The user fee for trucks brings billions in revenue to the state – and even more in the future, because the toll has been expanded.
As of today, several hundred thousand trucks in Germany will be subject to the toll. Vehicles with a technically permissible total weight of more than 3.5 tonnes that are used for haulage are now also subject to tolls when using motorways and federal highways – there are exceptions for tradesmen. The expansion will bring billions in additional revenue to the state.
Billions in revenue from truck tolls
The truck toll was introduced on the federal motorways in Germany in 2005 and has since been extended to all federal roads. It has so far applied to vehicles with a technically permissible total weight of at least 7.5 tonnes. A CO2 surcharge was also newly introduced. According to the Ministry of Transport, revenue from the truck toll in 2023 will amount to around 7.4 billion euros.
According to the ministry, half of the revenue from the truck toll – after deducting the costs of collection, monitoring and toll harmonization – is used for federal highways and the other half for mobility measures, predominantly for rail. The truck toll is therefore an important source of income for the federal government for the maintenance and expansion of the transport networks.
Ministry: 330,000 vehicles affected
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Transport said that the extension of the toll obligation to vehicles would affect an estimated 330,000 vehicles. The forecast additional revenue amounted to around 500 million euros in 2024 and around 1.2 billion euros in each of the following years – including revenue from a partial toll rate for traffic-related CO2 emissions. The actual toll revenue depends largely on economic developments.
Source: Stern
