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m Road tolls for trucks are set for a complete
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overhaul throughout Europe in a bid to reduce congestion and boost funding on road and rail building projects.
A proposed European Commission directive says existing toils vary too much, making it difficult for international operators to work out how much journeys cast.
It rules out using the revenues for non-transport-related expenditure and says tolls should reflect factors such as distance travelled, the infrastructure and environmental damage caused by individual vehicles.
If adopted, any truck of 3.5 tonnes or over would be covered by tolls, partly to encourage greater use of large trucks to reduce congestion.
Member states would be allowed to increase tolls in environmentally-sensitive areas such as the Alps, provided the revenue was used to upgrade parallel routes.
"Charging will generate savings of several tens of billions of cures yearly, owing to a reduction in the time lost on congested roads, a drop in the number of accidents and improved environmental quality," says the proposed directive. "This system will help reduce the overall distance travelled by encouraging the transport operators to optimise their loads and the forwarders to adapt their logistical chain."
Freight Transport Association chief economist Simon Chapman says the commission is right to encourage alternative modes of transport for freight, but adds: "The fees collected should not be viewed as a bottomless pit from which politically-correct infrastructure projects can be funded."
Henk Buzink, managing director of Kidderminster-based Fransen international, describes European tolls as messy and unpredictable.