Tolling

The Autobahnen- und Schnellstraßen-Finanzierungs-Aktiengesellschaft (ASFINAG, motorway and expressway financing company) was founded in 1982 and is fully owned by the Republic of Austria. The legal basis is the ASFINAG Act of 8 October 1982 (Federal Law Gazette No. 591/1982 as amended).

The MSG (Maut Service GmbH) is responsible for collecting tolls on the ASFINAG road network. There is a time-related car toll (toll sticker), a mileage-dependent car toll for special toll sections and a mileage-dependent electronic truck toll. The MSG’s remit also includes the Service and Toll Monitoring Unit, enforcement, identification and punishment of road users who use the ASFINAG road network without paying the relevant toll.

The telematics service, systems development and customer management units belong to the MSG.
The MSG is also responsible for operator-related activities in connection with the driver, garage and local authority cards for the digital tachograph.

ASFINAG Toll Collection

In 1997, the company was granted the comprehensive mandate and authority to plan, build, operate, maintain and toll the Austrian motorway and expressway network. Based on the ASFINAG Ermächtigungsgesetz (ASFINAG Enabling Act) of 1997 (Federal Law Gazette I Nr. 113/1997 as amended) and the usufruct contract concluded with the Republic of Austria, ASFINAG now has the right to usufruct in all Austrian motorways and expressways. The right to tolling of motorways and expressways granted by the Republic of Austria is ASFINAG’s most important source of funding.

In line with the provisions set out in the Bundesstraßen-Mautgesetzes 2002 (Province Road Toll Act of 2002), ASFINAG has the right to levy tolls that depend on the vehicle’s maximum permissible weight on road users on all motorways and expressways. Such tolls may either be time-related (for vehicles with a maximum permissible weight of up to and including 3.5 tonnes – toll sticker) or mileage-dependent (over 3.5 tonnes maximum permissible weight).

On certain stretches of motorway or expressway (special toll sections) vehicles with a maximum permissible weight of up to and including 3.5 tonnes do not have to acquire a time-related toll (toll sticker) but pay a so-called section toll. These road sections have a combined total length of 141 kilometres and consist of sections on the A9 Pyhrn motorway, A10 Tauern motorway, A 11 Karawanken motorway, S16 Arlberg expressway and all sections on the A 13 Brenner Autobahn. Tolling takes place at six central tolling stations on these stretches of motorway. For vehicles with a maximum permissible gross weight of over 3.5 tonnes the mileage-dependent toll as defined in the Bundesstraßen-Mautgesetzes (Province Road Toll Act as amended) is applicable.

The Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology has supreme authority over designations of category and rates charged. The funds generated are re-invested exclusively in road construction, financing and maintenance activities.

The toll charges

According to the current EU road pricing directive 1999/62/EC as amended 2006/38/EC, tolls and usage charges must be oriented on the construction costs and costs for the operation, maintenance, development and expansion of the respective network.

In line with the requirements set out in the directive, ASFINAG, in cooperation with Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology and an internal working group, prepared a joint cost calculation for the entire motorway and expressway network. Using a special calculation method, the costs chargeable for vehicles with a maximum permissible gross weight of over 3.5 tonnes were set in line with pre-defined categories (2, 3, 4 and more axles).

The rates for mileage-dependent tolls for multi-track vehicles with a maximum permissible gross weight of over 3.5 tonnes are set by the toll rate ordinance.