According to Viapass’ latest annual report, the number of trucks on Belgian toll roads has decreased by 800 000 in one year, from 41,10 million vehicles to 40,28. Viapass is the governmental organization that monitors the kilometer tax for trucks in Belgium.

The decrease has economic reasons: the high energy prices reduced people’s purchasing power, so companies reduced their production capacity, and less transport was needed.

Record revenue

Traffic jams, however, remained. There were still many trucks on critical routes, such as the Antwerp beltway, said transport economist Thierry Vanelslander (Antwerp University) to the newspaper Gazet van Antwerpen. “Moreover, it’s mainly passenger cars that cause traffic jams. There is more leisure travel by car, and teleworking has decreased since the corona pandemic.”

The kilometer tax has never raised so much money despite the reduced truck traffic. In the most recent operating year (1/4/2022 – 31/3/2023), the kilometer tax for trucks raised 838,41 million euros for the Belgian state, 2% more than one year before. That’s a record revenue, but the increase is due to the index adjustment. Viapass collected 657 million euros of kilometer tax during its first operating year.

Contribution

One of the reasons why the kilometer tax was introduced in Belgium seven years ago (2016) was to make foreign truck drivers contribute and pay for using our roads. Meanwhile, it is clear that foreign truck drivers pay the largest part of the kilometer tax.

Last year, over 53% of the money collected with kilometer charges came from foreign trucks. Polish (10,8%) and Dutch (10,1%) trucks contributed the most.

Mobility projects

What happens with the money? About 29% (155 million euros of the 543,8 million euros transferred to the Flemish Region) is intended to invest in infrastructure, for instance, to renovate the Beveren tunnel, the Tijsmanstunnel, the Kennedy tunnel, and the Saint-Anne pedestrian tunnel. Five percent goes to subsidies, and the remaining 66% goes to Flanders and is, therefore, not necessarily spent on mobility projects.

Trucks pay per kilometer driven on toll roads. The amount depends on three factors: the region where the road is located, the maximum permitted mass (Maximum Toegelaten Massa, MTM), and the Euro emission standard of the vehicle. The biggest polluters pay the most.

Viapass pioneer

Belgium has been the first country (since 2016) to succeed in rolling out an interoperable kilometer charging system based on satellite navigation (Global Navigation Satellite System, GNSS) across the entire territory, in several regions at the same time.