The Switch to Usage-Based Charges Revolutionizes Road Use.

Problem

• There is a lack of an incentive system that actively reduces traffic jams and excessive traffic loads.
• Current funding is largely based on fuel tax, which decreases with increasing electrification.
• Highways are currently insufficiently financed according to the polluter pays principle.
• The highway vignette is no longer up-to-date, as it is neither financially relevant, fair to the polluter, nor customer-friendly.
• Current users have little transparency about the actual costs they cause and pay through various fees.

Solution

• Switch from fuel tax to usage-based charges that take into account real infrastructure costs and environmental impacts.
• Similar to the performance-based heavy vehicle fee (LSVA), the time, vehicle, and distance traveled are recorded and charged for each motorway trip.
• Modern technologies enable precise recording of the actual kilometers traveled. Different vehicle types – for example, regarding weight or pollutant emissions – can be included in the calculations.
• Creation of a legal framework for modern measurement and billing systems that ensures data protection and promotes acceptance.
• For the driver, the highest possible transparency regarding costs is provided, which can be directly attributed to the respective usage.

Benefit

• Dynamic toll systems direct traffic according to supply and demand, which hinders congestion and relieves infrastructure.
• Greater cost transparency leads to more conscious use of individual transport.
• External environmental costs, such as microplastics from tire wear, are internalized, leading to less environmental damage.
• A modern legal framework enables flexible adjustments to technological developments and changing environmental conditions.
• Fair financing, which directly links costs to actual usage, creates transparency and fairness.

Public support

Total votes: 20

Breakdown: FullyOnBoard: 6, SoundsGood: 6, Concerns: 3, NeedForDiscussion: 3, NoChance: 1, NothingAgainstIt: 1

Discussion

• Thomas Mathis (2026-04-18): Could it be that Switzerland is already pouring far too much money into roads? The 900 km highway from Zurich to St. Margrethen was, in my father's life (he taught me that) and mine, never without construction sites. Meanwhile I can drive from Bregenz to Vienna without a single construction site. Perhaps more money should flow from roads into public transport than it does now? Because if the roads are full of traffic jams and less developed (since there are more e‑cars, thus less fuel tax), yet I can relax and take the train, the modal split (car/public transport ratio) would shift faster than if we devise another complicated allocation/taxation method that will then be abused again.
• ↳ Renato Pichler (2026-04-18): How did you arrive at 900 km from Zurich to St. Margrethen? That's about 100 km. Moreover, there has been a very long construction site on this highway around St. Gallen in recent years.
• ↳ Thomas Mathis (2026-04-18): ahh ja Renato, 100km vs. 800-900km nach Wien. Sorry.
• Renato Pichler (2026-04-02): Risk of total surveillance if domestic traffic (which would have to be paid for) is distinguished from international traffic. Local traffic on one's own company premises would also have to be excluded. So it is not enough to just record the vehicle mileage. And what about cross‑border commuters?