Skip to footer

Germany plans to charge foreigners to drive on Autobahn freeways

Germany will start charging foreign drivers 10 euros, or about $13, to drive on Germany's autobahns for ten day permits. For a one-day permit, Germany will charge 100 euros to go on the Autobahn freeways.

|
Martin Meissner/AP/File
People walk on the Autobahn in Essen, western Germany, to celebrate "Still-Life" on July 18, 2010. Germany will start charging foreign chargers 10 euros, or about $13, to drive on Germany's autobahns for ten day permits.

Germany has long been an essential place to visit for speed freaks all over the world, and not just those willing to take on the infamous Nürburgring Nordschleife race circuit. No, Germany's Autobahn freeways are popular too—as certain sections remain some of the few unrestricted routes in the world.

That's likely to remain so for some time, despite pressure from green lobbies. But if you're visiting from abroad, they're set to become more expensive—as the country plans to charge foreign motorists for their use. According to the country's transport minister Alexander Dobrindt (via CTV News), the plan will help pay for the country's infrastructure.

The cost, at least initially, won't be too prohibitive. For ten days on the country's autobahns, foreign drivers will be expected to pay 10 euros—about $13 at current exchange rates. This will rise to 20 euros for a two-month permit and 100 euros for a year. That's likely to be an entry-level price though, as the cost of a one-year permit will escalate depending on the vehicle's engine size, age and emissions. German motorists will also pay, but see equivalent reductions in their annual vehicle tax bills.

Given Germany's borders with other countries, the road-charging scheme seems mainly aimed at recouping infrastructure costs from those who use the roads frequently, but live and pay taxes in neighboring countries. Dobrindt says foreign drivers make 170 million trips to or through Germany each year, yet don't pay for upkeep of the road network. Despite protestations from neighboring countries like Austria and the Netherlands, Dobrindt says it will help contribute 2.5 billion euros ($3.4 billion) to Germany's economy every year.

But For those visiting briefly from elsewhere—and getting their kicks on the de-restricted sections—it should be no more than a marginal cost increase to the average gearhead's speed-themed trip to Germany...

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.
editor@csmonitor.com
Subscribe
Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

Subscribe to insightful journalism

QR Code to Germany plans to charge foreigners to drive on Autobahn freeways
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/In-Gear/2014/0710/Germany-plans-to-charge-foreigners-to-drive-on-Autobahn-freeways
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe