trans.info — 2022-11-25
Land transportation
The reason for the increase is to provide more revenue to the state.
Transport Minister Volker Wissing said that the majority of goods traffic takes place on the road. A new EU directive makes it possible to take greater account of the costs of noise and air pollution when calculating toll rates.
“This federal government has decided to make use of it. And that’s only fair,” he claimed.
The annual average of toll revenue in the years 2023 to 2027 is expected to be around €8.3bn. In 2022, they were around €7.6bn, DPA explains.
The result of the toll adjustment is moderately increasing rates, the report adds, but it doesn’t specify the exact figures.
However, to be able to increase the noise and air pollution charge, the Federal Highway Toll Act first needs to be amended by the Bundesrat, the legislative body that represents the sixteen Länder (federated states) of Germany. This hasn’t happened yet.
The government’s decision yesterday was preceded by months of fierce debate in Germany, carriers had expressed their concerns about putting an additional burden on the transport and logistics industry, which is already struggling with the increased energy costs.