Germany’s Dornier Consulting company came out with a final project on a vignette road tolling system

Germany’s Dornier Consulting company came out with a final project on a vignette road tolling system. The proposed project envisages a phased introduction of a vignette road tolling system in Bulgaria. The adopted amendments to the Roads Act provide for a vignette road tolling system to be introduced as of January 1, 2004. Dornier Consulting recommends the following categorization of motor vehicles and phased introduction of the vignette system: I. All goods motor vehicles with more than two axles and all other motor vehicles not included in Categories II and III with more than two axles – as of 1 January 2004. Eight-plus seat passenger motor vehicles (not counting the seat of the driver) i.e. buses, regardless of the number of axles and all other two-axle motor vehicles not included in Categories I or III – as of 1 July 2004. Up to eight seat passenger motor vehicles (not counting the seat of the driver) with four or more wheels. i.e. motor cars, minibuses and caravans, regardless of the number of axles, motor cycles excluded – as of 1 January 2005. All categories of motor vehicles listed in the transition section will be offered the same kinds of vignettes: - WEEKLY VIGNETTES, valid for seven consecutive days, including the day of their issue. - MONTHLY VIGNETTES, valid until the date of their issue of the following month. When there is no such date in the following month (e.g. 31st), the vignette will be valid until the last day of the following month. - ONE YEAR VIGNETTES, covering the period from 1 January of the first year to 31 January of the second year (13 months). In the first two stages Bulgarian users will be able to buy only yearly vignettes. This will result in the following in the transition period: - All one-year vignettes bought in the second half of 2004 for Category I motor vehicles will be sold at 50% of the normal one-year price for this Category. - The price of a one-year vignette for category II will cover a six-month period from 1 July to 31 December 2004 and will be 50% of the price of a one-year vignette for this Category. No additional vignette will be required for trailers for Category II motor vehicles. Following the transition period, Category II motor vehicles will require: - Vignettes for Category I motor vehicles for (more or less) constantly attached trailers (like for motor vehicles with more than two axles). - Weekly or monthly vignettes for Category I motor vehicles for temporarily attached trailers (like motor vehicles with more than two axles). “Paper” vignettes with the registration number of the motor vehicle will be used in the first two stages. In the third stage of the introduction of the system all categories of motor vehicles will have to have vignette stickers on the inner side of the motor vehicle’s windscreen. Affordability by users is one of the most important factors to be considered upon the introduction of a vignette system. Dornier Consulting carried out a number of empirical studies across the country to evaluate the affordability of the system, price levels, revenues and the degree of coverage of expenditures. Drawing on the positive experience of other European countries, the vignette tolling system in Bulgaria exempts the following motor vehicles from vignette fees: - Motor vehicles of the Bulgarian armed forces - SFOR and KFOR motor vehicles (but not those of the hauliers hired by them - motor vehicles with clearly visible and fixed blue or red light signal lamps like police cars, fire engines, ambulances, etc. The vignette tolling system provides for the Roads Executive Agency to supply social welfare structures (the Social Welfare Agency) with free one-year vignettes. These structures should distribute these vignettes among disabled persons of Group I through III who own Category III motor vehicles of an engine volume of up to 1,800 cm3 and an up to 100 horse power. (The determination of the respective disability degree group is regulated by this country’s laws.) The organizations in charge of the free distribution of vignettes should check the grounds for receiving free vignettes, i.e. the disability documents and the documents proving the beneficiary’s ownership of the respective motor vehicle.