Switzerland to more than double road tax to tackle congestion

The cost of the Swiss road tax vignette will more than double to US$106.50 per year from just over $40 at present. With the extra money raised, the Swiss Federal Council wants to tackle congestion on the roads throughout the country and also extend the road network.
March 16, 2012 Read time: 1 min
The cost of the Swiss road tax vignette will more than double to US$106.50 per year from just over $40 at present. With the extra money raised, the 2972 Swiss Federal Council wants to tackle congestion on the roads throughout the country and also extend the road network. This will see nearly 400 kilometres of new road added to the network in 2014, exclusively focusing on existing cantonal road links.

Other ways in which congestion will be tackled is through the opening of hard shoulders and temporary reduction of motorway speeds from 120 km/h to 100 or 80 km/h at certain times. The 2970 Swiss Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (Uvek) says a section of motorway reaches its maximum capacity when vehicles travel at 85 km/h.

There were some 16,000 hours of traffic congestion on Swiss roads in 2010, which was a 30 per cent increase year-on-year. The Swiss Federal Council says the total investment in roads will cost some US$327 milion per year, nearly half of which will come from the federal government and the balance from cantons.
Highway & Network Management

Related Content

  • €2.27bn UK road investment in 2014 to support over 9,500 construction jobs
    November 11, 2013
    Over 9,500 construction jobs will be supported in 2014 by more than €2.27 billion (£1.9 billion) of investment in Britain’s roads, Transport Minister Robert Goodwill announced today. The total investment in 209 schemes is €5.15 billion (£4.3 billion), with the €2.27 billion to be spent in 2014 more than twice the amount being spent this year. Due to either start or be completed in 2014, these road programmes are estimated to boost the economy by over €22.52 billion (£18.8 billion) and are part of a €119.8
    Read More
  • Khabarovsk Bypass to raise transit potential of Russian Far East
    March 13, 2017
    Khabarovsk Bypass to raise transit potential of Russian Far East – Eugene Gerden writes The Russian Government, together with the government of Khabarovsk Territory, an administrative capital of the Far East, have announced the completion of preparations for the building of a new road. The Khabarovsk Territory is located 30km from the Chinese border, at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri Rivers. This new highway will boost the transport potential for the Russian Far East and will improve the traffic s
    Read More
  • Transurban to test Melbourne drivers in road trials, including tolls
    June 23, 2015
    Melbourne’s road users are the focus of a year-long study into what options are possible for funding road infrastructure projects including various user-pays models. The study headed by Australian toll roads operator Transurban will conducted across Melbourne’s entire road network to see how drivers react to tolling and other road-use models such as charging motorists for each kilometre travelled, a charge to access roads, annual fixed costs per kilometre on expected usage and price per trip. It will al
    Read More
  • Scotland’s new Queensferry Crossing over the Forth Estuary
    December 23, 2015
    The new Queensferry Crossing under construction in Scotland will be the third landmark bridge spanning the Forth Estuary - Mike Woof writes When the new Queensferry Crossing over the Forth Estuary opens at the end of 2016, it will be the third landmark bridge to be built spanning this short stretch of water. Lying alongside the existing road bridge and the historic rail bridge, this new structure will be as groundbreaking as the two earlier crossings were at the time of their construction.
    Read More

Highlighted Content