Burgenland plans to tighten truck toll after business criticism

Burgenland Governor Hans Peter Doskozil said he would revise the planned truck toll on three state roads from 2027 after criticism from businesses, ORF reported. He said the province would hold intensive talks with business representatives and draw up a new proposal with the aim of targeting transit traffic without placing additional burdens on local companies.

During the consultation process, the planned fee for heavy commercial vehicles is to be specified so that it applies to transit and diversion traffic while avoiding unnecessary costs for the local economy. The stated aim is to charge heavy vehicles that bypass the tolled higher-level road network and place a disproportionate burden on state roads.

“The intention was never to weaken the local economy or place an additional burden on Burgenland companies,” Doskozil said.

Transport Councillor Heinrich Dorner said the toll was intended to ensure that trucks using state roads contributed to their maintenance. “Heavy transit trucks cannot wear out state roads while the province and taxpayers bear the maintenance costs,” he said. He added that the competitiveness of Burgenland companies should not be affected.

The Austrian People’s Party criticised the proposal, saying it would affect local businesses as well as transit traffic. State parliament member Patrik Fazekas said a drinks company with six vehicles would have to pay about 4,500 euros a year, while a construction company with 15 trucks would pay more than 11,000 euros.

Nikolaus Berlakovich, the party’s district chairman in Oberpullendorf, also warned that the transit problem could shift to alternative routes through towns.

The Chamber of Commerce said the toll would also apply to buses, making public transport and leisure travel in Burgenland more expensive. It warned that consumers could ultimately pay the cost if companies passed higher transport prices on to goods. The Kastner Group also warned in an open letter to Doskozil that higher food prices could endanger local supply.

SPÖ parliamentary group leader Roland Fürst rejected the criticism as “completely exaggerated and ignoring the facts”. He said taxpayers had previously covered the full cost of wear on state roads.

“It is a question of fairness and accurate costing that heavy traffic which uses roads and bridges disproportionately should also make a fair contribution to their maintenance,” Fürst said. He added that the toll would increase the cost of each transported product by only fractions of a cent.

Green deputy governor Anja Haider-Wallner defended the proposal in an ORF Burgenland summer interview, calling it a control measure. She said trucks used the roads and caused above-average wear.

Vorarlberg, by contrast, will not introduce a truck toll on its state roads in 2027. Transport Councillor Christof Bitschi of the Freedom Party and Economic Affairs Councillor Marco Tittler of the Austrian People’s Party said additional burdens on businesses and residents would be the wrong approach. They warned that such a toll would put further pressure on companies and could threaten jobs.