Figures for road use - Truck toll now extended
The truck toll in Germany became due for more than hundreds of thousands of trucks as of today. For using autobahns and federal roads, vehicles with a technically permissible total weight above 3.5 tons are now toll-bound, which are used for goods transport - except for craftsmen. The state gains billion-euro revenues from this.
Billions in Revenues from Truck Toll
The truck toll was introduced in Germany on autobahns in 2005 and extended to all federal roads. It applies to vehicles with a technically permissible total weight of at least 7.5 tons. A CO2 surcharge was also newly introduced. According to the Transport Ministry, revenues from the truck toll amounted to approximately 7.4 billion Euros in 2023.
The revenues from the truck toll – after deducting the costs for collection, control, and harmonization – are split equally for federal highways and the other half for measures in the field of mobility, with the majority being used for railways, according to the Ministry. The truck toll is thus an important revenue source for the federal government for the maintenance and expansion of transportation networks.
Ministry: 330,000 vehicles affected
A spokeswoman for the Transport Ministry stated that roughly 330,000 vehicles were estimated to be affected by the expansion of the toll obligation for vehicles. The projected additional revenues were around 500 million Euros in 2024 and roughly 1.2 billion Euros in subsequent years – including revenues from a toll surcharge for traffic-related CO2 emissions. The actual toll revenues depend significantly on the economic development.
The truck toll on main roads in Germany affects a significant number of vehicles, especially those used for goods transport. The Ministry of Transport in Berlin estimates that over 330,000 vehicles will be impacted by the expansion of the toll obligation. This toll has become a substantial revenue source for Germany, generating approximately 7.4 billion euros in 2023 from trucks with a weight above 3.5 tons. These revenues are crucial for the maintenance and expansion of the nation's transport networks.
