Coming of the passenger car toll? In 2017 it should finally be so far.
The truck toll in germany there is already for more than ten years. The payment of the tolls would have financed the road maintenance guarantee, which is urgently needed from time to time due to the large number of heavy vehicles on german roads.
Now in the year 2017 the passenger car toll will follow – the exact start date is however still unknown.
With the passenger car toll, especially foreigners should pay on german roads, while for german motorists there should be hardly any costs due to the offsetting with the vehicle tax.
But how does it read concept of tolls in detail? Which vignette will you soon need for your vehicle?? And with what will the toll in germany actually justified? Read more in the following guide to tolls.
More information about the car toll
FAQ: Car toll
No, currently car drivers do not have to pay tolls. However, there is a truck toll.
Yes, it was also planned to introduce a passenger car toll for germany. The overview of the planned costs here shows what this should look like.
Yes, there are currently two tunnels through which everyone has to pay a toll to private operators. One is the warnow tunnel in rostock and the other is the herrentunnel in lubeck.
Brief introduction to the history of car tolls
Already at the beginning of the 90s the introduction of a freeway toll for car drivers was often discussed in the political arena. Until the year 2013 However, the voices in favor of introducing the car toll were still very quiet. In the election campaign for the federal election However, the – at that time still referred to as the "toll for foreigners" the introduction of a toll on passenger cars is increasingly being discussed.
The toll on German highways is also to be paid by foreigners.
Although the concept was still viewed critically by many – including angela merkel – in the same year it was still being coalition agreement included. transport minister alexander dobrindt put still in the year 2013 the planned start date for the passenger car toll: 2015 at the latest. However, this timetable could not be met due to various objections of the EU Commission from brussels as well as one constitutional complaint will not be complied with.
When will the passenger car toll?
Many european countries already have a toll on cars. While also german drivers in other countries like austria or italy already asked to pay when they use the autobahns, such a practice is not yet the order of the day in germany.
However, this may change soon. transport minister alexander dobrindt introduced in the year 2014 presented his concept for the design of the passenger car toll, the latest at year 2016 should be realized.
Until the year 2017 these plans have not yet been implemented, however, as they still have some way to go incompatibilities with the EU-law exhibited. In January 2017, however, the federal government and the EU Commission agreed on a draft law that also complies with EU law. The introduction the toll however is earliest for the end of 2017 planned.
concept of the car toll or: the infrastructure levy law
The planned draft law by transport minister dobrindt is colloquially referred to as a car toll. In fact, however, the official name is "infrastructure levy", the law of the same name – the infrastructure tax law or: infrag – is regulated.
This officially came into force on 12. June 2015 in force, but not yet applied due to the objections of the eu commission. According to this law, all vehicles up to 3.5 t total permissible weight on federal highways pay the toll according to the federal highway act in germany. This does not apply to vehicles from abroad: the drivers of these only have to pay the passenger car toll for freeways.
Excluded only the following motor vehicles are exempt from paying the passenger car toll:
- vehicles, for which no respectively. Only partly a vehicle tax paid,
- Emergency vehicles by police, fire department, etc.,
- Motorcycles,
- Buses.
Vehicles for which no vehicle tax has to be paid, for example, are disabled or electric vehicles.
payment period of the passenger car toll: will there be a freeway vignette?
The autobahn vignette is offered to german drivers as an annual vignette.
In principle, the infrastructure charge, which is also often referred to as the freeway toll, must be paid for one year. This is in § 7 of the infrag set like this. From the day on which the registration of the vehicle, a toll must also be paid. If the vehicle in question was registered prior to the introduction of the infrag pro rata to pay the toll for the given year.
Cars that are not registered for the whole year must also have a proportional contribution will be charged. If a vehicle is not registered in germany, there are three different ways of paying the freeway toll in germany:
- Ten-day vignette
- Two-month vignette
- annual vignette
this vignette, which is important for the toll and which a motorist acquires by debiting the corresponding money from his account, must, however, only be affixed by foreign motorists to their cars. because: for german drivers the registration with the help of the license plate.
The vignette you buy is therefore stored for a license plate and assigned to the holder accordingly. Depending on how low emission, modern and large your car is, a different amount must be paid for the freeway vignette. But how much are these amounts exactly?
How tolls are calculated in germany
One overview should show you how the calculate toll costs let:
annual vignette pollutant class
| 1, 2 or 3 |
4 or 5 |
6 |
| petrol |
6,50 euro per 100 cc engine capacity |
2 euro per 100 cc displacement |
1,80 euro per 100 cc engine capacity |
| diesel |
9,50 euro per 100 ccm cubic capacity |
5 euro per 100 ccm cubic capacity |
4,80 euro per 100 cc cubic capacity |
The passenger car toll applies to all german federal highways – but only to foreigners on autobahns.
So it becomes clear: depending on large your car and how much is the pollutant emission is, the toll costs increase.
For classic car with H license plates, a flat-rate charge for an annual vignette in the amount of 130 euro are paid.
This is also the maximum rate that can be charged to a motor vehicle driver.
If, for example, the driver does not specify the emission class of his vehicle, the flat rate of 130 euros may be charged. For motor homes a fee of 16 euro per 200 kilogram of the permissible total weight.
For the ten-day or. two-month vignette other fees apply. These toll costs are calculated in germany as follows:
which vignette?infrastructure levy
| ten-day vignette |
if annual vignette less than 40 euro costs: 5 euro |
if annual vignette less than 70 euro costs: 10 euro |
if annual vignette more than 69 euro costs: 15 euro |
| two-month vignette |
if annual vignette less than 40 euro COSTS: 16 euro |
if annual vignette less than 70 euro costs: 22 euro |
if annual vignette more than 69 euro costs: 30 euro |
also in this case: if the vehicle owner no exact or incorrect information made on the fuel class or engine capacity is flat rate a contribution of 15 euro for a ten-day vignette as well as 30 euro for a two month vignette must be paid.
calculating freeway tolls: a few examples
To make it clear what tolls you can pay for your vehicle, we offer you below a few CASE STUDIES.
VW passatopel astrabmw 5 series
| year of construction |
2011 |
2016 |
2014 |
| emission class |
4 |
4 |
6 |
| engine capacity in ccm |
1968 |
1399 |
1995 |
| fuel type |
diesel |
gasoline |
diesel |
| price for annual vignette |
98 euro |
28 euro |
96 euro |
There will be no paper vignette for german drivers. The payment of the toll is monitored electronically.
The toll to be paid is therefore based on the values given for the pollutant class, the engine capacity as well as the one in infrastructure tax law values given for the tolls to.
You can then easily calculate the fee to be paid for your car yourself by entering the toll rate applicable to your pollutant class multiply valid contribution by the size of the engine displacement – divided by 100.
Note: if you have not driven your vehicle on toll roads at all during the year in which you paid your vignette, you have the option of using the toll to be reclaimed. However, this must be proven, for example in the form of a driver’s logbook.
Car tolls in germany place additional burden on drivers?
When he presented the concept of the passenger car toll, transport minister dobrindt emphasized that German drivers should, as far as possible slightly burdened would. This is made possible by the fact that the toll to be paid is quasi car tax offset. Doubters claim, however, that the reduction in vehicle tax does not go hand in hand with the level of the car toll.
Since German motorists are therefore not charged much, the bulk of the costs are incurred by the payment of tolls by foreign motorists. For this reason, the passenger car toll has often been called a "toll for foreigners designates.
What happens if no toll is paid??
The toll for passenger cars is still controversial in germany so far.
If drivers do not pay the passenger car toll, they can, according to infrag, have a fine receive. Similar to the truck toll, the payment is to be monitored by means of so-called "license plates toll bridges take place.
These are installed above the roadway and check the license plates of passing vehicles.
Due to the fact that the payment of the toll is made via the license plate registration can be balanced, a record of the traffic offenders must therefore be. However, the exact amount of the fine has not yet been determined.
The pirate party has in this context a constitutional complaint at the federal constitutional court submitted. According to the study, checking the license plates of cars is an interference with the personal fundamental rights and would have to prove a massive disregard of the regulations on the data protection dar. In addition to the doubts of the EU Commission from Brussels regarding conformity with the applicable laws, the question of data protection is also significant due to the control and documentation of many car license plates.
Pros and cons of the car toll
Not only in politics, but also among german citizens, the question whether the introduction of a car toll – also in view of the costs – would actually be purposeful is. Many pro and contra arguments are currently being discussed, some of which have their merits justification have. The positions of the opponents and supporters of the car toll are outlined below.
Pro: what are the arguments in favor of a passenger car toll??
The amount of the toll depends on the pollutant class and the engine capacity of the vehicle.
Basically first the most obvious: the road construction or. -expansion is financed by the revenue from the car tolls financial supports.
This means that the maintenance of public roads and paths can be carried out quickly and efficiently, and the road network can be expanded. In addition – just as with the truck toll – this will help the polluter pays principle the revenue is taken into account.
Because it is precisely those who are responsible for the wear and tear of the roads who pay money into the repair fund. In addition, it is possible that the introduction of the passenger car toll will mean that a larger proportion of German – or. Even foreign car drivers – to whom public transport change will.
With regard to the latter, there is a further advantage. Because: the tolls are largely paid by foreign drivers. This means that german motorists firstly, not be burdened as much by the tolls and, secondly, there be an equalization between many european countries. because germany is one of the few countries where no car toll is paid yet.
For this, German tourists on vacation – whether in Italy, Austria or France – have already had to pay for many years for the use of foreign highways. The introduction of the car toll in germany is thus also intended to promote a piece of justice or. equalization between the countries be taken care of.
Contra: what speaks against the introduction of the toll for cars?
Besides the already above mentioned problem of the data protection, the capture and recording of the license plate numbers for control reasons is also more and more often the lack of incentive for the purchase fuel-efficient vehicles denounced. Because you have to pay for them just as you have to pay for cars with high fuel consumption.
The fees for the car toll for an annual vignette are deducted once a year from the account, not paid in cash.
In addition, the vignette is not considered ecological, as many drivers would try to take full advantage of the vignette price by driving more. far more sensible, many opponents note, would be a route-related toll, the between frequent and infrequent drivers distinguishes. Similarly, there would be a dense evasive traffic, because foreigners would only have to pay the car toll on german highways.
According to this, it would be possible that many drivers from abroad would switch to federal highways, on which in turn more accidents could occur and traffic jams could be provoked. Because: german highways are far safer than federal highways, accidents occur here not only faster, but usually also with worse outcome.
as a further point against the introduction of the passenger car toll can serve the question, whether the german car drivers would really not face an additional financial burden by the costs. Although those with environmentally friendly vehicles would have a lower car tax pay than before, but conversely, this would greatly increase for polluting cars, so that a payment settlement between toll and car tax contribution no longer take place.
Doubters also note that there are already so many low-emission vehicles in germany for which a lower toll must be paid that the calculated revenue is far below what is actually collected. Whether the losses compared to the revenues will actually add up in this way, remains to be seen and is often denied by transport minister dobrindt.
private toll roads in germany
Since the year 1994 – than that trunk road construction private financing act (fstrprivfing) has been put into effect – can also private companies build bridges and tunnels and charge a toll for them. These roads must be adjacent to highways or interstates on which tolls are also charged. In germany, there are already some tunnels that are based on such a basis:
the warnow tunnel in rostock
Do cars or trucks pass through the 790 meters long tunnel, so for passenger cars is a flat fee of 3.20 euro in winter and 4 euros in the summer due. Depending on the severity of the hazard and the time of year, truck or bus drivers pay between 8,20 and 16.50 euro. The operator of the tunnel has 50 years long time to refinance through the private tolls. After that, the warnow tunnel will be transferred as property to the city of rostock.
The herrentunnel in lubeck
Car toll in germany is already privately levied in some tunnels.
The Herren Tunnel was also privately financed and the costs were recovered by charging a private car toll. The passage for passenger cars and motorcycles is here priced at 1,70 euro. Trucks, buses and other vehicles larger than 1,30 m are and at least two axes have to pay between 3,10 and 13 euro for passing. This contract also only runs for a certain period of time – namely 30 years long. ownership then passes to the city of lubeck.
Also other tunnels were under discussion for private financing through the collection of a car toll. For example wesertunnel, the counties cuxhaven and wesermarsch connects with each other. However, in 2015 decided that no private financing would be provided.
This is largely due to the fact that the evasion distance over the B 75 would ensure that many cars would bypass the toll tunnel. One refinancing of the wesertunnel project through the toll would therefore be difficult.
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