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

  • Kapsch looks to the future
    December 16, 2014
    Colin Sowman reports from a two-day meeting where industry leaders, academics and political advisers presented their thoughts on the future of mobility. Most governments do not dare to introduce tolling systems… they are too frightened.” So said Georg Kapsch in his capacity of chief operating officer of Kapsch TrafficCom, during a forward-looking press event at the company’s headquarters in Vienna.
  • NATSO dismisses tolling study claims
    September 16, 2013
    NATSO, the US association representing travel plazas and truck-stops, has rejected the report prepared by the Reason Foundation that pushes for widespread tolling. "The public detests interstate tolls, and with good reason," said NATSO president and CEO Lisa Mullings. "Tolls divert motorists and truck drivers to non-interstates, leading to more traffic deaths. Additionally, it costs the government more money to collect tolls than to collect fuel taxes."
  • Airborne traffic monitoring - the future?
    March 1, 2013
    A new frontier in the quest to monitor road traffic is opening up… but using airborne drones to reduce the jams comes with some thorny issues. Chris Tindall reports. Imagine if you could rely on a system that provided all the data you needed to regulate traffic flow, route vehicles and respond swiftly to emergencies for a fraction of the cost of piloting a helicopter. That system exists, but as engineers and traffic managers start to explore the potential of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) – more commonly k
  • Transport integration separates rural idyll from remote isolation
    June 13, 2017
    David Crawford investigates the operation of Total Transport in some of Europe’s more rural areas. Total Transport is a concept that is gaining traction in Europe as a means of making it easier for people without access to a car and living in rural and remote communities, to travel to work, the shops, schools and hospitals. It involves maximising vehicle availability and integrating scheduled services with other transport services (including taxis) commissioned or contracted by more than one local governmen