Switzerland has the longest record of any European country with distance based road user charging, being the first to introduce it (for heavy vehicles (GVW over 3.5 tonnes)) in 2001 with its LSVA system. The LSVA charges virtually all heavy vehicles by distance and weight class across all public roads in Switzerland (and Liechtenstein), although the first generation system used the tachograph as the primary measurement of distance, it used one of the first GPS On Board Units (OBUs) to support that measurement, including detecting where vehicles entered and exited the country. It is worth noting the LSVA is mandatory not only for Swiss registered heavy vehicles, but visiting heavy vehicles (with a manual odometer reading on entry and exit at the border for those not equipped with GPS approved OBUs, and a lump sum option for some classes of heavy vehicles).
Light vehicles were not subject to such a charge, but the vignette for use of the the motorway network applies to them (CHF40 per annum (~US$50), along with fuel taxes and registration fees as in most jurisdictions. This looks likely to change in the coming years for the same reasons as many other jurisdictions have been considering road user charges (RUC) - the inability of fuel tax as a way of charging for road use by electric vehicles (EVs).
Switzerland's Federal Council announced at the end of September that it is consulting on options to tax EVs, with the intention that it commence in 2030.
If successful, it is possible Switzerland could be the first mainland European country to introduce a light vehicle distance based RUC (given Iceland already has one).
Background
The press release from the Federal Council states that the Federal road infrastructure is 100% user pays, with the "mineral oil tax" being the main source of revenue for it. It pays into the National Road and Agglomeration Transport Fund and the Special Financing for Road Transport Fund with half of the fuel tax revenue also being general revenue to the Federal Treasury.
Tax on petrol is at CHF 0.7312 per litre (US$0.91)
Tax on diesel is at CHF 0.7587 per litre (US$0.94)
Any new tax on EVs would be expected to go to similar funds as the taxes on fuel. To implement such charges would require Constitutional Changes.
Options
The two options being considered are:
- Distance based RUC also based on vehicle weight (estimated to average at CHF 0.054 per km (US$0.067)
- Energy based tax on electricity used to charge EVs (estimated to average at CHF 0.228/kwh (US$0.028)
The proposed energy tax would apply to both public and private vehicle charging (which would raise questions about implementing and enforcing such a fee on vehicle charging at home).
Consultation
Documents on the consultation are available here (in German) and here (in French) and here (in Italian)
Consultation concludes on 9 January 2026.
Thoughts
I'm not a fan of levying the electricity used in EVs because it is fraught with the cost of implementing separate metering at homes primarily to recover a tax, and there remain issues around enforcement. It is also a highly inferior way of pricing road use, through a proxy tax, rather than one actually based around usage. Switzerland's long and successful operation of its LSVA system for heavy vehicles (which is not fuel specific) indicates it is possible to extend this to all vehicles, in an appropriate form.
Key to any distance charge when vehicles can cross borders is to provide an option to have distance measured by location, so this ought to be included but be optional. How this is to be accomplished is worth exploring.
Likewise, only having such a fee for EVs, and not considering plug-in hybrids or battery electric hybrids would be a mistake, as those vehicles pay much less fuel tax, and it would be seem appropriate to ensure they are charged appropriately for using the roads. Ultimately it could apply to all vehicles in due course, but this is
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