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

  • Transport MEPs set out steps to achieve transport roadmap goals
    July 15, 2015
    To ensure the competitiveness and sustainability of EU transport, concrete measures are still needed, said MEPs in a report adopted in the Transport and Tourism Committee (TRAN) this week and intended to feed into the Commission review of the 2011 White Paper on Transport. Further efforts to boost air, road, rail and maritime transport, reduce road injuries and close loopholes in passenger rights legislation should be made, they add. The transport sector is a driving force of the EU economy and should
  • IBTTA’s Jones sees turbulent times and a bright future for tolling
    November 10, 2017
    Colin Sowman talks to IBTTA’s Pat Jones about the future of tolling in a fast-changing world. Pat Jones may have been executive director and CEO of the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) for 15 years but in his words: “Never before have I seen so much change coming so fast in the transportation and tolling industry.” Amidst all this change, tolling companies are asked to provide funding for roadway building or improvements which will be repaid for over, say, a 30-year concess
  • Peer-to-Peer carsharing in Europe projected to grow significantly
    August 24, 2012
    According to Frost & Sullivan, by 2020 more than 200 traditional carsharing organisations (CSOs) and another 24 Peer-to-Peer (P2P) CSOs are expected to take the European market for carsharing to new heights. More than 14 million new members are expected to use carsharing services in Europe by the same year, while three new sub-segments will emerge in the market: electric vehicle carsharing, corporate carsharing and one-way carsharing. While the new segments arise in particular due to continued urbanisation
  • Debating contactless toll charging by smartphone
    April 25, 2012
    Developments in the mass transit sector could provide indicators of potential for greater use of mobile consumer electronic devices for charging and tolling, according to Consult Hyperion’s Mike Burden. However, opinion among toll system suppliers is divided. Jason Barnes reports The combination of mass-market devices and their protocols, typified by smartphones featuring near field communication (NFC), points to some exciting cross-fertilisation possibilities in the charging and tolling sector, says Consul