German road toll to cost foreign drivers up to €130 a year

The German government has introduced a controversial road toll which will force foreign car drivers to pay up to €130 (US$162) a year for using Germany's autobahn motorways.
November 3, 2014 Read time: 2 mins

 The German government has introduced a controversial road toll which will force foreign car drivers to pay up to €130 (US$162) a year for using Germany's autobahn motorways.

The plan, intended to help the country fund the upkeep of its transport infrastructure which is used by millions of foreign vehicles, may yet face a legal challenge in Brussels for discriminating against foreign motorists.

After months of heated debate between Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party Christian Social Union (CSU), Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt dropped an original idea to raise the fee on all roads.

However, he stuck to the plan that the toll will not lead to extra costs for German drivers by allowing them to offset the levy against an already existing motor vehicle tax. Dobrindt, a leading member of the CSU, said he was convinced that his draft law does not discriminate against foreign motorists and therefore would stand if challenged in court.

“The infrastructure fee is sensible, fair and just,” the minister said, adding that the revenues of the toll would only be used to modernise Germany’s motorways and main roads.

The toll is expected to be introduced in 2016. Motorists have to register their vehicle details via the internet. Foreign drivers can also pay the levy at petrol stations. The fee will take into account the vehicle’s cylinder capacity and environmental compatibility with a maximum toll of €130 a year. Foreign drivers can pay a ten-day levy for €10 (US$13) or two month for €22 (US$27).

Dobrindt’s CSU wants foreign motorists to pay tolls on motorways because they think it is unfair that foreigners travel for free in Germany while German drivers have to pay tolls in neighbouring countries like Austria, Switzerland and France.

The CSU pressed the motorway toll issue in coalition talks after last year’s German federal elections. But Merkel’s CDU and its other coalition ally, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), said they would only back the toll if it did not lead to extra costs for German motorists and if it complied with 1816 European Union rules that prohibit discrimination against foreign motorists.

Germany has already introduced a satellite-based toll system for lorries that obliges truck drivers to pay on motorways. This toll depends on the number of kilometres actually driven.

Charging, Tolling & RUC

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Preparations building for French national truck toll
    September 12, 2012
    The Autostrade led Ecomouv consortium is developing the next big system of truck tolling likely to be introduced in Europe – France’s ‘Eco-tax’. Jon Masters reports. Since October last year, a consortium of companies has been working on developing the technological and administrative systems necessary for a national system of truck tolling in France. Eco-tax, France’s truck toll, is not necessarily going to be implemented. The Ecomouv consortium has been set up as a long term concessionaire, but so far only
    Read More
  • Lorry levy a success after only four months
    August 15, 2014
    The HGV road user levy has made more than £17 million in the four months since it came into operation, says the UK Department for Transport. More than 618,000 levies have been purchased for over 112,000 vehicles from 76 different countries since the HGV road user levy was introduced in April 2014 – which has produced enough money to patch more than 320,000 potholes on the UK’s roads. Recent evidence shows over 95% of heavy goods vehicle operators are paying the new levy in Great Britain. Roadside chec
    Read More
  • Rhode Island RhodeWorks plan opposed by ATA
    May 29, 2015
    Rhode Island government (RIDOT) has introduced its RhodeWorks plan, designed to address the state's crumbling transportation infrastructure. Rhode Island ranks 50th out of 50 states in overall bridge condition and has lost 1,200 in the construction sector over the past three months. RhodeWorks is focused on solving these two problems at once.
    Read More
  • Siemens installs truck parking information system
    June 5, 2015
    With the number of heavy goods vehicles on Germany’s roads growing, German automobile association ADAC reports that most truck drivers struggle to find parking up to six times a week. Another study finds there is already a shortfall of almost 11,000 truck parking spaces across the country’s autobahn network. However, new truck parking information system which provides real-time data on parking space occupancy at rest areas is now available to help drivers plan ahead and aim for a specific parking locatio
    Read More

Highlighted Content