Ramsauer: HGV tolling extended to four-lane federal highways

Federal Minister of Transport, Peter Ramsauer (Source: Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development)

date of issue

2012.08.01

serial number

156/2012

Starting today, 1 August 2012, the German HGV tolling scheme has been extended to federal highways with four or more lanes. Accordingly, tolls are now charged not only on the federal motorways, but also on an additional 84 sections of federal highway with a total length of 1,135 kilometres.This is expected to generate extra annual revenue totalling an estimated 100 million euros. This money will be used to boost transport investment.

The Federal Minister of Transport, Peter Ramsauer, said:

"The additional funds will be ring-fenced and used for the upgrading and structural maintenance of the road infrastructure. In doing so, we will be strengthening our "funding cycle for the roads". We will derive obvious benefit in the form of better, more modern and quieter roads. This will be a major competitive advantage for Germany."

The criteria for the selection of the federal highway sections were as follows: the Federal Government is responsible for construction and maintenance; the federal highway has four or six lanes; the carriageways are separated over the entire length by central reservations or other structures; the minimum length is four kilometres; the route is directly connected to a federal motorway; and it is not a road passing through a built-up area.

The volume of traffic diverting to avoid paying tolls will be reduced, because the tolled federal highways are feeder routes to federal motorways, which are already tolled. The toll rates are the same as on federal motorways. Compliance with the obligation to pay tolls will be enforced by the Federal Office for Goods Transport by means of mobile checks. This will include the use of portable devices installed on bridges, for instance.

Ramsauer:

"Toll dodging is not a trivial offence. The new devices will enable us to close the loophole. The checks will become even more unpredictable and more efficient."

Toll Collect has transmitted the new routes to the on-board units in heavy goods vehicles by mobile communications. Tolls will be collected via satellite, as on federal motorways. In addition, the routes have been included in the Internet log-on system and the approximately 3,500 point of payment terminals.