The ministry sent a draft bill on expanding the national road network covered by the electronic toll collection system to the consultation stage.
According to the assumptions created at the time of introduction of the electronic toll in Poland, all of the A and S class roads in Poland are to be covered by the electronic toll. Currently, the electronic toll is collected on approximately 3,620 kilometres of national roads.
«Expanding the road network covered by the electronic toll system may cause the companies to see an alternative to the wheel transport by means of the rail transport. The cost of freight from point A to point B in transit through Poland, realised by the rail sector will gain more appeal versus the same action using the road transport, as it will involve a similar burden of using public infrastructure,» the ministry wrote.
«Therefore, expanding the road network covered by the electronic toll system is an action levelling out competitiveness. The tolling of newly built sections of high class roads leads in fact to a reduction of the inter-industry imbalance between road and rail transport that we currently face in Poland,» it added.
The infrastructure ministry said that the lack of competitive balance is prevalent in factors such as the issue of toll collection.
«This is a distortion in the transport market in Poland and leads to a preference for road transport — currently all railways are subject to the toll, against only a small percentage of public roads,» the ministry pointed out.
«Therefore, the extension of the national road network on which the toll is collected will encourage a gradual shift in the transport work carried out, with the ultimate aim of reducing CO2 emissions from transport,» it concluded.
