Federal Transport Minister Steffen Bilger (CDU) reported receiving a significant amount of correspondence regarding the potential introduction of a private car toll in Germany. He stated that during the summer holidays, he received letters from people who had been traveling in neighboring countries and were required to pay tolls there. These letters frequently raised the question of why private motorists in Germany do not have to pay to use the Autobahns, according to the CDU politician.
Nevertheless, Bilger currently sees no momentum for implementing a car toll. He emphasized that he has no mandate to introduce such a system. Instead, his focus is dedicated to successfully putting the billions allocated from the special fund toward infrastructure development and ensuring stable financing for the future.
Bilger had previously been involved in planning for a private car toll under former Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU). When questioned about the impending legal proceedings against Scheuer regarding alleged false statements made during an investigative committee, Bilger declined to offer an assessment, stating he could not judge the situation because he was neither a member of the committee nor called to testify.
The approximately €243 million that was paid to the originally planned operators after the car toll failed has been lost. Bilger noted that in hindsight, it would have been wiser to not sign the contracts before the ruling of the European Court of Justice. He concluded by acknowledging that this money is unfortunately gone.
