A14 toll exemption cuts traffic on Vorarlberg state roads

The toll exemption on the A14 motorway between Hörbranz and Hohenems has reduced traffic on Vorarlberg state roads, according to long-term traffic counts analysed by ORF. Since the exemption took effect at the end of 2019, traffic on the motorway has increased significantly while vehicle numbers on roads through Bregenz have fallen.

ASFINAG data show that 25.6 percent more motor vehicles were recorded on the A14 near Hörbranz in 2025 than in 2019, based on all days of the week and all vehicle types. The motorway operator conducts counts at 16 locations in Vorarlberg.

Counts at 58 locations on state roads show a different trend in and around Bregenz. The number of vehicles recorded at the Hörbranz border crossing on the L190 fell by 36.1 percent between 2019 and 2025. Construction work in Hörbranz also contributed to this sharp decline by diverting traffic to other border crossings.

Further inland, traffic was still lower than before the exemption. At the Klause in Lochau on the L190, an average day in 2025 saw 19 percent fewer cars, lorries and motorcycles than in 2019. Traffic on Römerstraße in Bregenz fell by 11.2 percent, while motorised traffic on Rheinstraße in Hard, the L202, declined by 12.6 percent.

The shift was particularly pronounced on Sundays and public holidays. Traffic on the L190 in Hörbranz fell by 43.3 percent, while counts at the Klause in Lochau dropped by 24.2 percent. At the same time, traffic at the Pfänder Tunnel on the A14 rose by 26.5 percent on those days.

The increase on the motorway weakened further south. Between Hohenems and the border, vehicle numbers rose by only 1.5 percent since 2019. This suggests that the effect of the toll exemption is concentrated mainly between the German border and Dornbirn. Traffic on the A14 near Hohenems did increase over the past decade, but most of that growth occurred before the exemption began.

Traffic on the Rhine Valley motorway had already risen sharply between 2015 and the start of the coronavirus pandemic. On an average Sunday or public holiday, around 32,600 vehicles travelled through the Pfänder Tunnel in both directions in 2015. Ten years later, the figure was almost 47,900, an increase of 47 percent. Saturday traffic rose by 46.2 percent, while the increase across all days was 31.5 percent.

The additional motorway traffic has eased pressure on state roads but has increased noise and air pollution for residents along the A14. A complaint to the Constitutional Court over this issue was unsuccessful.

The figures from ASFINAG and the state are based largely on traffic counts. When counting stations were out of service or undergoing maintenance, figures were estimated using past experience and results from nearby stations. At the Pfänder Tunnel, counts were conducted on at least 357 days in 2015 and 307 days in 2025.

At the tunnel, more vehicles travelled north during the week than in the opposite direction. In 2025, an average working day saw almost 24,100 vehicles heading towards Germany, around 2,400 more than travelling in the opposite direction. On Sundays and public holidays, the pattern reversed, with an average of 24,200 vehicles heading towards the Arlberg, around 600 more than travelling north.