With the exception of the M-6, the national motorways under PPP contracts in the United Kingdom use either shadow tolls or direct payment mechanisms exclusively.
Early PPP contracts often used shadow tolls based only on traffic volumes. More recent PPP contracts have used a payment mechanism based on various factors, such as congestion, lane availability, minimum performance criteria, and safety. In some cases, the payment is associated primarily with the availability of a required level of service (i.e., an availability payment).6 PPP contractors typically propose the amount of direct payment from the government in their price proposals during procurement. Funding challenges, however, are driving the U.K. government to consider the use of real tolls on future highway PPPs.
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6 The United Kingdom still tolls some bridges in its existing PPP contracts, such as the Second Severn Crossing along the M4.