Motorway vignettes in Slovakia to become more expensive

Holidaymakers planning a trip to Slovakia in 2011 should expect higher motorway charges: motorway vignettes in Slovakia will become more expensive next year. The Slovak Ministry of Transport announced this in a press release in the Slovak capital, Bratislava.

According to the government’s statement, the price of annual vignettes for cars using Slovak motorways will rise from the current €36.50 to €50. But it is not only the Slovak motorway vignettes for cars, which are valid for one year, that will become more expensive for drivers from January 2011. Car owners will also have to pay more for weekly and monthly vignettes, currently available for €4.90 and €9.90 respectively.

Toll increase: modern-day highway robbery or justified charge?

While critics have accused Slovakia of “modern-day highway robbery” following the announcement of higher motorway charges, the Slovak government points to urgently needed additional revenue of around €14 million, which is also intended to fund the maintenance and expansion of the country’s transport network. Slovak Transport Minister Ján Figeľ plans to add a day vignette to the options available to so-called day-trippers, who mainly come to Slovakia from neighboring Austria. It is a clever move to ensure that the steady stream of Austrians shopping in Slovakia continues.

Vignettes, incidentally, do not apply to trucks using Slovak motorways to transport goods: Truck tolls are recorded and calculated in Slovakia using an electronic system.