Traffic
Operator: The federal government pays 243 million for failed car tolls
The collapsed car toll costs the federal government 243 million. photo
© Jens Büttner/zb/dpa
The car toll pushed through by the CSU failed spectacularly – and triggered millions of dollars in demands from the intended operators. It is now clear how expensive the bill will be for the taxpayer.
In the dispute over damages for the burst According to the operator, there is an agreement on the car toll. As the Kapsch company announced in a mandatory stock exchange announcement, a payment of 243 million euros is expected from the federal government “due to a comparative agreement reached with the Federal Republic of Germany”. First, the “Spiegel” reported about it.
The toll – a CSU prestige project in the then federal government – was stopped in June 2019 by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) as illegal. Immediately afterwards, the federal government terminated the contracts with the intended operators, and they initially demanded 560 million euros in damages. The federal government and the then Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) strictly rejected the claims. Arbitration proceedings then followed.
The 243 million euros should therefore be paid to the company Autoticket – the joint venture of the toll specialist Kapsch and the ticket provider Eventim should be the operator of the car toll. With the payment, “the mutual claims from the operator contract would be settled and compared,” explained Kapsch. The comparative agreement is expected to be finalized and drafted in the coming days and thus take effect.