There are different ways in which the APC can be covered, so please consider using these. The main scenarios are listed below, with an indication of the action which you should take for each:
A. If your Institution is a member of SpringerOpen, the cost of the APC is covered by this; click OPTION 2 at the end of the submission process;
B. If your Institution is a Supporter Member of SpringerOpen, a discount is available; click OPTION 2 at the end of the submission process;
C. If you as lead author are from a low-income country, SpringerOpen routinely waives the APC; click OPTION 3 at the end of the submission process;
D. If you as lead author are a research student, SpringerOpen may waive the APC; click OPTION 3 at the end of the submission process;
E. If you are eligible for support for your APC from your Institution or research funder (e.g. EU FP7, Horizon 2020, Research Councils UK) please take advantage of this funding; click OPTION 1 at the end of the submission process;
F. If your Institution is a member of the European Conference of Transport Research Institutions (ECTRI) the cost of the APC may be covered by ECTRI; please ask the Editor-in-Chief for the submission code; click OPTION 2 at the end of the submission process, select “ECTRI” from the list of institutions and use the submission code as "SpringerOpen account number" when asked.
Payment options that will be shown at the end of the submission process
OPTION 1: I accept responsibility for paying the £900/US$1,410/€1,150 processing charge on this article
Please use this for scenario E above. If you choose this option, if your manuscript is accepted, you will be able to pay by credit card, cheque, purchase order, or institutional invoice, using personal, grant or institutional funds.
OPTION 2: I believe that I am covered by an institutional membership arrangement and wish to request institutional payment or discount (as applicable)
Please use this for scenarios A, B and F above. If your institution is a member of SpringerOpen, the cost of the APC is partially or entirely covered by the membership. In this case, add the SpringerOpen account code or select your institution from the list. For more information about the membership programme, please visit our website.
OPTION 3: I believe I am eligible for a waiver or discount of the article-processing charge
Please use this for scenarios C and D above. Waiver may be granted in the case of genuine inability to pay. If you are requesting a waiver, you must explain in the box below the reason(s) for your request, giving details of how your research has been funded. The names and affiliations of all authors and all sources of funding that contributed to this study should be detailed. Waiver requests must be made at this stage and cannot be made later. Any authors submitting from countries listed in the SpringerOpen waiver fund are recognised at submission and automatically granted a waiver.