Road transport companies want the launch of toll system to be postponed again

Bus carriers and road hauliers threatened with a false start of the toll system on March 1st. The road transport companies have not bought on-board devices and are refusing to pay a rental fee, which will cost them BGN 15 million a year. They also asked for a postponement for the introduction of the toll system. Sofia and several other cities in Bulgaria demanded the exmeption of roads from vignettes. Thus, even before it is launched, the toll system risks not to be able to collect the revenue that is expected from it.

The toll system was supposed to provide BGN 1 billion of road revenue annually - money to maintain the road infrastructure in Bulgaria in a normal state. After a year and a half of discussions, the estimated revenue is now reduced to less than BGN 500 million annually.

After the state made concessions to carriers twice and reduced the size of the charge per kilometre and excluded the entire second-class road network from toll system scope, carriers now demand a third concession: delaying the introduction of the system due to on-board devices.

The carriers do not agree to pay rent for the on-board devices of the two companies - national suppliers. They estimated that the rents in Bulgaria would be several times higher than those in Europe and that this would cost them BGN 15 million. The state, however, this time is firm that the toll system will start operating on March 1st.

Magdalena Miltenova from the Confederation of Bus Carriers explained that carriers said that on March 1 they will not service the lines covered by the toll system, as they will neither be able to equip their buses with on-board devices by then, nor will they be able to train their staff to work with the devices.

Petya Avramova, Minister of Regional Development and Public Works: We will no longer delay the launch of the system, there is a decision of the National Assembly, it cannot be postponed. Second class roads are present in the adopted tariff but are at zero rate so they are free of charge.

The Road Infrastructure Agency (RIA) will decide next week on the request of Sofia Municipality for 151 km of roads to be taken out of the scope of the national road network and exempted from vignettes.

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