Road Transporters‘ Claims Absurd

Press release, November 5, 2010, Prague

Centre for Efficient Transport (CEDOP) welcomes the intent of the Ministry of Transport to finally raise the toll for cargo automobiles. Its level, however, is regarded by CEDOP still to be too low in comparison to other countries (such as Austria) and also in comparison to the public funds (from the state, regional and municipal sources) consumed to build and maintain the road network. The level of the toll is also absolutely insufficient to fund the new projects of transport infrastructure for higher efficiency of cargo transport, as for example the base tunnels under the Swiss Alps).

The reductions are absurd

The claim of road transporters to compensate the introduced toll raise by a quantity discount, is absurd. They would be a motivation for larger truck exploitation in the freight transport, which in case of a less environmentally friendly and less safe road transport is definitely not a public interest.

The demand for a quantity discount opposes the elementary economical theory as well. The discount only has meaning if, within one operation, for one manipulation costs, more commodity is sold. The manipulation costs of the state however vary greatly in case of 50 or in case of 75 thousand kilometres of a truck’s ride on Czech roads. The wear of roads as well as effects on society like noise, immisions, accidents or the contribution to congestion is proportional to the number of trucks passing“, says Vladimír Libý from CEDOP.

Threating by the foreign competition are a nonsense

The representatives of the truck transporters‘ association ČESMAD Bohemia threat, that if the toll rise is not compensated to them, their jobs would be taken over by foreign companies. Petr Šlegr, the Director of CEDOP, comments this: „I haven’t heard a more stupid argument. If a foreign spedition company is to ride in our country, it is to pay the same toll as domestic companies. Its entering the Czech market will furthermore be obstructed by fixed costs associated with it.“ Šlegr adds:„The same nonsense arguments are heard around the consumer tax on diesel fuel. Is anyone serious that the transporter from some distant corner of Europe will come here, bring his own, cheaper diesel fuel, and distribute bread here with it?“

No price raise happening

The road transporters systematically threat that any fees that are introduced either for using the road network or for damages they can cause to the society will eventually be paid by public in the prices of the merchandise. Vladimír Libý refutates: „Fee introduction is an absolutely rational economical step, which just rectifies the relations on the much deformed transport market. As soon as it becomes economically advantageous for the producers to use rail transport, they will no longer have to forward their merchandise for long distances by a truck. Then the rise in price of road transport won’t affect them much.“ The price of the merchandise is influenced the most by the supranational companies, who calculate in a different way. If they want to keep prices down, they will prefer local producers with lower transport distance. „Introducing the market price of the toll is a form of support of local economics and local market, and is, unlike supporting the truck transport, in accordance with the rational thinking,“ notices Vladimír Libý.

Switzerland is a proof that it works. Higher toll for trucks  (approx. 18 Kč per km) did not lead to problems with supplying merchandise nor did it cause inflation. At the same time, it is the source of revenues for the development of rail transport,  so it directly improves the mode of transport that is to be preferred. „It is necessary to say, that of 55654 kilometers of total length of  Czech road network, only ridiculous 2.3 per cent is tolled. On the railroad, all of the network is tolled,“ says Petr Šlegr. Naproti tomu na železnici je zpoplatněna celá síť. „As long as status quo exists, the situation cannot be deemed normal and it is impossible to propose railway investment reduction with regard to its ‚small rate on a total traffic market‘,“ adds  Šlegr.