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Germany tolling...
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From 1 January Germany will be tolling all trucks over 12 tonnes
travellinF on its autobahns. After the delays and horror stories,
Chris Tindall has been finding out what UK operators can expect.
In January 2003 Daimler Chrysler, part of the consortium operating the German truck toll system Toll Collect, was feeling rather pleased with itself.
So much so, in fact, that when CM travelled to Bonn to report on its advanced charging system due to be rolled out in September that year, we found a consortium perhaps a little over-confident. Asked whether the UK should bow to German expertise and allow them to take over our own plans to charge trucks, DairnlerChrysler's Michael Leyendecker told us: "I don't want to judge another country's strengths and weaknesses, but technically we are advanced and we have the experience of doing this on a large scale."
Cue inevitable problems, delays and technology failures. So many disasters, in fact,that the start date had to be put back.And back... and back...
Fast forward to November 2034 and Toll Collect publicly wipes most of the egg off its face and now insists to a room full of stakeholders and a sole CM reporter that its truck charging system will start on 1 January 2005. But a lack of contracted technicians in the UK to fit the technology and charges of discrimination against hauliers are threatening to drag the toll back into chaos.
The "major economic disaster" Mike Freeman at the Road Haulage Association described in October 2003 is probably accurate: software problems led to delays. which subsequently led to millions of Euros in lost revenue when the existing Eurovignette system ended at the end of August last year. Clearly, the Germans still have much to prove.
"There are no secrets in the fact we had to overcome unexpected problems," admitsAnne Ruth Herkes, head of the German Embassy's commercial department. "Those have been cleared away now." And perhaps they have.The system that will affect every driver of a commercial vehicle over 12 tonnes travelling on Germany's autobahns has been put through some very demanding testing procedures.claimsToll Collect.The on-board units (OBUs) have reached a "road segment recognition" rate of 99.2%. "Recognition" means the system knows where a truck is; the German government demands a minimum level of 95%.
Initial problems stemmed from the fact that the units combine a range of different technology. GPS and mobile radio communications (GSM) are both used; not forgetting the infrared DSRC module, which is relevant to enforcing the system. Faced with this barrage of complex technology, critics have asked why the German government didn't plump for the much simpler Austrian version, based on microwave technology. The government responds that this complexity allows it to be interoperable with all other European systems. Even so, Toll Collect's Martin Rickmann reveals one of the lessons learned from last year's fiasco was to reduce the system's complexity. However, there are still three choices about how to register a truck if you travel on Germanmotorways.and this is where many problems remain;particularly for UK operators Toll Collect advises that operators travelling regularly through the country should register for an OBU to make the process simpler. Otherwise, book your route via the internet or at one of 3,500 toll stations dotted around Germany's filling stations, service areas and border areas. As Rickmann says: If you are not registered with Toll Collect and you have to use a terminal, there's no doubt it's not as convenient as using an OBU."
No OBU providers in UK
But why are there no service providers fitting OBUs in the UK? Toll Collect says it is looking into this. Spokesman Udo Freialdenhofen explains: -We have built up a service provider network in Germany and around German borders, [but]! have heard of this problem in Italy as well. You can be sure next year we will start building up this service provider network in the UK too."
However. the Freight Transport Association is not convinced, Its manager of international affairs, Don Armour, says part of the problems last year were due to a lack of training on the service provider's behalf. Consequently. many OBUs were incorrectly fitted.
He thinks Toll Collect, while publicly emphasising the different responsibilities that devolve on the consortium and its service providers, is still trying to keep a tight rein on who fits the OBUs. He adds the FTA is "extremely worried"not only about this but also the system's reliance on satellites, and the potential cost to UK hauliers.
Terminal lack of terminals
Operators also complain that there are a lack of terminals, which is resulting in queues and delays. One international operator complains: "It's a Health & Safety issue. You push drivers to do this job in the time frame. We are under enough pressure to complete the journey in time and now I have to spend 30 minutes to book i t.The terminals are long-windedthere's only one Maut terminal at the Swiss border. I am absolutely disgusted by this."
Freialdenhofen responds: "We are taking this very seriously.We are in serious discussions with the Swiss and taking into account places where there are problems."
Fears are also mounting over the cost of fitting the units to trucks. It costs €250 to have an OBU fitted which is reimbursed with the operator's first toll invoice, but if you have 50 or 60 trucks travelling regularly through Germany, the initial outlay will be substantial.
Of even more concern is the bias in favour of OBU users, which inevitably means mostly German truck drivers. Toll Collect claims 150,000 trucks have been fitted with OBUs and more than 300,000 have been ordered. It says up to 1.4 million trucks travel through Germany each year, but it doesn't expect to get 100% of drivers fitting the units. This means drivers without an OBU will have tore-register each time they come on or off a motorway, because they are relying only on toll stations or the internet.
Ex-MAN UK boss Jurgen Knorpp sums up the situation: "It's not fair competition they are offering through the OBU. If there's an accident, they have to stay in the traffic [rather than moving onto other roadslIt's discrimination." •