IRF Sessions @ Intertraffic Amsterdam 2026

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IRF Seminar: Future Road Funding Road User Charging and Concessions: Competing or Complementary Models for Europe?

Date & Time: Wednesday, March 11, 2026 | 10:00-12:00 | Room G-106

Across Europe, many motorway concession contracts will expire in the coming decade, while fuel tax revenues are declining due to more efficient vehicles and the rapid growth of electric mobility. Together, these developments and legal requirements for competitive re-tendering, derived from Directive 2014/23/EU, are prompting governments and road authorities to reassess how road networks will be funded, operated, and governed in the future.

This roundtable, organized by the IRF Global Road Pricing Committee, explores the evolving relationship between Road User Charging (RUC) and concession-based models. Rather than assuming a simple transition from one system to another, the session will explore whether RUC and concessions could coexist, complement each other, or be integrated in new ways.

Motorway concessions have historically delivered high standards of maintenance, safety, monitoring, and service quality, supported by clear performance incentives and long-term contractual frameworks. Concessionaires continue to demonstrate innovation and operational excellence. As Europe considers wider, network-wide RUC systems for all vehicles, a central question is how these strengths can be preserved or adapted, and what future roles concessionaires may play.

The discussion will address whether RUC can strengthen long-term road funding alongside concession models, it’s potential in replacing or supplementing fuel tax revenues, how high standards of network performance and safety can be maintained, and how charging and mobility data can support planning and demand management.

The aim of the session is to discuss key policy, technical, and institutional questions that require further research, testing, and international cooperation.

The discussion will draw on case studies from Portugal and France, as well as international experience, including New Zealand’s road pricing futures, the roundtable will invite experts to exchange views on practical pathways for Europe’s future road funding and governance.

Speakers:

Jorge Alves Lopes, Board Advisor, Brisa
Ricardo Tiago, Senior Advisor, Institute for Mobility and Transport, Portugal
Benoît Rossi, Chair, IRF Committee Road Pricing, Emovis
Nina Elter, Senior Advisor, IRF Global

Safer Work Zone Practices: Are Your Work Zones Putting Lives at Risk?

Date & Time: March 11, 2026  | 12:30 – 13:30| Room G-106