweden. The second phase, ongoing since 2008, is now well underway in collaboration between NetPort.Karlshamn and the cooperation partners Sweco and Blekinge Institute of Technology. The Swedish Transport Administration, VINNOVA and the European Regional Development Funds are funding the project. A large number of agencies, organizations and companies from different parts of the world are involved in the ARENA project, which thus perform its function on a national and an international level.