The European Territorial Authority of Alsace (CEA) introduces a heavy goods vehicle tax to ‘rebalance traffic’ on either side of the border

The tax will be applied starting in 2027 on the roads and motorways not under concession that the local authority took over as part of the 2019 Alsace law. Called ‘R-Pass’, it will amount to 0.15 euros per kilometre for trucks over 3.5 tonnes travelling on the north-south route (A35 and A36) and on two other roads linking this route to Germany.

The aim is to ‘rebalance transit traffic between Germany and France’, since Germany introduced a heavy goods vehicle tax (LKW Maut) in 2005, which led to a significant transfer of transit trucks to Alsace’s north-south route. This trend has intensified since the beginning of 2024, with a major increase (+80%) in the German LKW Maut. According to Frédéric Bierry, this increase in the German tax has led to an increase in traffic of ‘almost 20% in the first six months’ and ‘30%’ in August and September on the north-south motorway network in Alsace’.

According to the CEA, of all the tax options (vignettes, tolls and taxes), the HGV kilometre tax emerged as the most appropriate solution for the region.

The project has been the subject of consultation with all local stakeholders and an impact study. The CEA has also announced that it will ‘support the Alsatian economy in this transition’.
https://www.alsace.eu/actualites/taxe-poids-lourds-r-pass-ou-en-est-on/

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