Toll roads. Fare and location of roads

Transportation by road is relatively cheap when it comes to not too long distances. Their cost is affected only by the depreciation of the cars themselves and fuel. However, since recent time, logisticians can also pawn the costs for tolls on toll roads. But, as a rule, the tracks are worth it.

Toll roads

There are two main views on the problem of additional fees for certain areas: one side considers this unfair, since there is a transport tax in the Russian Federation, the funds from which must be spent on the construction of highways, while others view it as perfectly normal.

Despite the fact that the emergence of paid sites has become systematic only recently, this is far from the invention of the XXI century, even for Russia. Initially, travel for money was practiced on small stretches in the Voronezh, Lipetsk, Saratov, Pskov regions. But in connection with the unprofitability and for some other reasons this initiative has not received proper development.

The mechanism of work

Why do you need paid sections of roads and how does it work at all? The original goal - to shift to the motorists themselves the costs of construction, maintenance and reconstruction of the tracks, at least in part. There are several systems for which payment can be made.

Firstly, these are special stickers, which are called vignettes or stickers. This is a kind of pass to the toll roads of Europe, the absence of which threatens with a fine. For a relatively small cost, depending on the duration of the subscription, the traveler can purchase a sticker for any filling station in the border zone - even in the European Union there is still no single system.

The second way - special checkpoints at the entrance, where the payment occurs. This method, for example, is used in Russia, where there are not so many toll roads yet. Italy, Belarus, Poland, France, Croatia, Serbia, the Netherlands and some other European countries with a small number of such sites adhere to the same system.

Advantages and disadvantages

Toll roads are almost always high-speed autobahns with good coverage. Yes, there are usually options for free travel. But they are either not very convenient and have a large number of interchanges, or the movement over them is much more intensive, as a result, the average speed is significantly reduced.

The second plus that toll roads have is their maximum efficiency and safety. A detour can be elementary too long.

True, there are disadvantages. One of the most significant is the poorly developed system of accepting contributions, which provokes congestion at the entrances to such sites. Fortunately, this defect can be corrected by creating electronic payment methods or at least automating the operation of checkpoints. The latter will reduce costs, because you do not have to spend money on salaries to cashiers, exclude the human factor and reduce the processing time of each payment.

World experience

Now the development of toll networks of roads around the world is under way: in Australia, North and South America, Asia, Africa. In some countries will have to fork out for travel on any toll road, in others there are only a couple of such sites. In some places, for example, the entrance to the center of megacities is paid, which is a measure to stimulate the use of public transport and an attempt to get rid of traffic jams. Both options in one way or another show their success, so that Russia may well want to introduce toll roads in the center of the city of a million people, if there is a need.

In Russia

In 2007, a law was signed that legalized the appearance of toll roads with doubles. However, the first such site appeared only in 2010 as an experiment, and at first it seemed completely disastrous. Drivers lost their checks, and they had to pay twice, sometimes they refused to do it at all, considering the cost too high. This, as well as the novelty of the procedure itself, created serious congestion in front of checkpoints.

And now the introduction of each new site motorists are unhappy. There are two reasons for this: a fee in general, as well as traffic jams in front of its reception points. However, it is expected that with time the situation will become familiar, but while the most promising is the development of an electronic system for collecting money for travel with the help of special devices - transponders. True, the problem is that they are not yet operating at all sites.

It is expected that over time, Russians will appreciate the convenience of toll roads on the dignity. Compare the speed of travel on the highway M11 Moscow-Petersburg. The train passes the distance between the two capitals in about 8-10 hours, if it's not the Sapsan, and the car can drive it in 4.5 hours, if the limit, as the authorities promise, will be 150 km / h throughout.

Valid for 2015

While the toll roads on the map do not take up much space, they can be stumbled upon by chance, even in Belarus, the length of paid trails is greater. However, the Ministry of Transport has very serious plans for the development of the network, which so far is just over 450 kilometers across the whole territory of Russia.

In December 2015 the situation is as follows:

• The toll road "Don" M4 is several sections with a total length of about 340 kilometers.
• M1 - 20 km, connecting the exit from the capital and the Minsk highway , bypassing the city of Odintsovo.
• Section M11 from MKAD to Sheremetyevo, as well as bypassing Vyshny Volochok in the future, the route will reach St. Petersburg and become fully paid.
• The Western High Speed Diameter (WHSD) is a route passing through St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region.

Obviously, while this is quite a bit, but the government plans by the end of 2016 to increase the length of the roads, which travel on a reimbursable basis, up to 3 thousand kilometers.

Rates

The cost of a toll road is always differentiated for different types of vehicles, and in some cases also depends on the time of day. At first glance, tariffs may seem very high, but if you compare them with European ones, you can come to the conclusion that the price is quite fair. Again, for an example, you can take the already mentioned route Moscow-Petersburg.

The train on this route, if it is not a company one, costs from 1 thousand rubles. Given the fact that the time for this method will go much more, and a suitable train can leave at an inconvenient time or cost more, it is obvious that the travel on a toll road, which, according to forecasts, will cost about the same, will be more profitable. In addition, those who want to save a little, can install a transponder, giving a small, but very pleasant discount.

In the meantime, let's hope that some season tickets will be introduced, because the price of about 500 rubles per plot from Moscow to Solnechnogorsk during peak hours does not look fair.

For trucks

November 2015 was a blow to many carriers, because in the middle of the month without any transition periods, a fare payment system was introduced for trucks with a gross weight of over 12 tons on all federal routes. This caused a serious public outcry, as the costs of logistic companies increased dramatically - for every kilometer now it is necessary to pay 1.5 rubles before the end of February 2016, and later - just over 3 rubles for the same distance, so that a toll road can become Some unaffordable luxury.

The system, called "Plato", was subjected to a wave of criticism, since its work was still very unstable, and subsequently many carriers who honestly paid the fare, still received fines because of technical failures. In addition, the ways with which you can do this, yet not too numerous and quite uncomfortable. A controversial issue is that after paying for a certain route, you can not change it. In short, the system will still have to go through numerous changes to become truly useful.

Development prospects

In general, the authorities are talking about the active construction of new routes for the World Cup in 2018. In addition, over time it is planned that Russian toll roads will enter long international routes covering the capitals of Western Europe, the CIS, and then going to Iran, China and India.

Well, it is quite possible that with proper quality and service, as well as a fair pricing policy, these autobahns will be in great demand both among foreigners and Russians themselves.