Are road tolls necessary in Poland?

2010-09-07

An electronic road toll system should be deployed in Poland as soon as possible because of significant losses mounting month by month - it is the opinion of representatives of the Globalisation Institute.
Funds from road tolls can be partly used to support the programme for the extension of Poland's road infrastructure. In the opinion of experts from the Polish Association of Transport Telematics, a DSRC system could be the one to bring the highest profits the state budget. Shortly after launching, the system could cover the main road network spanning 650 km motorways and approx. 1,000 km of expressways and national roads. In the future, the system could be expanded to cover around 5,000 km of roads in 2013 and up to 9,000 km of national roads in the further future. This type of system involves financial expenditure necessary to expand infrastructure (e.g. sensor-driven gates), but DSRC communication is free of charge, the cost of invehicle equipment is relatively low and it has a fairly long useful life. In the case of the satellite technology, the cost of roadside infrastructure is lower but invehicle gear is more expensive. Additionally, transmission costs are higher and they need to be paid to GPS and GSM network operators and owners. In the opinion of experts, the solution should be selected taking into account the benefits of the state budget.