Autobahn tax

[Chris99]

So it looks as if Germany are going to start charging foreigners to use their Autobahns:

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1093187_germany...

Apparently Germans will have to pay as well but will get a corresponding reduction in their road tax.

What's the betting our government will take up the charging idea but not the tax rebate.......

[ralphrj]

Chris99 said:

What's the betting our government will take up the charging idea but not the tax rebate.......

I believe that this is already in place in the UK for HGVs.

[kwk]

I have no problem paying to use their roads.

[RDMcG]

If they keep the unlimited autobahns, well worth it.

[marting]

I don't understand the problem, you need a Vignette to drive in the surrounding area (Austria and Switzerland for example). Proposals sound inline with Austria's scheme

[Riley Blue]

£1 a day - bargain!

[Gixer]

No problem with that. Still cheaper than France and you can go quicker on many of their routes

[Motorrad]

The main problem is the shag of having to stop and buy a sticker.

I hope we're going to do the same to foreign road users on our roads.


Oh hang on a minute. If nobody in Europe charged anything then we wouldn't need reciprocal charging.

Here's an idea, make duty a massive proportion of the cost of fuel and then anyone driving in your country would be paying to use the roads anyway. Hang on a minute.........

[Gixer]

Thats what the French do, which is why their fuel used to be so much more than ours but then we had a fuel tax escalator.....

you should be able to buy before you go like we do for the Swiss and Austrian ones. Another bloody sticker to pick off the screen though

[Chris99]

I was more making the point that if the Germans introduce charges it won't take our lot long to follow suit.

If they did I doubt we would get a reduction in car tax so we would end up paying extra to drive on motorways we've already paid for to be built.

[EricE]

I don’t mind paying but i am getting tired of the hassle of buying different stickers for every country. Just make one eu-wide tax and be done with it.

By the way its not just for the Autobahn but for every official road in germany... except maybe the 'ring

Edited by EricE on Thursday 10th July 12:22

[Stick Legs]

Gixer said:

Thats what the French do, which is why their fuel used to be so much more than ours but then we had a fuel tax escalator.....

you should be able to buy before you go like we do for the Swiss and Austrian ones. Another bloody sticker to pick off the screen though

Or leave them on. Nothing looks cooler than stone-chipped powerful car with a few Vignettes on the screen.

[chilistrucker]

ralphrj said:

Chris99 said:

What's the betting our government will take up the charging idea but not the tax rebate.......

I believe that this is already in place in the UK for HGVs.

It is, it finally came in this year at long last. I found it ironic that it was on the 1st of April.

We pay virtually everywhere we go in the lorries these days, the only one i'm not certain on though is Russia. I've not payed there, but maybe the fixer sorts it when we are entering in at the border?
I like the vignette system best that they have in Belgium, Holland, Lux and Sweden. 8 euros a day for the wagon, and cheaper for bulk days. The German system is scary to watch though. We have the Maut box as we spend so much time there, or transiting through it. The box bleeps each time we pass a gantry, and we have a seperate electronic box that displays the route we're on and the cost for each stretch and overall. Soon bloody adds up on a nights drive through Germany. Think i remember 1 night it being approx 70 euros :0
and there were 26 of us on the road that night!

[Gixer]

Stick Legs said:

Or leave them on. Nothing looks cooler than stone-chipped powerful car with a few Vignettes on the screen.

I'd have ran out of room by now!! Got rid of several at once a couple of years ago though when I had to have my cracked screen replaced. I'm sure it says on the leaflet you get with them that you have to remove the out dated ones too - not sure if that's ever enforced though.

[chilistrucker]

Gixer said:

I'd have ran out of room by now!! Got rid of several at once a couple of years ago though when I had to have my cracked screen replaced. I'm sure it says on the leaflet you get with them that you have to remove the out dated ones too - not sure if that's ever enforced though.

It is. The Bulgarians seem dead keen on this. They can be a right bugger to get off the screen aswell, i've found a tiny touch of vaseline on the sticky bit makes it alot easier to get them off