Will foreign drivers have to pay more for Swiss motorway vignette?

To help ease the flow of traffic on Switzerland’s roads, some MPs are calling for higher car sticker prices for drivers from abroad.

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Any vehicle below 3.6 tonnes driving on Switzerland motorways must have a sticker, valid for the current year, affixed to the windshield, in a way that doesn’t diminish the driver’s visibility.
That includes people who live in Switzerland, as well as foreign tourists, even if they only transit through the country.
Failure to do so can result in a 200-franc fine.
For the past several years, this vignette has cost 40 francs for everyone — Swiss and foreigners alike.
Now, however, MPs from the Radical Liberal party (FDP)  are arguing that motorists from abroad should pay more to use the country’s motorways.
According to MP Heinz Theiler, “we need to charge more for foreign tourist transit traffic. This transport infrastructure was financed by our taxpayers, but not as a cheap passage for European motorists.”

What has prompted this call for higher vignette price for foreign drivers?
FDP deputies are saying the move was prompted by increasingly frequent traffic jams at the Gotthard tunnel, where the lines of stalled cars stretch out for more than 20 kilometres during travel-heavy periods like summer vacations, public holidays, and long weekends.
Therefore, “foreigners should pay significantly more for the motorway vignette,” said another FDP deputy, Simone Gianini. “In fact, during the summer months, foreign road users accounted for up to 80 percent of the total traffic.”
Even with the higher price — which has not been set yet – using Swiss motorways would still be cheaper for foreign motorists, when compared with frequent tolls drivers in various countries have to pay to get to their destination and on the return trip as well.

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Swiss drivers would benefit
Under the FDP proposal, not only will Swiss drivers pay the same price for the vignettes as before, but they couldl actually benefit from higher fees for foreigners.
“The difference over the current 40 francs should be reimbursed directly to motorists registered in Switzerland — for example, via a deduction from the motor vehicle tax,” Gianini pointed out.
Right now, this price increase is still in the ‘proposal’ stage; it will take a while before the parliament actually discusses the viability of its implementation.

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Any vehicle below 3.6 tonnes driving on Switzerland motorways must have a sticker, valid for the current year, affixed to the windshield, in a way that doesn’t diminish the driver’s visibility.
That includes people who live in Switzerland, as well as foreign tourists, even if they only transit through the country.
Failure to do so can result in a 200-franc fine.
For the past several years, this vignette has cost 40 francs for everyone — Swiss and foreigners alike.
Now, however, MPs from the Radical Liberal party (FDP)  are arguing that motorists from abroad should pay more to use the country’s motorways.
According to MP Heinz Theiler, “we need to charge more for foreign tourist transit traffic. This transport infrastructure was financed by our taxpayers, but not as a cheap passage for European motorists.”
What has prompted this call for higher vignette price for foreign drivers?
FDP deputies are saying the move was prompted by increasingly frequent traffic jams at the Gotthard tunnel, where the lines of stalled cars stretch out for more than 20 kilometres during travel-heavy periods like summer vacations, public holidays, and long weekends.
Therefore, “foreigners should pay significantly more for the motorway vignette,” said another FDP deputy, Simone Gianini. “In fact, during the summer months, foreign road users accounted for up to 80 percent of the total traffic.”
Even with the higher price — which has not been set yet – using Swiss motorways would still be cheaper for foreign motorists, when compared with frequent tolls drivers in various countries have to pay to get to their destination and on the return trip as well.
Swiss drivers would benefit
Under the FDP proposal, not only will Swiss drivers pay the same price for the vignettes as before, but they couldl actually benefit from higher fees for foreigners.
“The difference over the current 40 francs should be reimbursed directly to motorists registered in Switzerland — for example, via a deduction from the motor vehicle tax,” Gianini pointed out.
Right now, this price increase is still in the ‘proposal’ stage; it will take a while before the parliament actually discusses the viability of its implementation.