Belgium increases the amount of the heavy goods vehicle toll
The amount of the toll for heavy goods vehicles has increased like every year on the 1st July in Flanders and Brussels, “in proportions corresponding to the amount of inflation and costs”according to the company Viapass, responsible for managing the Belgian toll.
The tax concern all Belgian and foreign vehicles over 3.5 tons as well as category N1 trailers, on a portion of the network including motorways but also national roads, particularly near the country’s borders.
Three factors
The software of the OBUs (On-Board Units) of six operators recognized by Belgium (Axxès, Eurotoll, Satellic, Telepass, Toll4Europe and TotalEnergies Marketing Services) has been automatically adapted to the new tariff schedules. The software update can take up to three minutes after crossing the border, before the green signal appears, which authorizes the driver to continue his journey. Increases vary on average by vehicle category by 0.001 at 0.002 euros per km.
The toll per km depends on three factors in Belgium: traffic region, maximum permitted total weight and CO emissions2 of the vehicle. Its amount varies between 0.339 euros for the most polluting engines of vehicles over 32 t in the urban area of Brussels and 0.050 euros for 3.5 vehicles at 12 t fitted with Euro 6 standard engines in Flanders.
A reduction for the least polluting
This last category is the only one to have benefited from a reduction in the amount of the toll early July in the country. “Light vehicles with low-emission engines have been paying less since Julywelcomes the Ministry of Transport of Flanders. We made this decision by observing that the share of the heaviest trucks in freight transport has increased in recent years, while the share of rear-mounted light vehicles. This category therefore contributes less to road wear, while that of heavy goods vehicles increases. They are the ones who contribute the most to the degradation of the network.”
Belgium introduced the HGV toll in April 2016. The three regions Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels set their own toll grids themselvesViapass is responsible for managing the collection and redistributing it to the regions.