Toll-free motorway ‘bypasses’ decreed
Car drivers will not from next year require a road toll sticker-stamp to use 11 motorway sections selected by the transport ministry. In all, the ministry has identified 111 kilometres of motorway which can effectively deliver bypass options around cities and big towns.
The main beneficiaries will be local drivers who currently use lower-class roads through the localities. They will instead be able to switch to the motorway.
Cars not displaying a sticker-stamp will, for example, be allowed on motorway sections in the vicinities of Prague, Kroměříž, Beroun and Ústí nad Labem. The removal of the road sections from the network of chargeable routes would not significantly impact road toll receipts, according to transport minister Dan Ťok.
Last year his ministry deleted 45 kilometres of highway from the network, but practically no effect was seen in the level of collected toll fees. While last year CZK 4.4bn was paid out for road stamps, some CZK 4.3bn was expended by drivers by the end of August this year.
