NEWROAD Proud to Be Part of the SPRUCE Network
Since its launch in 2023, NEWROAD has been a member of SPRUCE – Specialists Providing Road User Charging Expertise – a global network of independent experts committed to advancing sustainable, fair, and effective road pricing systems.
SPRUCE members bring experience from across sectors and continents, contributing deep expertise to road user charging (RUC) projects in a wide range of political, cultural, and institutional settings. What unites them is a shared belief: RUC is a viable and necessary tool for the future of infrastructure funding and mobility management.
The Are you Ready to RUC? podcast series, hosted by transport technology journalist Kevin Borras, highlights the depth and diversity of the SPRUCE team. Each episode explores key aspects of RUC – its design, deployment, challenges, and impact – through the lens of personal experience and sector-wide insight.
In Episode 8 of the podcast, NEWROAD Founder and CEO Nina Elter shares insights from over two decades of experience in road pricing and tolling across Europe, North America, and beyond. She outlines her system-focused, collaborative approach to shaping RUC solutions that are not only technically sound but also publicly accepted and policy-aligned.
“Successful RUC implementation hinges on aligning technology with public perception, policy frameworks, and effective change management,” Nina explains in the interview. “It’s about building understanding, gaining acceptance, and maintaining trust in the system.”
She emphasized that fairness -a core concept in RUC – is deeply shaped by public perception, and that successful implementation requires effective communication, clear leadership, and long-term transparency. From her perspective, public understanding of how roads are funded is often limited, making the introduction of new systems a challenge unless trust is established from the start.
Listen to the full episode here: YouTube – Are You Ready to RUC? Episode 8
When reflecting on what makes SPRUCE unique, Nina said: “What I value most is the diversity of experience and the healthy discussions we have as a group. We don’t always agree -and that’s the point. It’s in those conversations that new insights emerge.”
SPRUCE is not a commercial entity; it’s a network of independent professionals who understand the practical and political realities of RUC, who collaborate, challenge each other and share lessons from across regions.
The full podcast library can be found here.