i’ve already asked this but maybe a new thread might get this discussion rolling. this maut system is a bit different than the norm. I’m really curious as to why?
It isn’t really that different to the norm, the charge is based on distance travelled, number of axles and emissions class much as any other systems.
The Germans decided to go for their system as against those in other countries for a few reasons. They decided against the Austrian system as they felt while it was fine for a country the size of Austria it wouldn’t work in a larger country. They didn’t choose the Swiss system because that applies to all types of road and the German system is just for Autobahns. And they decided against using a French/Italian/Spanish system because, and this is a quote from Toll Collect
The Toll Collect system ensures that the collection of road tolls does not disrupt traffic flow. In contrast to conventional toll systems, Toll Collect does not require vehicles to slow down or stop, or restrict them to a designated lane.
Of course that only applies if you have the On Board Unit or have pre-booked on the Internet otherwise you will have to stop to use the machines on the borders or in the service stations.
Toll Collect have this to say on what they see as the advantages of the system and the governments requirements it meets.
The Federal government’s requirements for the German toll system are high:
The toll system must
Recognize a fixed toll road network (about 12,000 kilometres of motorways) and only charge tolls there. This road network must be expandable at any time.
To be able to set environmental policy through taking the pollution class into account as well as the number of axles in calculating fees.
Offer the technical prerequisites to introduce other fee classes, such as the time and place of the trip.
To be a free flow system, which charges toll without causing stops and traffic jams.
To be a dual system with automatic and manual booking alternatives to ensure that all truck drivers can use the toll road system without discrimination.
To be able to handle the full tonnage booked with the manual system if the automatic system goes down.
Moreover, the toll collection system should have the technical prerequisites to support other systems in Europe in the future.With an automatic booking option based on innovative GPS (Global Positioning System) technology and mobile telecommunications and a manual system based on toll station terminals and the Internet, the Toll Collect system meets all the requirements.
The system is technically complex, the first and only one in the world, and, therefore, future-oriented. Many traffic telematics providers could use this platform, even small and medium-size providers.
That gives you some idea as to why they have chosen this system over existing systems and they do hope to be able to sell it to other countries in the future, the UK could be a customer as it looks to introduce a user charge for trucks in 2008.
near me there is a toll road system that weighs you when you get on, then you get a ticket that is automatically dispensed. This ticket is stamped with the time, date, axle count, and weight class. when i get off the highway i hand the ticket to the toll booth operator. the ticket has a magnetic strip so it is quickly scanned and i’m charged a rate based on distance traveled and the weight of the vehicle. a few years ago the same motorway started using a austrian go-box type of system so now all i have to do is drive slowly through the toll lane. to me this sytem seems easier and cheaper to enforce than what the maut entails. also, with this system a guy isn’t penalised for changing plans in mid route. which is really my cause for alarm.
gorgeousload:
with this system a guy isn’t penalised for changing plans in mid route. which is really my cause for alarm.
To be fair if the vehicle has an OBU fitted then there is no problem to change route but I know what you are saying about the problems of changing route without an OBU and it is the main reason I opted for the OBU. My thoughts are that with an OBU it is a simple system but without it will be awkward, time consuming and problematic.
What our Philadelphia friend doesn’t understand is the European method of declaring your route when entering a country. We used to have such a system in a few western states here, such as Utah, Idaho and Montana. You were supposed to declare the route you were taking when you came into the port of entry, but that requirement was rarely enforced even 15 years ago. I doubt they still require this today. I think only Idaho still required drivers to actually park and walk into the port of entry any more.
personally i think it was the germans trying to show off.
the system they are using is probably the only system in the world like it, for collection of road tolls. this i think is the reason for the long delay in it’s implementation, it was too advanced at the time of it’s conception, tomorrows technology required yesterday, so to speak. there is still no proof that it will have a seamless start and the figures quoted on the test of around 98% success may still leave obu users with some problems, there will be 2% of obu users that have some sort of problem, admittedly this will eventually be rectified but i have to wonder what the americans are going to think when all of a sudden (tomorrow or probably monday now) thousands of signals start being sent via their satellites (as well as europes) to and from these trucks, what if they were to turn around and ask for a payment for use of their equipment?
Johhny there are millions upon millions of signals sent via these satellite every day as it is and all the OBUs already fitted have been sending the signals since they day they were installed so it won’t really be rush of extra signals come the start of the MAUT. The system has been used for years for road and rail navigation, aviation, shipping, telecommunications, cartography, land surveying, oil exploration, mining, etc etc. so a few thousand MAUT signals will barely be noticed.
Bush did mention a couple of weeks ago that he may turn the system off in a time of crisis so that could be a problem. but It is highly unlikely that it would be compeletly shut down, since GPS is used for commercial purposes worldwide with annual sales of several billion dollars and is vital in areas of civil aviation and shipping. More likely is that the US would turn back on “Selective Availability”, less accurate GPS positioning, used during crisis situations. Toll Collect say this is no problem for the toll system as it is designed to work with Selective Availability.
However once the European Galileo system is in place, by 2008, that problem is removed as the Maut system will be compatible with Galileo.
i’m skepitcal on the cost effectiveness of this program. the german government had to have spent a fair sum to get this thing running. there has to have been a certain amount of foward thinking.
The reason it is so hi tech and at the same time easy to operate is because they wish to sell the system to other European countries.
Once the other leaders see the Germans raking it in they will want to do the same, and who will get the contract to undertake such scheme? Toll Collect of course, after all its a tried and tested system.
Just a small point here, the infrastructure as i understand it, is not owned and built by the German Government georgeousload, Toll Collect is a seperately owned company and stand to face something along the lines of a €40 million fine per month if the system fails… ouch 
Rightly or wrongly, this is just the start of something that will encompass the whole of Europe eventually.
It could be me but I never could understand the reason for toll roads in the first place, apart from privately built and owned roads. Millions have been spent and are spent on setting up and collecting what after all is just moving money round the system. It’s no good saying that it targets the actual user. Low mileage consumers like me still end up paying for it in the cornflakes.
Better to charge everybody reasonable taxes and pay for roads centrally. We all end up paying the same but at least so much is not wasted shifting the loot.
Salut, David.
i got some mixed feelings about this one. i get upset every time i see governments increasing the burden of their budgets onto the public. i’d like to see nations having to compete with each other in some way that could lower the tax burden. but i doubt that will happen any time soon. it looks like this system has lower overhead than any toll system i’ve seen, so in that sense i see it as a good system. however i question the german’s motive for scheduling your drive time. the reasons i come up with are either to collect more revenue in fines or as an attempt to relieve some traffic congestion. or is this whole system an attempt to make trains a little bit more competitive. i really don’t like user fees. but maybe there is more than meets the eye.
Well, toll roads are a way to get needed infrastructure repairs done without taking money out of the public coffers. Generally, some sort of authority is formed, they sell bonds to fund the construction, then the tolls pay for those bonds and upkeep. Once put into place, however, governments can get used to having these roads not being part of the general budget, and therefore keep them that way for a long time.
Another thing that is done in the US to make toll roads more useful for the trucking indusrty is in allowing special large units that can operate only on the toll roads. NY, MA, OH and IN all allow “turnpike doubles”, which are 2 48’ (14.6m) trailers pulled by one tractor. OH and IN also allow the use of triple 28’ 6" (8.7m) trailers. OK and KS allow triples and turnpike doubles, but they allow the biggest units of all, dual 57’ (17.4m) trailers!
FWIW, G, the PA Turnpike is a good example. It was originally built in 1940, but today the tolls collected keep it in a better state of repair than most roads in the area, especially when you consider some of the really rough mountain terrain it goes through. It’s about as close to a European-maintained road as we have in the US.
Kentucky removed tolls from many of it’s parkways several years ago, but that’s more because the tolls were keeping transportation costs high to the areas served, even though these places were all but inaccesible before they were built.