Truck Toll: Protest in Front of the Ministry of Transport in Vienna Imminent

The planned increase of the truck toll on highways and expressways has been causing protests from hauliers for weeks, and tomorrow, Wednesday, the discontent will be made public. On Wednesday at 10:30 AM, the kings of the road will meet in front of the Ministry of Transport at Radetzkystraße 2 in Vienna, where the head of the professional association, Markus Fischer, will present a list of demands.

Government Clarifying

While the hauliers are unanimously upset, the government is still clarifying exactly how the toll will look in 2026. The ÖVP and the hauliers have suggested increasing the cost of the short-term vignette, which would mean that car drivers, not truck operators, would be charged. This is opposed by the SPÖ, which has Peter Hanke (SPÖ) as the Minister of Transport. The plan is to significantly increase the surcharges for noise pollution and air pollution to ensure more cost transparency. Based on this, an additional 42 million euros in revenue is already budgeted for 2026. The current rates range from five to 61 cents per kilometer, depending on the size, emissions, and noise level of the vehicle.

The governor of Burgenland, Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ), advocated in the summer for a truck toll on federal and state roads as well. This comprehensive tolling exists, for example, in Germany. The hauliers, on the other hand, criticize that their cost burden has increased by 27.5 percent over the past three years. The "cost driver state" collects an average of 80,680 euros this year for a 40-ton semi-trailer in long-distance transport, and next year it could already be 91,930 euros. For comparison: in 2022, it was only 63,130 euros, as recently calculated by Alexander Klacska, chairman of the WKÖ federal division for transport and traffic. If the government's plans are implemented, the costs for the toll would be significantly higher than the expenses for the diesel of the trucks.

New Registrations in Decline

A look at the registration statistics confirms the bad mood among truckers. For semi-trailer tractors, there was a 17 percent decline in new registrations in the first eight months of this year.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.