To little fanfare, on the 1st of January it was mandatory for trucks operating on national highways and some municipal roads, in Denmark, with a gross maximum weight of 12 tonnes and above, to pay a road user charge (called a truck toll in the EU) based on distance.
The main website for the charge is here.
It applies to all trucks, whether registered in Denmark or not, and by applying to all national highways and some municipal roads, it means around 10,900km of road is subject to the charge.
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| Denmark heavy truck RUC road network until 2028 |
However, this is only the first stage in a programme to introduce RUC to all vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, on all public roads in Denmark.
The stages are as follows:
- 1 January 2025: Trucks with GVW of 12 tonnes and above travelling on all national highways and some municipal roads.
- 1 January 2027: All trucks (GVW of 3.5 tonnes and above) travelling on all national highways and some municipal roads.
- 1 January 2027: All trucks (GVW of 3.5 tonnes and above) on ALL public roads (around 75,000km).
The system parallels withdrawal of Denmark from the Eurovignette programme, which charges trucks on a day, week, month or annual basis to operate in specific countries (now just Sweden, the Netherlands and Luxembourg). Of course the Eurovignette only applies to trucks 12 tonnes and above. The charge will be new to vehicles below that.
Rate structure
There are three weight categories for 12 tonne and above:
- 12-18 tonnes
- 18-32 tonnes
- 32-44 tonnes
Fees vary by CO2 emission class, with surcharges for operating in low emission zones. This is primarily a charge based on changing behaviour for environmental purposes, and is less about infrastructure costs.
Four of the five CO2 emission classes have charges that vary by registered maximum allowable weight of the truck combination. The zero emission class has the same charge regardless of size - being DKK0.13 per kilometre (US$0.018 per km). This is indicative of how much importance is being given to encouraging zero emission trucks.
The highest fee is for trucks over 32 tonnes at the highest emissions category, at DKK1.1 per kilometre US$0.16 per km).
How is distance measured and reported, and how is it paid?
Denmark has been technology neutral and has enabled an open market in EETS service providers for its system. Three companies to date are registered to offer RUC collection services:
- BroBizz (a subsidiary of Sund & Bælt Holding A/S, the Danish SOE responsible for setting up the entire system)
- Telepass (a long standing Italian EETS provider) and
- ØresundPAY (the service provider for the toll crossing to Sweden)
All three provide their own GNSS enabled OBUs (on board units) to be installed either professionally or by the vehicle owner, in their vehicles. One provider includes the ability to use an app to measure and report distance. The market is open, there could be more providers (and likely will be) in the years ahead.
Occasional users can buy a "toll ticket" which is literally a permit to travel a set distance within Denmark on specific roads, and is designed for trucks making rare trips into the country. Toll tickets are only available digitally.
The system is enforced with a network of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras fixed by the roadside, and also a fleet of enforcement vans which check whether the number plate of a truck is registered either with a service provider or a toll ticket has been paid for it.
Non payment is subject to a fine of DKK4500 (US$634).
What's significant about Denmark?
Besides being another country in Europe with heavy vehicle RUC, Denmark is showing how a RUC system can be introduced entirely serviced through an open market of service providers, with a technology-neutral approach. GNSS OBUs, OEM telematics or mobile phone apps might all be used. Denmark is also introducing heavy RUC on all roads, which is rare in Europe. Only Switzerland and Iceland have RUC systems that apply to distance travelled on all roads (although the Belgian heavy RUC system does measure distance on all roads, it applies a zero tariff to many of them).
The only significant negative news is that some truck operators believe that some operators have been incorrectly fined.
What about light vehicles?
Denmark has already been running a light vehicle road pricing trial based on distance. time and location. It was focused not just on pricing EVs, but on managing congestion. Two concepts are being tested - distance-based pricing and time-based (time being the duration of time driving). Both with location and time-of-day elements to it. 2,200 participants in the pilot.
It started in July 2023 and ends in July 2025. So there will be considerable interest in the outcomes of that trial. It will be evaluated subsequently and the results will no doubt inform policy discussions on road user charging in Denmark. It will be helpful that the heavy vehicle system is operational and will have been proven to work effectively.
Who's next?
The Netherlands will have a heavy vehicle RUC system from July 2026, it will also replace the Eurovignette as well as part of the motor vehicle tax for such vehicles ( a fee chargeable every three months similar to registration). It will be for all trucks 3.5 tonnes and above and only on major highways and some major local roads.
The Dutch system will require OBUs to measure and report distance, and will use DSRC as the enforcement technology (communicating with roadside and mobile enforcement units to check if vehicles have operating OBUs).
A consortium called "Triangle" led by Via Verde of Portugal (including Ascendi and Yunex) has been contracted to introduce the system, supplying OBUs and the remainder of the system, although it will be open to competing service providers. Via Verde will be the "base" supplier of account management services to those not using EETS providers
Vitronic has been separately contracted to provide the enforcement infrastructure (roadside and mobile). The core back office system is being owned and operated by RDW (the Netherlands Vehicle Authority, which is responsible for the RUC system).
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