📋 Tender Overview
The Government of the Czech Republic has supported the Ministry of Transports intention to change the approach to ensuring an electronic toll system after 2029. It is now planned to launch an open tender for the operation and development of the existing system for a transitional three-year period which will create space for the preparation of a large-scale tender for a new toll system from December 2032. This will enable the use of the most modern technologies that are currently being used in Europe for toll collection. The goal is to significantly reduce the states operating costs for operating the system and at the same time simplify its operation for users of toll roads.
The toll system must correspond to the reality of 2030 not the technological possibilities of 2019. We want a solution that will be as efficient as possible built on modern technologies and will not unnecessarily burden carriers administratively. The concept from 2024 prepared by the previous government counted exclusively on the use of single-purpose OBU on-board units the acquisition distribution and operation of which are financed by the state. At the same time it only minimally reflected the growing importance of European service providers of electronic tolls. But the technological development of recent years shows that this approach has already been overcome. Mobile applications and European interoperable toll services are taking over today says Transport Minister Ivan Bednarik. We have to respond to this development. That is why we will prepare a new tender for the supplier of the toll system for the period from December 2032. Our goal is the maximum economic efficiency of the entire system which in practice means more funds for the maintenance and development of Czech highways and roads adds Transport Minister Ivan Bednarik.
According to the approved material the new form of the toll system planned for launch in December 2032 could bring savings of up to 480 million crowns per year compared to the current model.
A fundamental change will be the possibility of using ones own mobile device to pay the toll instead of the mandatory use of specialized on-board units. Thanks to this it will be possible to optimize the extent of the distribution network equipment storage and related logistics which the state must now provide financially. A similar principle works today for example in Germany or Poland and Lithuania is also planning to introduce a similar solution from January 2027. At the same time the market of providers of the European Electronic Toll Service (EETS) is growing dynamically.
While at the beginning of 2025 EETS services accounted for 17% of the overall toll collected in February 2026 their share had already risen to 48% and further growth is expected. The new toll system must be able to work with all of this emphasizes Minister Bednarik.
For carriers the new system will be an opportunity to simplify toll management without the need to visit distribution points and additional administration. The new approach also assumes that classic on-board units will continue to be available for carriers who want to use them.
The Ministry of Transport will now start preparing the necessary legislative changes and at the same time the preparation of an open procurement procedure for the three-year transitional period of operation of the existing system will begin. This procedure will provide enough time for the preparation of a technologically modern competition as well as the safe introduction of a new solution without jeopardizing the continuity of toll collection which represents a significant income of the State Transport Infrastructure Fund.
