Romania introduces distance-based road tolls; transporters criticize low rates despite economic pressures and infrastructure needs.
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Romania is implementing a new toll system (TollRo) that will charge commercial transport based on distance traveled on highways and national roads. The established tariffs are among the lowest compared to neighboring countries and other European states, which has drawn criticism from transporters who feel they are still too high. Specific rates for heavy goods vehicles are provided, showing Romania’s costs are significantly lower than in countries like Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Germany, and France, but higher than in Poland. Transporters argue that even the current low tariffs represent a significant cost increase, which will lead to higher prices for consumers, and they contend that the existing road infrastructure does not justify these charges. A transport association suggests a much lower rate of 30 euros per thousand kilometers, while another group proposes 0.15 lei/km on highways. The Ministry of Transport defends the tariffs as being based on an independent consultant’s study, which factored in Romania’s socio-economic context and the need for proportional charges to prevent inflation. Despite the new system potentially generating hundreds of millions of euros annually, infrastructure monitoring groups argue that current revenue is insufficient for optimal maintenance across the extensive national road network, and they call for greater transparency regarding how these collected funds are allocated.
