Skip to main content

EU electronic toll service has fallen behind schedule

According to a recent report by the European Commission, EU member states are far behind schedule in implementation of the European Electronic Toll Service (EETS). It is already clear that the target date of 8 October 2012 for heavy duty vehicles will not be met. The system is designed to enable road users to pay tolls throughout the EU with one subscription contract, one service provider and one on-board unit. The aim is to eliminate cumbersome procedures for cross-border users. The legislation requires me
September 10, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
According to a recent report by the 1690 European Commission, EU member states are far behind schedule in implementation of the European Electronic Toll Service (EETS). It is already clear that the target date of 8 October 2012 for heavy duty vehicles will not be met.

The system is designed to enable road users to pay tolls throughout the EU with one subscription contract, one service provider and one on-board unit. The aim is to eliminate cumbersome procedures for cross-border users. The legislation requires member states to open their tolling systems to commercial EETS providers. EETS must be available to all vehicle categories by October 2014.

The report blames incomplete national transposition of the required rules in most member states. There has also been a delay in the necessary investment in both the systems and the resting required by toll chargers.

In response to the report, the Commission has published a warning that it will launch infringement proceedings against member states that fail to meet their obligations to roll out the service. But it also lays out possible assistance the Commission could offer to help speed up the roll-out, including financial assistance for interoperability projects between member states, under the trans-European transport programme.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Drastic action needed to boost EU-wide user-friendly road toll services, says Transport Committee
    April 24, 2013
    To improve interoperability of road charging systems, the European Commission must focus on better implementation of existing legislation and assess the need for new measures to encourage the development of a EU-wide electronic toll system, according to an own-initiative report adopted in the Transport and Tourism Committee. MEPs say incentives for road operators and toll service providers have not been sufficient and criticise lack of action by Member States to develop EU-wide standards, as set out in a Di
  • Outsourcing security weakness for Sweden’s driver and vehicle data
    October 24, 2017
    The security of driver and vehicle data hit the headlines this summer in Sweden and its authorities are still dealing with the fallout. David Crawford reports. epercussions from Sweden’s vehicle data outsourcing scandal continue to reverberate. Transportstyrelsen, the government’s transport agency, came under fire this summer for risking the personal security of over five million motorists by failing to implement full security checks on personnel in other countries to whom individual work packages could
  • OPINION: ITS must be included in EU Green Deal
    September 14, 2022
    To reach the objectives of the European Green Deal, a classification system has been developed to identify environmentally-sustainable activities. However, Richard Lax of Kapsch TrafficCom is worried that it might not have the intended effect – and ITS could lose out as a result…
  • EU aims to turn ITS theory into practice
    May 18, 2016
    Gareth Horton explains how the European Commission’s Transport Research and Innovation Portal can help expedite research and turn theory into practice. Over the next few years Europe’s transport systems face a number of challenges, such as improving urban mobility while at the same time protecting population health and accommodating the accessibility needs of an ageing but active population.