What you need to know about Norway's new toll road rules
Drivers without a toll chip installed on their vehicle have been subject to new toll rules from Friday, September 1st.
In several toll areas – but mainly in toll rings (which are urban toll systems that usually charge vehicles a fee to enter or drive through specific zones during certain hours) – there is a rule that means only the first registered passage must be charged to the road user within a period.
For example, if you were to have a toll chip agreement and you entered a toll zone, there would be a cool-down period of one hour before you could be charged for entering the area again.
This rule is changing so that those without a toll chip on their car can also benefit from the cool-down period.
This prevents motorists from being charged multiple times for entering a zone within a short period of time.
Transport minister: Old rules 'unreasonable and unfair'
In late August, Norwegian Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård said that requiring a toll chip agreement for people to benefit from the one-hour rule is unreasonable and unfair.
"Many believe that the requirement for a chip and an agreement in order to benefit from the one-hour rule is unreasonable and unfair - and I agree with that.
"That is why we want to introduce a fairer system," Nygård said at the time.
One-hour rule to apply to all motorists
The fact that the one-hour rule will now apply to all motorists – with or without a chip – means that all drivers can pass through the affected toll areas an unlimited number of times within an hour and only be charged once.
"This means that the advantage drivers with a chip have had for all these years will also include drivers without a chip agreement," managing director Vidar Raa of the chip issuer SkyttelPASS said in an August 28th press release.
However, Raa pointed out that having a chip can enable discounts.
"There is still a significant difference to whether you have or don't have a chip because passing with a chip gives you a discount that motorists without a chip do not get.
"That's why we encourage motorists who regularly pass a toll ring to have a chip because the chip makes passing significantly cheaper than the price paid by motorists without a chip," he said.
Toll company expects millions in lost income
Fjellinjen, the toll company owned by the City of Oslo and Viken County Municipality responsible for the collection from the toll ring around Oslo, expects an annual income loss of 360 million kroner from the changes related to the one-hour rule, according to ABC Nyheter.
Chip-issuer companies such as SkyttelPASS will not be notably affected, according to Raa, as it is the toll company that invoices motorists without a chip agreement, not the chip issuers.
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In several toll areas – but mainly in toll rings (which are urban toll systems that usually charge vehicles a fee to enter or drive through specific zones during certain hours) – there is a rule that means only the first registered passage must be charged to the road user within a period.
For example, if you were to have a toll chip agreement and you entered a toll zone, there would be a cool-down period of one hour before you could be charged for entering the area again.
This rule is changing so that those without a toll chip on their car can also benefit from the cool-down period.
This prevents motorists from being charged multiple times for entering a zone within a short period of time.
Transport minister: Old rules 'unreasonable and unfair'
In late August, Norwegian Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård said that requiring a toll chip agreement for people to benefit from the one-hour rule is unreasonable and unfair.
"Many believe that the requirement for a chip and an agreement in order to benefit from the one-hour rule is unreasonable and unfair - and I agree with that.
"That is why we want to introduce a fairer system," Nygård said at the time.
One-hour rule to apply to all motorists
The fact that the one-hour rule will now apply to all motorists – with or without a chip – means that all drivers can pass through the affected toll areas an unlimited number of times within an hour and only be charged once.
"This means that the advantage drivers with a chip have had for all these years will also include drivers without a chip agreement," managing director Vidar Raa of the chip issuer SkyttelPASS said in an August 28th press release.
However, Raa pointed out that having a chip can enable discounts.
"There is still a significant difference to whether you have or don't have a chip because passing with a chip gives you a discount that motorists without a chip do not get.
"That's why we encourage motorists who regularly pass a toll ring to have a chip because the chip makes passing significantly cheaper than the price paid by motorists without a chip," he said.
Toll company expects millions in lost income
Fjellinjen, the toll company owned by the City of Oslo and Viken County Municipality responsible for the collection from the toll ring around Oslo, expects an annual income loss of 360 million kroner from the changes related to the one-hour rule, according to ABC Nyheter.
Chip-issuer companies such as SkyttelPASS will not be notably affected, according to Raa, as it is the toll company that invoices motorists without a chip agreement, not the chip issuers.
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