Carriers threaten with false start of the toll system

The toll system may fail even before it is launched, according to carriers. Only 8,000 of the 70,000 TIR lorries are technically ready for the start of the road toll system as of March 1st. They want urgent meetings with the regional development minister and the Prime Minister tomorrow.

Four days before the launch of the toll system, it may start with complete failure. Only one in eight of all about 70 000 TIR lorries in Bulgaria is equipped with onboard devices, it is not clear how many of the buses have them.

There are three ways to toll cagrges: with purchased itinerary cards, on-board tracking devices and GPS trackers. Carriers are unhappy with the fact that they will have to pay a monthly rent of BGN 15 per onboard device - a condition which, according to them, they did not know so far and that there are only a few companies thet provide services nationally, which has led to monopolisation.

They are also unhappy with the fact that their current GPS devices cannot be connected to the toll system and they have to buy new ones. They threatened to stop transporting goods and passengers on Monday because they neither have the technical readiness nor agree to the conditions.

At a special conference, the Road Infrastructure Agency explained that they would bring all the issues raised by the carriers to the attention of the regional ministry. They recalled that they had made two major concessions to the carriers and would not concede any more: reducing the rates per km of travelled distance by half and removing the entire second-class road network and much of the first-class from the scope of the toll system. As a result, the expected revenue of 1 billion BGN annually fell to 450 million, which is still unknown wether it will be collected.

Vasil Pironkov, Chamber of Bus and Coach Carriers: Bus carriers, so as not to pay the fines, I think that the chamber will suspend transport activity due to the inability to pay the fines.

Peter Demerdzhiev, carrier: The sector will not be able to travel on the road toll system as of Sunday.

Rosen Dimitrov, carrier: I want an alternative route that is not paid for because we are paying travel taxes! I don't want to pay for the same thing twice - once a toll system, once a road tax.

Yulii Tsenkov, declared data provider: The system, if it starts on Monday, will be a shake. It is not tested. This system has not undergone stress tests, to test escalation of the load, it will not withstand.

Oleg Asenov, National Toll Management: This system can withstand 200,000 route maps per second. I guarantee it! If it doesn't, at the first moment it doesn't, I won't be in my post.

At the request of the opposition Bulgarian Socilaist Party (BSP), Prime Minister Boyko Borissov will be heard on the toll system tomorrow in Parliament, as well as the regional minister Petya Avramova. We will expect to find out by the end of tomorrow whether the fees for the onboard devices will be dropped and whether there will be another delay for the launch of the toll system.

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