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The HGV toll (German: LKW-Maut) is the tolling scheme for heavy goods vehicles (Lastkraftwagen in German) traversing Autobahn road usage with trucks. Charges are based on the distance driven in kilometres, the emission category of the vehicle and the number of axles.
As much as 35% of truck miles travelled on Autobahns are generated by foreign lorries. Facing increased pressure from freight traffic passing through and needing an additional source of revenue for motorway maintenance and expansion, in January 2005 Germany implemented a distance-based toll for all lorries of more than twelve tonnesgross weight (later reduced to 7.5 tonnes) using the motorways (Autobahnen). The motorway freight tolling was authorized by the Motorway Toll Act for Heavy Goods Vehicles (introduced on 12 April 2002) and the Toll Regulation (Toll Collect, 2007).
Administration
The toll is based on the route and the pollution class of the vehicle, its weight and the number of axles. Certain vehicles, such as emergency vehicles and buses, are exempt from the toll. An average user is charged € 0.15 per kilometre, or about $0.31 per mile (Toll Collect, 2007).
Automatic log-on
Toll Collect oversees the toll collection on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany (Toll Collect, 2007). Toll Collect has developed an automatic log-on system for truckers, based on a combination of GSM and GPS. To take advantage of the automatic log-on, lorry drivers are required to register the freight company as well as each individual lorry. After registration an on-board unit (OBU) can be installed by an authorized Toll-Collect partner. The OBU automatically determines the distance travelled on the toll route, calculates the toll based on vehicle class and toll rate information entered and transmits the information to the Toll-Collect centre for processing via GSM (cellular) communication (Richards, 2006). Once the toll information has been submitted to the Toll-Collect centre a bill is generated and e-mailed to the driver or owner of the lorry. The German government paid for the approximately 450,000 OBUs currently in use and lorry drivers were responsible for covering their installation (UK Commission for Integrated Transport 2007).
Manual log-on
Alternatively lorry drivers who rarely use German toll roads can log-on manually at one of 3,500 toll station terminals or over the internet. The log-on to a toll station terminal, located near motorway access ramps, is similar to purchasing a ticket. The driver enters the vehicle information, starting point and destination. The toll station calculates the fees based on the shortest route within the toll road network. As of December 2006 90% of the lorries on German roads paid the toll automatically. In 2006 the toll-collection rate for automatic transactions was 99.75% (Toll Collect, 2007).
Toll-collect gantry on the A65
Enforcement
The system enforcement is based on 300 gantries equipped with infrared detection equipment and high-resolution cameras (able to identify the license plates of lorries). Owing to the large volume of data generated by these gantries, not all of the gantries installed are in operation at the same time. Only selected gantries are in operation and able to identify vehicles for which the toll has not been paid. In addition Federal Officers of Freight in 300 mobile enforcement vehicles patrol the motorways and are authorized to pull lorries over and check for payment records. If a fee has not been paid and the GPS data is unclear a charge for 500 km of travel is imposed. The collection costs are estimated at 20 per cent of gross revenues. During the first eight months of operation of the scheme 11.6 million lorries were checked for violation, with a resulting violation rate of less than 2% (Richards, 2006; UK Commission for Integrated Transport, 2007).
Results
Toll revenues in excess of system operating costs provide funding for transport infrastructure improvements (Richards, 2006). The scheme has provided freight companies with an incentive to purchase vehicles with lower emission rates. The UK Commission for Integrated Transport (2007) cites a 6% decrease in the number of empty runs and a 6% shift to rail from road freight mode as a result of implementing the system. Those factors are likely to lower the emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants on German roads. The only negative consequence of the freight toll system detected thus far has been the rerouting of some trucks off the motorways onto other roads, resulting in additional noise and congestion on those routes.
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction, with a cabin that is independent of the payload portion of the vehicle. Smaller varieties may be mechanically similar to some automobiles. Commercial trucks can be very large and powerful and may be configured to be mounted with specialized equipment, such as in the case of refuse trucks, fire trucks, concrete mixers, and suction excavators. In American English, a commercial vehicle without a trailer or other articulation is formally a "straight truck" while one designed specifically to pull a trailer is not a truck but a "tractor".
Road transport or road transportation is a type of transport using roads. Transport on roads can be roughly grouped into the transportation of goods and transportation of people. In many countries licensing requirements and safety regulations ensure a separation of the two industries. Movement along roads may be by bike or automobile, truck, or by animal such as horse or oxen. Standard networks of roads were adopted by Romans, Persians, Aztec, and other early empires, and may be regarded as a feature of empires. Cargo may be transported by trucking companies, while passengers may be transported via mass transit. Commonly defined features of modern roads include defined lanes and signage. Various classes of road exist, from two-lane local roads with at-grade intersections to controlled-access highways with all cross traffic grade-separated.
A toll road, also known as a tollway, or as a turnpike in the United States, is a public or private road, for the use of which a fee is paid. It is a form of road pricing, typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and maintenance.
Road pricing are direct charges levied for the use of roads, including road tolls, distance or time based fees, congestion charges and charges designed to discourage use of certain classes of vehicle, fuel sources or more polluting vehicles. These charges may be used primarily for revenue generation, usually for road infrastructure financing, or as a transportation demand management tool to reduce peak hour travel and the associated traffic congestion or other social and environmental negative externalities associated with road travel such as air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, visual intrusion, noise pollution and road traffic collisions.
Electronic toll collection (ETC) is a wireless system to automatically collect the usage fee or toll charged to vehicles using toll roads, HOV lanes, toll bridges, and toll tunnels. It is a faster alternative which is replacing toll booths, where vehicles must stop and the driver manually pays the toll with cash or a card. In most systems, vehicles using the system are equipped with an automated radio transponder device. When the vehicle passes a roadside toll reader device, a radio signal from the reader triggers the transponder, which transmits back an identifying number which registers the vehicle's use of the road, and an electronic payment system charges the user the toll. A major advantage is the driver does not have to stop, reducing traffic delays. Electronic tolling is cheaper than a staffed toll booth, reducing transaction costs for government or private road owners. The ease of varying the amount of the toll makes it easy to implement road congestion pricing, including for high-occupancy lanes, toll lanes that bypass congestion, and city-wide congestion charges. The payment system usually requires users to sign up in advance and load money into a declining-balance account, which is debited each time they pass a toll point.
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Toll Collect GmbH is a German company that has developed and is running the tolling system for trucks (LKW-Maut) on German motorways.
The Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) system is an electronic toll collection scheme adopted in Singapore to manage traffic by way of road pricing, and as a usage-based taxation mechanism to complement the purchase-based Certificate of Entitlement system.
Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) is an annual tax that is levied as an excise duty and which must be paid for most types of powered vehicles which are to be used on public roads in the United Kingdom. Registered vehicles that are not being used or parked on public roads and which have been taxed since 31 January 1998, must be covered by a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) to avoid VED. In 2016, VED generated approximately £6 billion for the Exchequer.
A large goods vehicle (LGV), or heavy goods vehicle (HGV), in the European Union (EU) is any truck with a gross combination mass (GCM) of over 3,500 kg (7,716 lb). Sub-category N2 is used for vehicles between 3,500 kg and 12,000 kg (26,455 lb) and N3 for all goods vehicles over 12,000 kg as defined in Directive 2001/116/EC. The term medium goods vehicle is used within parts of the UK government to refer to goods vehicles of between 3,500 and 7,500 kg which according to the EU are also "large goods vehicles".
A truck driver is a person who earns a living as the driver of a truck, which is commonly defined as a large goods vehicle (LGV) or heavy goods vehicle (HGV).
The Autobahn is the federal controlled-access highway system in Germany. The official German term is Bundesautobahn, which translates as 'federal motorway'. The literal meaning of the word Bundesautobahn is 'Federal Auto(mobile) Track'.
Vignette is a form of road pricing imposed on vehicles, usually in addition to the compulsory road tax, based on a period of time the vehicle may use the road, instead of road tolls that are based on distance travelled. Vignettes are currently used in several European countries. The term originated in France in the 1950s, although vignettes there were not linked to motorway use and no longer exist; it is now used throughout Central Europe, as well as in Italy (vignetta).
Telepass is the brand name for an electronic toll collection system used to collect toll (pedaggio) on motorways (autostrade) in Italy operated by Autostrade per l'Italia S.p.A., its affiliates, and other legal entities. The system was introduced in 1989.
The Austrian autobahns are controlled-access highways in Austria. They are officially called Bundesstraßen A (Bundesautobahnen) under the authority of the Federal Government according to the Austrian Federal Road Act (Bundesstraßengesetz), not to be confused with the former Bundesstraßen highways maintained by the Austrian states since 2002.
Motoring taxation in the United Kingdom consists primarily of vehicle excise duty, which is levied on vehicles registered in the UK and hydrocarbon oil duty which is levied on the fuel used by motor vehicles. VED and fuel tax raised approximately GB£32 billion in 2009, a further £4 billion was raised from the value added tax on fuel purchases. Motoring-related taxes for fiscal year 2011/12, including fuel duties and VED, are estimated that will amount to more than GB£38 billion, representing almost 7% of total UK taxation.
A toll road is a road over which users may travel over on payment of a toll, or fee. Tolls are a form of use tax that pays for the cost of road construction and maintenance, without raising taxes on non-users. Investor's bonds necessary for the construction of the roads are issued and sold with the expectation that the bonds will be paid back with user tolls. The toll roads may be run by government agencies that have bond issuing authority and/or private companies that sell bonds or have other sources of finance. Toll roads are usually a government guaranteed road monopoly that guarantees limited or no competing roads will be built by government agencies for the duration of the bonds. Private toll roads built with money raised from private investors in expectation of making money from the tolls probably dominated early toll roads. Government sponsored toll roads often guarantee a minimum payment to the bond holders if traffic volume and toll collections are less than predicted. If the toll authority is a private company there is often a maximum amount of fees that they may extract from users. Toll road operators are typically responsible for maintaining the roads. After the bonds are paid off the road typically reverts to the government agency that authorized the road and owns the land it was built on. Like most government taxes it is not unusual for tolls to continue to be charged after the bonds have been paid off.
The London Low Emission Zone (LEZ) is a traffic pollution charge scheme with the aim of reducing the exhaust gas emissions of diesel-powered vehicles in London. The scheme applies London-wide to commercial vehicles, and should not be confused with the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), introduced in April 2019, which applies to all vehicles in Central London. Vehicles that do not conform to various emission standards are charged; the others may enter the controlled zone free of charge. The low emission zone started operating on 4 February 2008 with phased introduction of an increasingly stricter regime until 3 January 2012. The scheme is administered by the Transport for London executive agency within the Greater London Authority.
Road pricing in the United Kingdom used to be limited to conventional tolls in some bridges, tunnels and also for some major roads during the period of the Turnpike trusts. The term road pricing itself only came into common use however with publication of the Smeed Report in 1964 which considered how to implement congestion charging in urban areas as a transport demand management method to reduce traffic congestion.
BelToll is a system of toll roads operating in the Republic of Belarus.
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