1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194 
Rchtung! Time to pay For German roads
Page 28
Page 29
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
he German LKW-Maut tolling system is finally in action — :.714's been over to check it out. Dominic Perry reports.
HE GERMAN MOTORWAY truck tolling 'stem, the LKW-Maut, has certainly had its ps and downs. Its launch was planned for 31 ,ugust 2003 but after problems during trials of re technology involved, the German governlent and toll operators Toll Collect consort= made up of DaimlerChrysler, Cofiroute. id Deutsche Telekom were forced to delay s launch several times.
This technology includes on-board units )BUs) that operators can use to pay the charge. iter 20,000 OBUs had to be recalled due to a )ftware fault Toll Collect admitted it did not sow when it would be able to start charging. Finally,following weeks of trials,Toll Collect .gan installation of OBUs in June 2004 but :it in the UK.The system finally went live on 1 inuary and Commercial Motor is the only UK Lagazine to have crossed the water to find out aw the system is shaping up.
lay I
05pm: Charlemagne service station, A3, elgium Our first stop is a few kilometres shy r the German border and there's a queue of 301.1t 10 drivers around the two Toll Collect achines at the back of the garage building. here appears to be a 10-15 minute queue of mainly East European drivers, despite a pair of Toll Collect employees helping things along.
430pm: Lichtenbusch border crossing,A3/A44 There are two bright yellow temporary offices tucked away near the rest of the now mainly disused customs post. They're surrounded by dozens of parked trucks, most of them with East European plates.
It's freezing cold but there's only one machine that takes cash and, of course, it's outside. We find a huddle of about a dozen drivers stood round it waiting to buy a ticket and looking anxiously at their watches. Inside the cabin there are three more machines, but considerably fewer people using them. Bycontrast the other cash-only machine, inside the restaurant, has attracted a queue. We collarFrench driver Michel Dassy.whosays: "It's my first time across the border since they introduced the toll, so I'm not sure how it will work. It may be a good idea for the Germans but I'm not sure about anyone else."
Belgian driver Joseph Dufour remarks: "There's only one machine here that takes cash and I've been waiting half an hour already, although I've just been told there's another inside.The wait is usually like this 20-30 minutes at most of the border crossings. I've got a delivery 20km up the road, but the factory closes at five so I'm not sure I'm going to make it."
We leave him as he begins a frantic call to his boss.
4.48pm: Shell garage on the outskirts of Aachen, Germany. Our Toll collect guidebook says there's a machine here and, lo and behold, there it is. Unsurprisingly there's not a soul at it as it's very much for local operators.
Day 2
ham: Schwanenhaus, on the A61 near Venlo, the Netherlands. It's pretty quiet at the service station just before the border post.TheToll Collect employee who wanders up as we hang around in front of the machine says it's always quiet at the garage -most drivers head up to the border post to find a machine.
In fact it's equally laid back at the border post where there are plenty of machines and Toll Collect staff although, as usual, only one machine takes cash.
11.55am: Heerlen Svcs on the A76 motorway, the Netherlands. Two drivers from But European, Kevin Connor and Ian Nicholson, arrive just as we start to look around.They're on their way down to the Steyr factory in Austria which involves a long trek to the south of Germany near Munich.They report that it costs €357 from the border to Munich with two trucks. They've got an OBU in the cab which cost €300 to fit.
Connor says the system appears to run smoothly: "There seem to be plenty of [Toll Collect] people at the border crossings and they all speak English, which is extremely helpful. It seems a lot more expensive than the old vignette though."
Nicholson adds: "The first time across the border we were followed by a BAG [German transport ministry] van. It was obviously checking that we'd paid and as soon as it had verified the reg plate is disappeared. We haven't been bothered since. It took five hours to fit the box, though; we've already got an Austrian one on and that seems a lot simpler."
At the services itself the ticket machine is broken.A notice taped to it advises drivers to go to the border crossing, although there are no machines advertised there on the Toll Collect map. Back at the car a Dutch driver sees my companion's reflective jacket and comes over and enquires: "Is that Toll Collect [written] ( your jacket? I'm looking for that stup machine."We have to disappoint him and dire him up to the border crossing.
12.15pm:Vetschau border post,A76/A4. The are 11 machines here, but again only al machine takes cash. It's outside, of cow Things are pretty quiet,which is probably due the time of day.