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Table 1 Policy Incentives for Promoting MFT
From: Analysis of the barriers to multimodal freight transport and their mitigation strategies
Incentive policies | Description |
|---|---|
Grants for MFT infrastructure and equipment | Grants for companies to buy intermodal handling equipment, construct new terminals, or expand existing terminals. For example, funding transport infrastructure (TEN-T projects) in Europe. |
Exemption from road vehicle tax. | Exempting liftable semi-trailers used in MFT from the road vehicle tax. |
Exemption from cabotage restrictions. | To promote MFT, governments can exempt the initial and final road trips of MFT made by foreign haulers (i.e., cabotage) from traffic restrictions. |
Increasing max gross weight of road vehicle for MFT transport | Governments may allow more cargo weight on semi-trailers within MFT than those in road transport. |
Partnership programs | Public private-partnership programs for co-financing the construction of new terminals. For example, the public entity owns the land while the private company constructs the terminals and ensures enough demand for the MFT services in the future. |
Subsidies to freight operators. | Financial aids can be introduced in the form of a reduction of track access charges as well as custom costs during MFT operations and a waiver of road toll charges. For example, The Marco Polo Program in Europe compensated projects with €1–2 per 500 tkm shifted. |