Brussels wants to unify road tolls in the European Union. Soon a detailed proposition will be presented.
Transport commissioner Violeta Bulc has been striving for one toll in the whole EU for many years It is expected that in May, during the presentation of the Road Package (a number of legislative initiatives on EU transport) she will also present a detailed proposition of unified road toll in the EU.
Toll depending on mileage and CO2 emissions
Two Brussels representatives reveal now that the toll will depend on the mileage and emissions. Therefore, drivers of passenger cars, minivans, buses and trucks which emit more CO2 will pay more. The Commission wants to abandon the periodic fee systems.
Vignettes, the prices of which depend on the validity period, are currently in force in Austria, Switzerland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Romania.
The main objective of Brussels
The main objective of the Commission is to motivate vehicle manufacturers, especially those who manufacture trucks, to use technologies that help reduce carbon dioxide emission.
According to the last ICCT report (International Council on Clean Transportation) heavy goods vehicles represent of the overall traffic on EU roads but they account for 30% of CO2 emissions generated by cars.
ACEA supports the system of fees based on the CO2 emissions provided that it will promote low emissions in real road conditions and will allow fair competition for different types of vehicles.
Any toll that does not take into account the real emissions or the total vehicle combination (tires, weight, aerodynamics) will harm the fleet” – says ACEA.
However, there is no doubt that the system of fees based on the environmental classification of the vehicles will stimulate the forwarding companies to update their transport fleet.
One road fee in EU in 2030
According to “Die Welt am Sonntag”, the Sunday edition of the German daily “Die Welt”, transport commissioner Violeta Bulc hopes that the unified toll system depending on the mileage will be introduced in 2030. The Commission, however, expects transitional periods during which the national periodical fee systems will be valid
According to the Commissioner it will be more fair when those who use roads more intensively will pay more. What is more, Bulc counts on the new system helping reduce emissions.
Photo: pixabay.com
