Norway has not decided to fit GPS trackers in all cars

Last night, Twitter personality Peter Sweden told his 138 000 followers that 'Norway is working on introducing a new tax' for every driven kilometer by car. This is done, according to Peter Sweden, by installing a GPS tracker in all cars.

This is not correct. In March this year, the Norwegian Parliament considered three proposals on so-called 'road pricing'. Neither of them were passed.

However, a proposal on 'including a consideration of new technology that can replace today's toll road systems' was voted through. It was proposed to make this a part of the government review of the current motor vehicle taxation system.

This means that road pricing has not been adopted in Norway.

Peter Sweden's tweets came after the national public service broadcaster NRK.no wrote about a new report by the Norwegian Institute of Transport Economics. The report recommends that tolls and most motor vehicle taxes can be replaced by so-called marginal cost road pricing. In this context, marginal cost road pricing means that road users pay a fee determined by the vehicle's characteristics, the distance driven and the time and area of driving.

The report also suggest that each individual vehicle would be fitted with an onboard GPS unit that automatically reports where and when the car are driven.

The report was not commissioned by the Norwegian Parliament or Government. It was funded by the Norwegian Institute of Transport Economics and the Research Council of Norway, and is best described as a draft of a possible future motor vehicle taxation system.