LKW-Maut

Germany's LKW-Maut (Lastkraftwagen-Maut, literally 'HGV toll') is a toll for goods vehicles based on the distance driven in kilometres, the number of axles and the emission category of the vehicle.

As much as 35% of truck miles travelled on Germany’s motorways (Autobahnen) are generated by foreign lorries (UK Commission for Integrated Transport, 2007). Facing increased pressure from freight traffic passing through and needing an additional source of revenue for motorway maintenance and expansion, in January 2005 Germany implemented a distance-based toll for all lorries of more than twelve tonnes gross weight (later reduced to 7.5 tonnes) using the motorways (Autobahnen). The motorway freight tolling was authorized by the Motorway Toll Act for Heavy Goods Vehicles (introduced on 12 April 2002) and the Toll Regulation (Toll Collect, 2007).

The toll is based on the route and the pollution class of the vehicle, its weight and the number of axles. Certain vehicles, such as emergency vehicles and buses, are exempt from the toll. An average user is charged € 0.15 per kilometre, or about $0.31 per mile (Toll Collect, 2007).

Toll Collect oversees the toll collection on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany (Toll Collect, 2007). Toll Collect has developed an automatic log-on system for truckers, based on a combination of GSM and GPS. To take advantage of the automatic log-on, lorry drivers are required to register the freight company as well as each individual lorry. After registration an on-board unit (OBU) can be installed by an authorized Toll-Collect partner. The OBU automatically determines the distance travelled on the toll route, calculates the toll based on vehicle class and toll rate information entered and transmits the information to the Toll-Collect centre for processing via GSM (cellular) communication (Richards, 2006). Once the toll information has been submitted to the Toll-Collect centre a bill is generated and e-mailed to the driver or owner of the lorry. The German government paid for the approximately 450,000 OBUs currently in use and lorry drivers were responsible for covering their installation (UK Commission for Integrated Transport 2007).

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