Workers’ chamber urges higher truck toll to offset transit damage

Austria’s Chamber of Labour is calling for higher truck tolls to curb transit traffic and compensate for the damage it causes, ORF reported. A study presented on Thursday found that using the full scope allowed under EU law could bring in an additional 450 million euros a year.

The chamber commissioned the study from the Austrian Institute for Spatial Planning. It said higher tolls would be particularly important if the European Court of Justice overturns restrictions on transit traffic along the Brenner route. The chamber also said truck transit affects the Danube corridor between eastern and western Austria, not only Tyrol.

About two thirds of heavy vehicle traffic on motorways is carried by foreign hauliers, the chamber said, adding that a toll increase would be only a moderate burden for Austrian transport companies. Surcharges for carbon dioxide emissions, noise and air pollution could raise 350 million euros a year, while a further 100 million euros could help fund measures on heavily affected motorway sections.

The chamber also called for swift implementation of the Environmental Protection Act, including alignment with future EU limits for nitrogen dioxide. It said this would allow the use of EU-compliant traffic restrictions, provided the court does not overturn driving bans outright. The consultation period for the law ends on Thursday.

It also called for consistent truck checks to address social dumping, road safety violations and breaches of existing driving bans. The chamber proposed earmarking one cent from the truck toll to provide more sanitary and social facilities and places for drivers to rest.

Chamber of Labour President Renate Anderl said freight companies caused damage that Austria had so far compensated for too little. Tyrol Chamber of Labour President Erwin Zangerl called on the federal government to introduce EU-compliant compensation payments for transit-related damage.