Electronic payment to cross the Giurgiu Bridge without standing at the barrier. Important step taken by the Road Company
Queue to pay the Giurgiu Bridge toll / Source: HotNews.ro / Victor Cozmei
“Important stage for electronic payment when crossing the Giurgiu-Ruse bridge”, announces the head of the Road Company. It is about the implementation of an automatic toll collection system and recognition of vehicle registration numbers, a project that CNAIR has been announcing since last winter.
“Today we designated the winner for the Electronic toll collection system from Romania on the Giurgiu – Ruse bridge. After signing the contract, the winner of the auction (ALTIMATE SA) will have 844,500 lei (without VAT) and 6 months to implement the new system”, reports CNAIR director Cristian Pistol on Thursday.
The contract, financed from CNAIR's own revenues, provides for the development, on the shore from Romania, of two dedicated roads, equipped with high-speed barriers that will allow instant access by identifying the payment made online in advance.
“We thus want to limit the intervention of the human factor in the process of collecting tolls for cars and the redistribution of personnel in the control points specific to goods transport vehicles. Through this project, we estimate that the waiting times in PTF Giurgiu will be reduced and the degree of safety of the movement of vehicles through this Border Crossing Point (PTF) will increase”, says Pistol.
The contract can be signed within 10 days, if no objections are filed.
Small cars pay 2-3 euros, and TIRs 37 euros
Although Romania entered Schengen on January 1, there are still queues when crossing the border with Bulgaria on the Giurgiu Bridge. And not only because of the capital works on the bridge started by the Bulgarian neighbors, but also because of the retention of the toll, a rate which, for now, cannot be paid online quickly and efficiently by both sides.
The toll fees for using the bridge over the Danube between Giurgiu and Ruse, for a single crossing, were introduced based on the bilateral Protocol concluded in 1991 between Romania and Bulgaria.
The Road Company (CNAIR) is in charge of collecting the toll on the Romanian side, while on the Bulgarian side the Customs Authorities collect the toll.
Currently, drivers pay a fee of 15 lei (3 euros) for cars, and 180 lei (about 37 euros) for trucks. On the Bulgarian side, cars pay 2 euros, and heavy trucks 37 euros. And on both sides, the predominant method of payment is by card or cash at the gate.
The Friendship Bridge toll represents 4.3% of CNAIR's annual income
Although customs control has been removed since January 1, vehicles still have to stop at the counters on each side of the bridge to pay the toll by cash or card. In Bulgaria, you can also pay online, but the cars still have to stop at the counters for the employees to check the date base if the driver has paid or not. Often, especially at times of heavy traffic, queues form on both sides of the bridge.
The elimination of tolls can only be achieved on the basis of a new protocol by which both states agree on this, and discussions with the Bulgarian side have not been held in this regard, CNAIR reported at the request of HotNews.ro from the beginning of the year.
At the request of the editorial office, CNAIR also sent how much the collection of the Friendship Bridge toll actually means – almost 17 million euros per year.
“The amount related to the year 2023 was 83,925,840.65 lei (without VAT), which represents 4.26% of CNAIR's own annual income”, the institution replied.
The road company also told HotNews.ro that it is working at full capacity and that there are no more queues, but that it is working to practically implement an online payment system and automatic recognition of vehicles that have paid the toll by the summer season.
Romania, accused by Bulgaria of blocking the construction of new bridges over the Danube: “It is clear that it wants to leave only one crossing point at Giurgiu – Ruse”
