German toll scheme ends in disarray
The German road toll system, or ‘Maut’ as it is known, has finally been cancelled by the German government after months of delay. Instead the ‘Eurovignette’ which had been in place up until August will be re-introduced. It is estimated that the failure of the contractors to successfully introduce the new system will cost the German government €6.5bn in lost revenues.
The Maut has been beset with problems since the outset. The consortium of companies which won the initial tender, Deutsche Telekom, DaimlerChrysler and French company Cofiroute, always struggled to implement largely untested technologies and the start date had been pushed back to 2005. Even then the consortium demanded a €500m compensation package from the German government should the technology still not work.
The whole episode has become a source of embarrassment for all those involved although the contractors will be given one last chance to re-submit an acceptable solution. Failing this the project will be put out to tender once more and it is envisaged this will take a further two years. In the meantime a rival bid could be made by Italian road tolling company, Autostrade and Fella, a Swiss electronics company. They have recently successfully introduced a system using alternative technologies in Austria.
