Vignettes coming to Germany

[Road Hog]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28199383

10 euros for a 10-day pass or 100 euros per year to drive Germany's autobahns. Law is supposed to be passed sometime this year.

Austria has absolutely no room to complain.

[Chris]

The annual vignette is dependent on fuel type and engine size. Gasoline-powered cars pay € 2 per 100 cc with a cap of € 100. In my case I would only pay € 24 for an annual vignette (1.2 L engine).

Unfortunately they will introduce physical vignettes which you have to stick to the windshield. There are already 5 countries nearby with such vignettes (Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Czech Republic & Slovakia). I was hoping for e-vignettes like they have in Hungary and Romania.

[vdeane]

Why didn't Europe adopt a transponder/bill by mail system like we have here?  I can't see how forcing people to cover their windshield with a million stickers just to drive across the continent is a good thing.  Plus you have to pay a flat rate rather than what you use.  What if you're only going a few miles down the road and are an infrequent user?  You're probably getting ripped off in that scenario!  It would be as if every Thruway user had to have the Annual Permit Plan for $88/year.

[Chris]

Vignettes benefit frequent users. The 10-day vignette will cost € 10. You pay that much on a French toll road for under an hour of driving, so except for cross-border shopping, vignettes are much cheaper for users than distance-based tolling.

[vdeane]

And I thought the Pennsylvania Turnpike was expensive!

[hotdogPi]

And I thought the Pennsylvania Turnpike was expensive!

The vignettes are usually cheaper than the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

(Note: $1.35=€1)

[vdeane]

I was referring to the per-mile rate, which is in excess of four times more than the Thruway (it takes me four hours just to rack up $10).  Even the PTC has commuter plans, which is essentially the closest to a vignette on this side of the pond.  The northeast toll roads used to have similar token systems, but they all got eliminated when E-ZPass took over.

[Chris]

Most French toll roads charge between € 0.07 and € 0.12 per kilometer, or $ 0.16 - $ 0.26 per mile. While you can find such toll rates along express lanes in urban areas in the United States, they are uncommon for long-distance toll roads. The quality of French toll roads is usually nothing short of superb, but some are underutilized due to the high tolls, crossing the country from north to south can easily cost you $ 100 in tolls. France will also be introducing a truck toll on secondary routes parallel to toll roads to reduce the amount of truck traffic that avoids the tolls.