THE TRANSPORT Ministry has proposed to hike the price of stickers to travel on Slovakia’s highways by 40 percent. An annual highway sticker for passenger cars will cost €50 in 2011 compared to €36.50 in 2010. A monthly sticker will cost €14 and a weekly sticker will sell for €7 next year.
Martin Krajčovič, the Transport Ministry’s spokesperson, said that even after the increase the price in Slovakia will be comparable to the cost for highway stickers in the Czech Republic and remain significantly lower than other EU countries, the Sme daily wrote. So far, only Austria has announced a plan to increase its highway sticker price.
The ministry stated that sticker prices have not gone up since 2005 even though the number of motorways has increased, noting that 263 kilometres of tolled highways opened between 2006 and 2010.
Many drivers are unhappy about the proposed price increase and have also said that they would prefer being able to buy one-day or ten-day highway stickers. The ministry does not intend to offer these, Sme reported.
The Transport Ministry plans to collect €55.5 million from sales of highway stickers in 2011, €16 million more than the amount expected this year.
Transportation experts have said that the increased price of highway stickers might result in heavier traffic on lower category roads, Sme wrote. Nevertheless, the experts said the price increase is not dramatic.
