Nikoloski: Introducing vignettes would sharply raise travel costs
Nikoloski says over 70% of vehicles stay in their registration municipality and motorways are used mainly by transit traffic.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Aleksandar Nikoloski warned that introducing vignettes in North Macedonia would sharply raise the cost of travel because more than 70 percent of vehicles never leave the municipality where they are registered. He said motorways and expressways are used by no more than 30 percent of vehicles in the country.
Numbers, transit and who would pay
"We did a study. Introducing vignettes in Macedonia will dramatically increase the cost of travel, because over 70 percent of vehicles do not leave the municipality where they are registered. That means that motorways and express roads are used by no more than 30 percent of vehicles. If such a system were introduced, the obligation would be for everyone and then that would mean a serious increase in vehicle registration costs, given that our two corridors, 8 and 10, are pan-European and are mainly used as transit. Those large toll sums you hear about, from which we build motorways and express roads, in essence to a significant percent come from transit passengers, meaning passengers who are not from Macedonia. For example, Corridor 10 has 10 million passengers annually or around 4.5 million vehicles, and Macedonia has 1,800,000 inhabitants, so I think everything is clear," Nikoloski said before representatives of the Macedonian-German Business Association.
Nikoloski argued that requiring vignettes for all registered vehicles would effectively shift costs onto local drivers who use mostly municipal roads, and that much of the revenue for motorway construction comes from foreign transit traffic on Corridors 8 and 10.
When asked by one of the companies whether some form of relief or an annual vignette could be planned for firms whose employees travel daily between Skopje and other towns, the deputy prime minister said he agreed the idea was worth considering and proposed to discuss it with the Public Enterprise for State Roads.
"I agree that the idea is good, especially for those who have daily mobility. We can discuss this with the Public Enterprise for State Roads," Nikoloski said.
He made the remarks during a meeting with business representatives; the government will examine possible models for exemptions or company vignettes in coordination with the relevant state road authority.
Photo: press material from the event
