Skip to main content

Germany’s toll plan could ‘generate US$540 million’

Germany's Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, has passed a law which would see the introduction of a road toll for cars registered abroad with prices linked to environmental criteria, according to Reuters. Under the toll, cars that pollute less will pay a lower rate. The maximum annual cost for a foreign vehicle would be US$141 (€130). Originally proposed in 2015, the law was disputed by the European Commission and other European countries, which claimed it would be discriminatory towards non-Germ
March 28, 2017 Read time: 1 min
Germany's Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, has passed a law which would see the introduction of  a road toll for cars registered abroad with prices linked to environmental criteria, according to Reuters. Under the toll, cars that pollute less will pay a lower rate. The maximum annual cost for a foreign vehicle would be US$141 (€130).

Originally proposed in 2015, the law was disputed by the European Commission and other European countries, which claimed it would be discriminatory towards non-German drivers and against EU rules. After the German transport minister agreed to compromises, the Commission eventually cleared the way for the law.

The German government expects the toll to generate around $540 million (€500 million) per year in revenues from foreign drivers.

Related Content

  • February 2, 2012
    Financing the US road infrastructure – road user charging?
    In the US, the National Transportation Infrastructure Financing Commission's report to Congress will state that a national, distance-based charging is the only long-term solution to the country's infrastructure financing problems. The Commission's Chair, Rob Atkinson, talks to ITS International
  • April 9, 2014
    Brazil opts for freeflow tolling
    David Crawford explores the technical background of Brazil’s First multi-lane free-flow tolling system. The 2013 opening of Brazil’s first fully-operational, all-vehicle, multi-lane free-flow (MLFF) tolling system in the state of São Paolo has set the scene for a new phase of modern electronic fee collection (EFC) deployment in Latin America’s largest country. It has toll programmes at both federal and state levels, with São Paulo – the most populous state, with the largest road network – leading in the awa
  • December 1, 2015
    VW scandal prompts emissions testing debate
    In the wake of the VW scandal John Kendall looks at emissions testing on both sides of the Atlantic. Since the VW emissions story broke in September, emissions testing has come under greater scrutiny, and none more so than in Europe, where critics have long been highlighting the weaknesses of the testing system. Ironically, changes to the emissions testing process were already under review but the story has pushed it up the agenda.
  • January 14, 2020
    Future of tolling: the priorities
    In the final part of his investigation into the future of tolling technology, Josef Czako of Moving Forward Consulting asks what industry figures see as the priorities going forward…