Stockholm introduces road charge

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The Swedish capital, Stockholm, has introduced a road tax on vehicles in an effort to cut traffic volumes and noise and air pollution.

City residents gave the go-ahead for the permanent toll of 10-20 Swedish kronor ($1.5-3; £0.7-1.4) after a trial period and a referendum last year.

Money earned from the scheme is to be used to improve the transport network.

Similar congestion-charging schemes are already in place in London, Singapore, Oslo and Rome.

Under the Stockholm scheme, drivers are charged for entering or leaving the city between 0630 and 1829 hours every weekday.

Buses and vehicles driven by disabled people are exempt and the charge is tax-deductible for businesses.

According to the AFP news agency, the impact of the scheme was hard to assess on its first day, with many Stockholm residents away on summer holidays.

Despite having only 760,000 inhabitants, Stockholm regularly falls prey to large traffic jams.

An estimate in 2006 showed that half a million cars used its roads every day.