To counter Gotthard traffic jams: Politicians want to introduce tolls

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This weekend it was that time again: traffic in front of the Gotthard north portal was stuck for up to ten kilometers on Saturday. The travelers had to be patient. It is usually much worse at Easter or Pentecost. Again this year, traffic jams of about 20 kilometers in length formed. The wait takes hours.

Year after year the column on the Gotthard gets longer. Now three politicians hope for a liberation. Her recipe: road pricing. Uri Central National Councilor Simon Stadler (35) has been planning to ask travelers to pay for some time. Together with GLP national councilor Corina Gredig (35) and FDP national councilor Matthias Jauslin (61), he is now submitting a motion for a tunnel charge for north-south transit on Monday.

If you want to go to Ticino at Easter, you have to pay

“Toll systems at the crossings over the Alps have long been a reality in neighboring countries,” quotes the “NZZ am Sonntag” from the advance. The core of the idea is therefore flexible pricing: the higher the demand, the more expensive it should be to use the tunnels at the Gotthard and San Bernardino. In concrete terms, this means that if you go to Ticino during Easter, you will pay more than in November.

The three federal parliamentarians hope that this will smooth out the traffic jams. “We are convinced that a variable price leads to better utilization”, says Gredig. In London, for example, congestion has fallen by 30 percent following the introduction of flexible tolls in 2003.

Civil alliance could bring breakthrough

It is no coincidence that Gredig, Stadler and Jauslin do things together, continues the “NZZ am Sonntag”. The three politicians have previously called for tolls in the media and through individual applications. What is new is that they have now formed a broad civil alliance and are looking for a breakthrough as the “Trio Gotthard”. Your entrenchment in the centre-right camp could help the advance gain a majority; the left would have to agree to the request anyway.

But not everyone is enthusiastic: the idea is critical for, for example, the SVP transport politician Thomas Hurter (59). He fears that a tunnel toll will lead to even more alternative traffic through the Uri villages as commuters avoid the highway. “It achieves the opposite of what its proponents intend,” he says with conviction.

Accompanying measures are needed

The motions disagree. They want to counter the problem with accompanying measures. “You have to make sure that drivers don’t switch to the pass road.” An option is therefore also a fee for the pass. In addition, measures will be taken to make the use of public transport more attractive. (dba)

Source:Blick