Citizen participation or representative government – Building legitimacy for the Gothenburg congestion tax

• Analyses the policy process behind the introduction of the Gothenburg congestion tax.
• Assesses strategies of building legitimacy for congestion charges.
• Concludes that legitimacy was built through representative government.
• Identifies a lack of citizen participation.
• Discusses long-term implications for public trust in democratic institutions.

A key dilemma in transport planning involves how to make possible the radical changes needed for long-term sustainability while ensuring political legitimacy and democratic process. Congestion charges are a case in point; despite their being considered an effective policy measure for improving environmental and health problems in cities, it has proved difficult to secure public acceptance for them. This paper analyses the policy process behind the introduction of a congestion tax in the Swedish city of Gothenburg, focusing on strategies for building legitimacy for the tax. The results show that the tax was legitimated primarily through its broad support in the City Council, which had been secured by integrating the tax with infrastructure investments, while strategies for directly involving the citizens in the process, such as public consultation and local referendums, were neglected or actively opposed. The process successfully generated a capacity for decisive political action legitimated through representative government. Over time the decision may gain public acceptance, but the process used might also prove detrimental to the future of the congestion tax and undermine trust in the democratic institutions.