Brussels City Region Congestion/Road User Charge might be implemented in 2024?

Around a year ago I reported that the Brussels Capital-Region Government (which is one of the federal regions of the Kingdom of Belgium) was planning to introduce road user charging (RUC), specifically a distance, time and location based RUC for all light vehicles registered in and driving in the Brussels Capital-Region. Prices would vary by engine size (and it wouldn't apply to heavy vehicles because Belgium already has a national heavy vehicle RUC system). That was to start with a pilot called Smartmove, but ultimately lead to replacement of the very high annual vehicle registration fees in Brussels, with RUC. Charges would be applied to all public roads except the ring motorway and some park and ride access roads at the periphery.

Brussels City-Region zone for RUC

It is interesting for three reasons:

1. It is the latest attempt to introduce distance-based RUC for light-vehicles in Europe, replacing an existing tax (there have arguably been several attempts, notably in the Netherlands, Finland and the UK). So far no European jurisdiction has introduced distance-based RUC for light vehicles (but it does exist in two US states, one Australian state and New Zealand, in all cases for only a subset of the light vehicle fleet).
2. It seeks to combine RUC with a form of congestion charging, by varying distance by time of day and location.  The time of day factor is intended to charge higher rates for peak time travel, and the location factor being that only distance travelled within the Brussels Capital-Region would be subject to a fee.
3. Smartmove intends to pioneer using smartphones as a means of identifying and measuring vehicle trips. This has not been successful elsewhere to date, primarily because of the difficulties in ensuring that the phone is always linked to the vehicle, and the vehicle always has a smartphone operating to measure and report trip data. 

There is a project website, but in English (and Flemish and French) at least it still has dates that are now unrealistic.

Covid 19 has delayed progress, so that earlier this year it was reported in the Brussels Times that it would not be implemented until 2024, noting there is considerable opposition from neighbouring regions Wallonia and Flanders (primarily because RUC would apply to residents from those regions entering Brussels, but they would not receive a reduction in registration fees). Other regions feared variously that it would be a "tax grab" from their residents, and that it could creation additional congestion on the uncharged ring road (which seems unlikely, given it is likely to reduce overall demand for driving in Brussels - and experience in both Stockholm and London with exempting boundary or bypass routes is that the net effect on such roads is neutral). 

Delays have cost money, as the Brussels Government was anticipating €250 million per annum in net revenue from the programme from next year (which clearly indicates that even after drastically reducing vehicle registration fees, RUC makes more money because it is charging vehicles from outside the region), and is now having to make budget savings to make up the difference. 

There have been legal challenges, with the Council of State (Federal Government) authorising the Brussels City-Region to introduce RUC, but only after it has consulted with Wallonia and Flanders.  The Minister-President of the Region has indicated legislation to implement it would not be introduced during the current Parliamentary term.  Brussels is authorised to proceed only with taxes that are not already the competence of the Federal Government, but the Viapass heavy vehicle RUC system is already implemented by all three regions. Also with a congestion pricing element, it is not just about revenue.

Brussels must do "everything it can to reach a co-operation agreement" with the other regions to prevent or limit possible discriminatory situations. Obviously the easiest solution would be for ALL regions to implement a similar policy, but that's unlikely at present.  However, it is NOT mandatory for Brussels to reach such an agreement, according to an article in L'Echo (French).

All of this means it is far from certain whether it is proceed. The next regional election is 2024 and there is limited political enthusiasm for the policy in the current government. This leaves aside testing the technology and its feasibility.

My bet is that the odds are that, at most, this will be a trial, because until the trial is implemented and runs, there won't be enough political support.

Of course separate to all of this is the gradual erosion of Federal fuel tax revenue because of the growth in hybrid and electric vehicles, but none of that revenue goes directly to the Brussels City-Region Government.  However, that issue really does require all of the Regions and the Federal Government to co-operate.

Brussels Government to introduce road pricing across the Brussels region

In a radical reform of how light vehicles are to be charged for road use, the Brussels Government has announced that it is replacing high annual vehicle registration fees with a charge based on distance.  If successful, it is possible this model will be replicated in other jurisdictions that charge ownership of a vehicle rather than usage, such as in the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and also Australian states and territories.  

The policy is called "SmartMove" and has its own dedicated website in English, Flemish, French and German.  It means that vehicles registered in Brussels (which is one of Belgium's three Federal "states") with gross mass of less than 3.5 tonnes will pay a per kilometre charge that will vary by time of day and engine size (the latter appears to be a legacy of the existing registration fee system).  

It applies to all roads except the Brussels ring road and access roads to park and ride stations at the periphery of the Brussels-Capital region.   

Brussels SmartMove charged roads

Objectives

The scheme objectives are to:

• Improve fairness: Charging light vehicles by how much they use the road network, rather than simply ownership, will mean the costs of maintaining and developing the network are born the most by those who use it the most.
• Improve mobility: It is expected that the reform will reduce congestion, and through use of the app, enhance mobility by making it easier to make choices about alternative modes (and for those who drive, less congestion improves mobility and makes freight and bus traffic more efficiient).
• Improve quality of life: Reduced congestion and traffic levels will reduce emissions and improve air quality.
• Provide 24/7 assistance to road users, using technology.

It is hoped that the reforms will reduce car trip numbers by 25% by 2030, by encouraging motorists to consolidate trips and choose other modes of travel. 

Timelines

The policy was announced in July, and an impact analysis is currently underway.  The project is seeking volunteers to test the app, with the full test phase to be launched in 2021. The impact analysis will look at transport impacts, as well as socio-economic and environmental impacts. It is expected to be fully operational in 2022.

What vehicles?

All light vehicles, including cars, vans and motorcycles. Heavy vehicles are excluded as they are already part of Belgium's nationwide heavy vehicle road user charging scheme called Viapass. It applies not only to vehicles registered in Brussels, but ALL vehicles entering the Brussels-region. They will all be subject to a distance based charge. No exemptions have been announced (other than heavy vehicles of course), except mopeds with a maximum speed of 45 km/h. Electric vehicles are expressly included, as the proposal is about congestion.

As it will replace the registration fee and annual road tax, it is worth looking at what those fees are.  Below is the table for registration fees (on first registration in Brussels):

Brussels Capital Region - first registration tax

As can be seen, it ranges from €61.50 for a moped through to €2478 for a 3.1-3.4 litre engine vehicles that is less than one year old.  From then, the annual road tax is as follows (up to 5 litre CC, the table does go up to 8.8):

Brussels annual road tax (up to 5 litre)

This means annual road tax is €292.38 for a 1.6 litre vehicle, but escalates rapidly with larger engines. This is a broad proxy for emissions, although bluntly (as a large capacity engine may be cleaner burning than some older smaller capacity engines) and not officially.  As the distance based road pricing scheme would still charge more for larger engines, it is unclear whether any vehicle owners will benefit based on engine size, but it is likely they will benefit if they drive relatively low distances within Brussels region. It isn't difficult to envisage this benefiting car owners who don't commute by car in Brussels, but drive longer distances outside the region (which itself will benefit Brussels by reducing congestion).

How will it work?

All vehicles using the scheme will have number plates registered and Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology will be used to identify vehicles as to whether they have:

• Registered for the app with an account; or
• Bought a day pass (intended for visitors/occasional users).

However, unlike a traditional congestion charge, the Brussels system will operate seven days a week, 24 hours a day, but will have higher charges at peak times.

The mobility app is intended to:

"enables the comparison of mobility alternatives (travelling at a different time of day, public transport, bicycle, car sharing, taxi…). The SmartMove app also keeps track of individual travel costs and calculates the impact on air quality and the climate so people can make the best travel choice.  It’s our ambition to also link MaaS (Mobility as a Service) to the app, allowing users to plan a quick, affordable and sustainable journey in just a few clicks. Occasional drivers, tourists or visitors can also purchase a day pass via the app (or website)."

So it doesn't just manage the account, but also is intended to measure distance travelled and promote alternatives.  However, the website does indicate that "other systems may also be made available, in cooperation with other external parties, for calculating the kilometre charge".  This could be a dedicated On Board Unit or a vehicle's own embedded native telematics, but none of this is determined yet.

There are some big questions about this approach such as:

1. What happens if your phone is off when you drive? You have an account, but it isn't measuring distance travelled, do the ANPR cameras take enough records of number plates to match in the back office vehicles that don't have active smartphones reporting trip data? What happens if the phone is on and off while driving during the day?  How is it enforced? 
2. Who is responsible if the battery on the phone expires whilst in use, or the phone reboots due to a manufacturer's setting?
3. What happens if your phone is on and you don't drive? You could be in a friend's vehicle, or on a bus, will it measure distance and charge you accordingly? Or will ANPR be used to avoid this?  How many ANPR cameras will there need to be around Brussels to enable this?
4. What happens if you switch vehicles and don't update the app?

These are some of the challenges that have meant other jurisdictions have not adopted mobile phones as the platform to measure road trips on a continuous basis, because it has been difficult to ensure that a phone is on and running the app the whole time a vehicle is travelling (and not running the app when a driver leaves the vehicle), and also that no more than one phone and app are operating at once. 

Conclusion

The Brussels scheme will be ground-breaking, as the first time any jurisdiction has replaced high ownership based taxes with distance based charging, with a time of day element to reduce congestion.  It will be the first distance-based charging scheme in Europe designed for light vehicles, but not the first light vehicle distance-charging scheme globally (New Zealand, Utah and Oregon all have these, but only in Utah is distance-based charging an option to replace higher annual registration fees).

More importantly, it doesn't just mean a shift from ownership based taxes to distance based, its attempt to include a congestion charging element could significantly improve mobility and environmental conditions in Brussels. Albeit that the congestion charging element is blunt (it doesn't vary by road, which it would have to, to seriously target major bottlenecks), it may yet provide an example of how a flat non-usage based tax might be replaced with charging based on usage in a way that improves the performance of the network.

I'll look forward to seeing how trials progress in 2021, and if the technical issues around exclusively using mobile phones to measure distance can be resolved.  If so, Brussels may set the path for other jurisdictions in Europe seeking to move away from high fixed charges to lower usage based charges.  However, it is notable that this is not a replacement for fuel duty, which is charged at the Federal level in Belgium (at €0.61523 per litre (US$2.83 a gallon)).

Footnote

However one point on its website is inaccurate. "In other major cities that have introduced smart kilometre charges (e.g. Stockholm, London and Milan), many positive effects on the local economy have been identified: more attractive and pleasant cities, time gains for economic activities, a more attractive and accessible labour market".  None of those cities have any form of distance based charging at all. They do have cordon/area charging schemes to reduce congestion.

Belgium's Viapass truck toll is in operation, but problems persist

Belgium has the world's newest national distance based road user charging system, but as I posted on Thursday, it hasn't been without teething problems which are not yet behind it.  Flanders News reported on a "chaotic start".

I summarised the scheme in February, which charges main highways and parallel roads in Flanders and Wallonia, and all roads in Brussels as seen in the maps (with charge rates in Euro) below.

Belgium's charged RUC Network

The problems last week appeared to be a mix of a small number of dysfunctional OBUs, delays in delivering OBUs to users and delays in responding to queries by phone or online.   Viapass claims 135,000 users have been successfully registered and are paying the toll, but the contract with Satellic was to get 700,000 trucks signed up.  Long queues emerged on Friday as foreign trucks, especially from the Netherlands queued up at service centres to obtain OBUs, with much congestion.  OBUs were meant to be available from automatic  dispensing machines, which were quickly exhausted and not resupplied. Another report on Saturday indicated some technical problems with the system.

Metro Belgium reports (Flemish) that the Walloon transport Minister demanded an urgent meeting of the Viapass board. The report notes Viapass saying it did warn not to wait until the last day to get OBUs and that it had embarked on a major campaign of publicity months ago, including writing to 60,000 operators.    Le Soir reports (French) that the Viapass board had the urgent meeting, but said the system had worked well, except for queues at borders and said that Satellic needed to improve performance to meet its contractual obligations.   Some reports indicate that one problem was the efforts by the TLN to get the introduction of the system delayed may have encouraged Dutch operators to not get accounts and OBUs in time.

HLN (Flemish) reports that Viapass (the company set  up jointly by the Flemish, Walloon and Brussels governments to manage the RUC scheme) has told Satellic to improve its performance.  Two roads were blocked in Wallonia out of protest, with particular problems at border crossings with the Netherlands (which are typically free flow since border control was removed many years ago).   Via pass called for quicker response time, for OBU dispensing machines to be constantly replenished and for a maximum two days waiting time for faulty OBU's to be replaced by post, or immediately at service centres.

Meanwhile, Metro Belgium reports that the Flemish Transport Minister does not understand the delay, given there have been "months" for truck operators to get ready, and notes the German system had problems when it started (although I would have thought after 10 years some lessons would have been learned)!

Requests to delay introduction of the system were refused by Flemish and Walloon transport Ministers, but RTL reported (French) on Saturday planned protests against the charge.

I suspect things will settle down in the coming days, as OBUs get delivered and delays ease at service centres, meanwhile it will be interesting to see if stories of what may be seen as "unfair" enforcement emerge.   What the Belgian experience shows is that you may not be able to do too much publicity in advance of such a change, and that the way the publicity is undertaken may need to be improved elsewhere.  Although availability of accounts and OBUs stretches back into late last year, the urgency has not been clear to many operators, particularly foreign ones.  Perhaps financial incentives for early take-up could have been made available (e.g. a discount for a month or two, or credits to accounts based on the deposit).  However, most important is to provide the capacity to cope with last minute rushes at service centres and call centres.   I'm a little surprised at the problems, given how many other systems have been launched, with some of the same issues emerging years ago.  As the next country likely to deploy distance based truck road user charging looks likely to be Slovenia, I hope it can learn from the Belgian experience.

Meanwhile, Satellic has a strong incentive to get things right this week, it is getting paid enough to do so in any case.

Interesting, on Friday Viapass announced that Axxès, a French toll service provider, has been certified as the first new service provider for the system, competing with Satellic.   Viapass has said it passed the certification tests for accuracy and communications. Axxès operates in France, Spain and Portugal, so this is its first venture into deployment of GNSS based distance charging.   Does this mean some of the dissatisfied future users may choose Axxès over Satellic?

Belgium's heavy vehicle road user charge starts tomorrow but...

As previously reported on this blog, Belgium is set to be the tenth country in Europe to implement distance based truck tolls (and the fifth to use a GNSS based measuring technologies) tomorrow (1 April), but it already appears some teething problems are emerging.    The system is expected to raise €750 million per annum, but issues appearing include delays in delivering OBUs to operators that have pre-ordered them,  claims that some are unreliable and long delays in call centre or email responses from Satellic. 

Notwithstanding attempts from the Dutch  (TLN) and Flemish (TLV) Associations for Transport and Logistics to legally challenge the charge, it looks like it will be operational tomorrow.   TTM reports (Dutch) that it is "chaos" and that TLN claims that call centre delays are around half an hour or more and that emails are not being responded to, and that operators are still waiting on OBUs paid for and ordered "weeks" ago.  The response from Satellic is that operators that haven't received them need to go to service points at the Belgian border, which is likely to cause chaos.  TTM  says that the border points on Wednesday were without sufficient OBUs, although Satellic claims to guarantee everyone who ordered an OBU in advance will have one in time for tomorrow.  TLV claims that Satellic isn't ready and wants leniency in enforcement and TLN pledges to support anyone with a legal challenge for enforcement, if they have taken all reasonable steps to comply. 

Viapass claims that 350,000 users will be registered by 1 April, but claims that 800,000 OBUs are available now.   In parallel to the launch of the system, Belgium will withdraw from the Eurovignette (which charges truck over 12 tonnes GVW) and has cut annual registration fees for trucks down to 3.5 tonnes GVW).  It has put out a press release in advance of the system launch where it points out that there are 128 automatic dispensers of OBUs.  

HLN.BE reports (Flemish only) that a survey from transport organisation Febetra (the Belgian freight and logistics industry association) indicates 60% of truck operators reported problems with either unreliable OBUs or difficulty accessing Satellic's (the concessionaire operating the system) call centre. It is concerned that operators with OBUs that have failed cannot get them replaced by tomorrow. Yet Flanders Today has reported that Satellic says the defective OBUs only need a software update which is automatic (presumably via mobile data) and there is no need to replace the OBU.  Apparently of the 2000 OBUs reported defective (out of 350,000) 90% have been fixed.

I suspect that enforcement over the next month will be sufficiently nuanced to not fine those who appear to have made best efforts to comply.  There are ways of designing enforcement procedures for introduction that do not undermine compliance in the medium term, but also give users a fair chance to become compliant. The fine is €1000 which must be paid within 3 hours otherwise a further €1000 must be paid.   However, enforcement is done by different entities in each of the three regions that the charge is collected.  It is a tax in Flanders and Brussels, but a fee in Wallonia (because its roads are managed by a private concessionaire).  So there is a chance that enforcement responses to early issues may vary.  The deposit for an OBU is €135.  

Gazet Van Antwerpen is reporting (Flemish only) that some critics claim the system will charge for use of parallel roads, to which the CEO of the managing company Viapass says that customers can check this on their invoices and it will be corrected if true.   One operator said it will increase the costs of freight transport in Belgium without any countervailing reduction in congestion, although it is not intended to manage congestion.

The problem of not enough OBUs having been installed before introduction is not new.  This happened in Slovakia as well, and the issue comes to whether it is a problem of the lack of supply of OBUs or the truck owners/operators simply waiting until the last week or so to get their vehicles equipped.  Having incentives for early installation would have helped that, a simple discount for the first month or so for those who are early installers would cost revenue, but would also spread out the logistical nightmare of last minute account set up.  Similarly, call centre problems are entirely predictable.  When London introduced its congestion charge, it provided vastly larger capacity for its call centre just to ensure that when the charge started, nobody could accuse Transport for London of not being able to "get through".  Indeed, a parallel call centre was established in case the main one failed.  Of course all this is expensive, but to get through the pain of introduction, it pays off in terms of acceptability.  

It's far too early to tell whether this is just a matter of far too many operators responding in the last week, or any mistakes on behalf of Satellic or Viapass, but hopefully nobody will be unfairly penalised for doing their best to comply.   Of course if Satellic is seen as giving poor service, it will be a strong incentive for the new competing service providers to offer better service.

Meanwhile, Satellic has produced this advice from its website, reproduced from its front page below to cover what appear to be all eventualities, except perhaps getting to a service point and there being insufficient OBUs or insufficient parking space for those queuing to get one:

You have an OBU

Couple your OBU to a vehicle in the Road User Portal. Install the OBU in your vehicle, switch it on and keep it on whilst driving in Belgium and abroad. If the OBU turns green you are ready to go! If the OBU shows a red light please check our Q&A section.

You don’t have an account - you don’t have an OBU

Go to a Service Point as soon as possible, create a fast-track account and get your OBU. Be sure to bring all the necessary vehicle papers.

You have an account - you have not registered a vehicle - you don’t have an OBU yet

Go to a Service Point as soon as possible to get an OBU. Bring the login and password for your account on the Road User Portal and all necessary vehicle papers. Log in to your existing account, complete your vehicle registration and get your OBU.

You have an account – you registered a vehicle – you don’t have an OBU yet

Go to a Service Point as soon as possible to get an OBU. Bring the login and password for your account on the Road User Portal. Login to your existing account and get an OBU.

You have an account – you registered a vehicle – you ordered an OBU but did not yet receive it

Go to a Service Point as soon as possible to get another OBU. Bring the login and password for your account on the Road User Portal and the necessary vehicle papers. Login to your existing account on the Road User Portal and re-register your vehicle. As a license plate number can only be registered once in one account, you need to register your license plate number in a different manner. For example: if you registered 1ABC123 you can re-register as follows 1-ABC-123 or 1.ABC.123 or 1 ABC 123.

Belgium's heavy vehicle road user charge to start 1 April

Belgium looks set to be the 11th country in Europe to introduce a distance based road pricing system (legally a toll in EU Member States) on 1 April 2016 (counting Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Russia, Belarus and Iceland).

Belgium will withdraw from the Eurovignette system after that date, as all vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of over 3.5 tonnes will be required to have an On Board Unit (OBU) to pay the new "kilometer charge" which has been branded as Viapass.  Although not all roads in Belgium are subject to the charge, it will be a legal requirement to have an OBU for any heavy vehicles using any roads in the country.  Uncharged roads are technically tolled subject to a zero Euro tariff.  Around 3,000 km of roads will be charged.

Viapass logo

It is not being implemented by the Belgian Government, but by the three regional governments of Belgium of Wallonia, Flanders and Brussels.

Purpose of the charge

The primary reason given for the charge is that it will better reflect the costs imposed by heavy vehicles on Belgium's road infrastructure, particularly the costs imposed by foreign vehicles (as Belgium has considerable transit traffic passing between countries and to and from its ports).  Distance based charging (compared to the Eurovignette) more directly reflects volumes of traffic and can also better incentivise more environmentally friendly vehicles (as experience in Germany indicates). 

All revenues are treated as revenue attributable to each regional government (based on distance travelled in each region). 

Basis for the charge

All vehicles with a Gross vehicle weight of over 3.5 tonnes will pay by distance based on:

- Weight;

- Euro emission rating;

- Road classification.

The tariff schedule is below in Euros per kilometre.  The weight refers to the full configuration of the vehicle (powered and trailer unit).  As you can see, charges vary by weight band and Euro rating on a logical basis (heavier costs more, as does the more polluting engine rating).  

Slightly more interesting is the higher set of charges for distance travelled in the Brussels urban area not on major highways, this appears to clearly reflect an interest to disincentivise the use of local arterial roads and streets by heavy vehicles (to reduce congestion contributed by heavy vehicles and the exposure of pedestrians and residential areas to pollution from such vehicles).

Curiously, in Flanders and Brussels the charge is legally a tax, and not subject to VAT, but in Walloon where roads are managed by a private company it is legally a fee, so is subject to VAT (as it is a fee for a service provided).

Belgium heavy vehicle road user charge tariff table

Walloon region charged road network

Flanders region charged road network

Brussels metropolitan charged network (all roads, different rate for peripheral highways

What's significant about the Belgian Viapass system

Viapass will be the 11th distance based heavy vehicle road charging system in Europe (counting Belarus, although it includes foreign cars in its system).

Viapass will be the 5th GNSS assisted (Switzerland being assisted), and 4th GNSS based heavy vehicle road charging system in Europe (and the 6th in the world - counting the GPS options for New Zealand and Oregon systems).

Viapass will be the first Benelux country to introduce distance based road charging (after multiple attempts by the Netherlands.

Viapass is the first distance based heavy vehicle charging system in Europe to charge for use of all roads in a city (Brussels - Oregon and New Zealand charge all public roads in both jurisdictions).

Viapass means Belgium withdraws from the multi-country Eurovignette system for heavy vehicles.  The remaining members of Eurovignette are Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden.

Belgium was original intending to introduce a vignette (time based charge) for light vehicles across the country, but suspended that element pending the successful introduction of the heavy vehicle charge and a pilot undertaken on distance based charging for light vehicles.

Belgian road pricing tender goes to preferred bidder status

The T-Systems led consortium has been selected as the preferred bidder for Belgium's distance based truck tolling system across main roads according to various media sources (e.g. Wirtschafts Blatt Austria in German).  

The consortium comprises T-Systems (76%) and Strabag (24%), with Belgacom as telecommunications partner.

Strabag subsidiary Efkon will provide the enforcement software and system technology, T-Systems will provide the communications and charging technology.  The contract is expected to be an availability charge basis.  Finalisation of contract is expected in July 2014 with 18 months for testing and implementation, with tolling starting in 2016.   The contract for construction and operation would be until 2027.

The contract will include 40 fixed enforcement sites and 40 mobile enforcement units.

There is no news as to whether any charging system for cars is also to be established.

Of course what's particularly peculiar about this piece of news is that it is not the Belgian Government doing this.  It is the three regional governments of Belgium operating in unison (Flanders, Walloon and Brussels).

Belgian truck toll moving forward, but car vignette shelved in favour of investigating distance charging

I wrote over two years ago about Belgium's efforts (or rather the federal constituent parts of Belgium) to introduce a nationwide truck tolling system, in parallel with a light vehicle vignette.  The truck toll part of it is moving forward, but the charge for light vehicles is on a different timescale.  The vignette has been cancelled, as the three Belgian regional governments look at alternative solutions.

Distance based truck tolling

The three Belgian regions are currently mid-tender for procuring a heavy vehicle distance based tolling system.   It is currently branded as Viapass. The entire system will be developed, built, financed, maintained and managed  by a single private consortium (yet to be selected).

The consortia that were shortlisted in late 2013 were:

Belgium to introduce heavy vehicle toll and private car vignette

Flanders Today reports that the three regional governments of Belgium have agreed to introduce a tolling system for all goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes from 2013.  The roads to be charged will be motorways and major highways, but each regional government will be free to add roads to the tolled network (and are expected to do so, to avoid excessive traffic diverting to untolled routes).   The system will replace Belgium's participation in the Eurovignette, a standard time based (according to days, weeks, months or a year of pre-purchased usage) charging system that applies across several EU Member States.

Tolls will be charged on a distance basis, with lower charges for more environmentally friendly vehicles.  It is expected the system will be done using on board units, although the technology to be used has not yet been identified.  As two of Belgium's neighbours either have (Germany) or about to have (France) GPS based distance charging, it is reasonably expected Belgium will as well.

Light vehicles will not be free of charge on the networks though.  A light vehicle vignette will be introduced, similar to that now existing in several European countries (e.g. Austria, Slovenia, Czech Republic).  Vehicle owners wishing to use the charged network will have to purchase a sticker covering a set period of usage of the network in intervals that will probably range from a number of day up to a year.  

Belgium's introduction of a heavy vehicle distance based tolling system will add to the growing list of European countries with such a system, although with differing technologies.  The list being:

- Switzerland - all vehicles 3.5 tonnes and above - all roads - Tachometer with GPS backup;

- Germany - all  vehicles 12 tonnes and above - motorways and selected A roads only - GPS with map matching;

- Austria - all vehicles 3.5 tonnes and above - motorways and selected A roads only - DSRC

- Czech Republic - all vehicles 3.5 tonnes and above - motorways, expressways and selected A roads only - DSRC;

- Slovakia - all vehicles 3.5 tonnes and above - motorways and expressways - GPS

- Poland - all vehicles 3.5 tonnes and above - motorways and selected highways - DSRC

- France (under development) all vehicles 3.5 tonnes and above - untolled state motorways - (likely to be GPS).

(Please note this does not include countries that still have a vignette/time based charging system for heavy vehicles, such as the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark and Hungary).