The document discusses charging for transit cargo transport in Slovenia. It summarizes the growth of transit cargo transport following Slovenia's entry into the EU, outlines the country's past and current road charging systems for vehicles under and over 3.5 tons, and proposes plans for a future satellite-based charging system. It also examines the costs and benefits of charging trucks more than cars due to infrastructure damage, and opportunities to direct transit transport to rail under the Eurovignette directive.

1. focus
association for sustainable development
Charging the transit cargo
transport in Slovenia
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

2. focus
association for sustainable development
Presentation overview
► Transit transport growth and the consequences
► Road charging in the past, now and in the future
► Car : truck costs and benefits
► Possibilities open by Eurovignette
► External costs and other factors
► Key open questions
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

3. focus
association for sustainable development
Transit cargo transport growth
► revival of the Balkan routes
► entering the EU
► 70 % increase in the transit cargo transport
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

4. focus
association for sustainable development
Number of trucks crossing daily at the border crossing Dolga vas and
passes Ravbarkomanda, Trojane and Brenner (in Austria)
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

5. focus
association for sustainable development
Consequences of the transit cargo transport growth
► pollution (Kyoto objective)
► noise
► degradation of some local communities
► traffic jams
► degradation of the infrastructure
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

6. focus
association for sustainable development
The road charging system in the past
► combination of open and closed system
► West Slovenia: closed, East Slovenia: open
► open system: possibility for free ride
► closed system: distance-based
► approximate prices per kilometer:
motors cars 3,5t+, <3 3,5t+, >3
0,045 EUR 0,065 EUR 0,12 EUR 0,18 EUR
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

7. focus
association for sustainable development
The current road charging system
► up to 3,5 t (cars and motorcycles): vignette
► over 3,5 t: open and closed system
► 6 months: 35 / 17,50 EUR, 1 year: 55 / 27,50 EUR
► trucks:
3,5t+, <3 3,5t+,>3
0,13 EUR 0,19 EUR
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

8. focus
association for sustainable development
The road charging system as of July 1 2009
► up to 3,5t (cars and motorcycles): vignette
► 1 week: 15 EUR, 1 month: 30 EUR , 1 year: 95 EUR
► 1 week: 7,5 EUR, 6 mon.: 25 EUR , 1 yr.: 47,5 EUR
► over 3,5t: + 40 %
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

9. focus
association for sustainable development
The future road charging system
► planned system: satellite charging via GPRS
► planned start:
>3,5t on 1 January 2010
<3,5t on 30 September 2010
► criteria for charging: type of vehicle, distance,
emissions
► charged with monthly bills
► open issues of such system: privacy, payment...
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

10. focus
association for sustainable development
Car : truck, costs : benefits
► problem: one cargo vehicle causes about 30 000
times more damage to the road than a personal car
► until vignette system the road charge for trucks
was 3 times higher than for cars
► taxpayers’ money used for paving the boom in
cheap cargo transport, while leaving Slovenia with
high costs in economy, environment and society
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

11. focus
association for sustainable development
Possibilities that Eurovignette directive opens
► charges on regular roads, not only on highways
► charges for environmentally sensitive areas (e.g.
the Alpine or Carstic regions)
► charges for ‘peak’ times and polluting vehicles
(factor 2 for each of the parameters)
► charges for congestion prone and environmentally
degraded areas (e.g. Ljubljana ring)
► charges for infrastructure that has higher-than-
average construction costs (tunnels, bridges... or the
whole highway network of Slovenia)
► use of funds for non-road projects
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

12. focus
association for sustainable development
Eurovignette revision
► July 2008: EC publishes proposal
► remove the barriers to internalizing external costs
► costs: environment, noise, congestions, health
► November 2008: EP Environmental Committee
demands removal of the proposed cap and allows
climate costs
► February 2009: EP Transport Committee demands
charging only if cars are charged, rejects inclusion
of climate and accident costs and supports low cap
► debate at transport council
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

13. focus
association for sustainable development
Opportunities for Slovenia
► road charges as instrument for directing the
transit cargo transport to railways
► however: poor state of the railway infrastructure
and open questions on costs of its upgrading and
expanding (EU funds, foreign investors...)
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

14. focus
association for sustainable development
External costs
► lack of information on external costs
► external costs counted as a ‘plus’ to GDP
► costs of accidents in 2002: 440 million EUR
► costs of pollution in 2002: 630 million EUR
► costs of traffic jams in 2002: 125 million EUR
► total external costs in 2002: 1,7 – 2,3 billion EUR
or 6,6 - 9,4 % GDP
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

15. focus
association for sustainable development
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

16. focus
association for sustainable development
Other factors
► price of the road and highway construction
► lobbying power of Slovene cargo transport
association
► time and financing of the railway construction
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

17. focus
association for sustainable development
Some open questions:
- with a view to the EU regulations and the lobbying
power of the Slovene cargo sector, what would be
the recommended solution for the internalisation of
the external costs?
- disincentives for crossing the country on the road?
- creating the political will for making the changes?
- cases from other countries?
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009

18. focus
association for sustainable development
Thank you!
Lidija Živčič
Focus Association for Sustainable Development
headquarters: Maurerjeva 7, 1000 Ljubljana
office: Trubarjeva 50, 1000 Ljubljana
tel: + 386 1 515 40 80
lidija@focus.si
For environmentally and socially responsible life. www.focus.si
ESEE2009, Ljubljana, 30 June 2009