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Prepare to charge
Page 13
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Brian Weatherley's eye has beer caught by the German Transport Minister's recent comments aboi the UK. Does he mean us?
Hasn't anyone told the Germans we've dumped Lorry Roa User Charging (LRUC)? I recently received a confusing a from the German Bundesministerium für Verkehr. Bau uric Stadtentwicklung —the German ministry in charge of towr and the environment, with responsibility for vehicles.
Federal Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee declan Germany's HGV 'toll-rnaut' motorway tolling scheme to be a great success despite teething problems: "The positive result shows that our industry is capable of implementing a globally unique technological project."
By "positive", Tiefensee may mean the ease with whic took €2.85bn from European truck operators, which "sho that the toll is making a signif icant contribution to financini infrastructure in Germany". What? A road tax going direct on the road network? And according to the minister, "...th( already been great international interest shown in the proj including from "the UK, China, Hungary and the USA."
But Alistair Darling dumped LRUC months ago. So is t still life in the LRUC dog yet? Or do Tielensee's remarks mi show our DfT keeping a watching brief on the German toll, system in its desperate search to find a technology capat of delivering road tolling in the UK 'sometime in the future' so. I've got an idea. Why not invite the Germans over to rut whole damn thing? They'd do a better job than the DT
• Don't forget to follow Brian Weatherley's 'Big Lorry Blog' on www.bizbuzzmedia.com or via www.TNN.co
"I've got an idea. Wh invite the Germans o the whole damn thin do a better job than t