Support for city road tolls: a question of self-interest?

This study aims to more clearly understand which factors shape attitudes toward city road tolls. Does the reported overall low support permeate the entire population? Presented analyses are based on population survey data from Munich and four surrounding municipalities. More than 1300 respondents rated more than 5300 fictious toll schemes in the early summer of 2018. A unique combination of a factorial survey experiment, information on personal vehicle usage, and neighborhood context information extends existing approaches. By distinguishing specific subgroups possibly affected differently by the introduction of a city road toll, underlying mechanisms can be disentangled. Results show that 1) overall support is low, but differs between subgroups, that 2) institutional design is important to citizens, but that 3) relevant factors also differ between subgroups. Aside from general beliefs concerning policy consequences, individual self-interest proves particularly important in the formation of attitudes toward city road tolls.