Belgium helps itself

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New system, new calculation, new scope – the road toll in Belgium will result in new additional costs for road transport. From 1 April 2016 onwards the new electronic toll system will apply in Belgium. The toll will be charged for trucks and delivery vehicles over 3.5 tonnes gross weight. Its scope: all motorways, other trunk roads and bypasses. The new system replaces the Euro vignette, which was previously only required for vehicles over twelve tonnes. Now significant additional costs are expected: The Belgian Institute for Road Transport and Logistics (ITLB) determined an increase of 7.94 percent in general freight costs. The prices for general cargo are even expected to rise by an average of 8.02 percent. For Brussels, where all roads are toll roads, the calculations even result in additional costs of 12.4 percent. Furthermore, road use will become even more expensive due to transaction costs. Because, the toll can only be paid by credit or fuel cards, as the Royal Belgian Association of Carriers and Logistics Service Providers (FEBETRA) determined. The toll system, which is operated by the T-Systems subsidiary Sattelic, is a satellite-based ViaPass solution with onboard unit (OBU) in every vehicle. The fees charged depend on the distance travelled, taking into account vehicle weight and emissions class. For example, a 40 tonne truck with Euro 5 standard will incur costs of EUR 0.128 per kilometre on motorways and EUR 0.213 on other toll roads in the Brussels region.