There is more money for the transport budget – one might think that the prospects are beautiful. But the coalition partners cannot agree on a reform of the law as planned. The main argument is the question of what the lavish additional income should be used for.
The traffic light coalition cannot agree on the planned increase in truck tolls from January. The project can therefore not be decided in the Bundestag this week as planned, as the SPD, Greens and FDP confirmed. The main point of contention was the use of the additional 50 million euros per month.
The Greens also want to use the money for rail and refer to the coalition agreement. The SPD and FDP, on the other hand, interpret it differently and accused the Greens of blocking it. “The money for the transport budget would be more important than ever, for example for the renovation of ailing bridges,” said SPD deputy parliamentary group leader Detlef Müller. FDP logistics expert Michael Kruse criticized: “By blocking the toll reform, the Greens are literally sticking to the streets.” This creates legal uncertainty. The Greens rejected the allegations and referred to the climate protection goals in transport.
Actually, the truck toll should be increased due to a new road cost guideline. It examines noise pollution, for example, and analyzes the wear and tear on the roads caused by trucks. This results in new toll rates for trucks on motorways and federal highways. With these, there would have been around 50 million euros in additional monthly income from January. Overall, the revenue for the state was around 7.5 billion euros a year. In addition, the toll will in future also take into account the CO2 emissions of trucks and will be extended to smaller delivery vans up to 3.5 tons – currently it applies to 7.5 tons. However, this has not yet been the subject of the current negotiations; the timetable for this is still open.
SPD deputy faction leader Müller warned: “We have to come to a solution as soon as possible so that the financial damage remains as small as possible.” Kruse from the FDP, on the other hand, referred to the burdens on the freight forwarders: “Due to the tense economic situation, we Free Democrats will defend the moratorium on burdens for our economy agreed in the coalition, because there must be no unnecessary additional burdens in the current situation.”
Greens traffic expert Stefan Gelbhaar, on the other hand, pointed to the gaps in the Ministry of Transport’s climate protection plan: “We are always ready to get the toll law on the way.” It is important that the higher toll income is used to close the huge climate protection gap in the transport sector. In coalition circles it was said that an agreement on the increase was still possible. Even January could still be reached if the parties agreed quickly.
