Switzerland inaugurates digital cartoons. The motorway vignette will now follow the license plate number
In August 2023, Switzerland chose to follow the example of other European countries and modernize its road toll system by introducing the electronic vignette (e-vignette).
Swiss motorway vignette: also available online from 1 August
After almost 40 years, the famous Swiss motorway sticker can be purchased online in a new, entirely digital guise. It was 1985 when Switzerland introduced this unique tax for the use of its national roads. Other countries followed suit, such as Austria and Slovenia, creating their own system of cartoons which they gradually digitised. Only Switzerland was missing which, after years of parliamentary negotiations, decided on 1 August 2023 to offer a digital alternative to motorists from every country for the first time.
In addition to having made the purchase process simpler and quicker, saving drivers unnecessary stops at petrol stations or customs, the real innovation is that the new Switzerland online vignettes do not have to be displayed on the windscreen or on any other part of the vehicle. own vehicle. In terms of practicality, this translates into a great advantage for those who want to change cars before the vignette expires or own vehicles with transferable license plates. With the adhesive sticker this was not possible. The old sticker had to be attached to a clearly visible part of your car and once glued it could no longer be removed.
Motorway vignette: is it mandatory for everyone?
The motorway permit is mandatory for most drivers, but not for all. The vignette obligation applies to all motor vehicles , including vintage cars, weighing less than 3.5 tonnes. This category includes: motorcycles, cars, most campers and vans, some small vans and trailers. Heavy vehicles such as trucks and buses do not have to purchase a vignette but pay a specific tax.
The advantages of the digital cartoon
The advantages of the new digital cartoon don't stop there. In addition to being linked to the license plate number and therefore transferable to a new vehicle, the new permit can be purchased via smartphone, PC or tablet on various authorized sites. Anyone who often travels to Switzerland for work or to reach one of its wonderful ski resorts knows that before crossing the border it is necessary to stop at a petrol station or a customs to purchase a motorway vignette, a compulsory sticker for all those vehicles engine up to 3.5 t, including motorcycles and trailers. If once this stop, whether planned or not, was the only way to have access to the vignette and avoid a fine, drivers can now choose the online purchase option and pay the motorway tax from home or along the route. Italians with a vignette who travel to Switzerland via the San Gottardo pass or the San Bernardino tunnel can avoid paying the toll for the two tunnels because it is currently covered by the road tax.
Buying an e-vignette: where and at what price?
To purchase the new electronic vignette, simply connect to one of the authorized sites, enter some information about your vehicle such as the license plate number and country of registration as well as a valid email address to receive the vignette. Once the purchase confirmation has been received, the vignette will be linked to the license plate and valid until January 31st of the following year. The price is calculated in Swiss francs and amounts to chf 40 to which the online retailer's management costs must be added. As with the old adhesive sticker, the electronic version is also annual, valid from 1 December to 31 January of the following year. Even if many will continue to turn up their noses at the idea of having to pay this tax even just to go to Switzerland for a weekend, to understand the advantage of the Swiss vignette you have to think in the long term. It must be calculated that if purchased on time, the vignette will cover the use of all motorways, semi-motorways and two tunnels for the following 14 months. Considering that the Swiss road network is among the best and safest in the world, this is no small feat.
Penalties for failure to purchase
Anyone who would like to avoid purchasing the sticker would do well to think twice. The Swiss police know the street smarts well. It is estimated that every year around 20 thousand drivers are fined for not having a motorway vignette. The cost of the fine is chf 200 and is applied without distinction both to those who avoid purchasing the permit (deliberately or otherwise) and to those who, once purchased, forget to show it. Warning: the penalty does not end here. We remind you that the cost of the vignette must then be added to the fine.
Is the adhesive sticker retiring?
Collectors of the sticker can rest assured. The vignette in sticker format is still valid and available at the various sales points along the border or Swiss post offices. At the moment both vignettes will be valid even if things could change in the future, leading to the colored sticker disappearing from circulation and from our windshields.
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The article Switzerland inaugurates digital cartoons. The motorway vignette will now follow the license plate number coming from Scenari Economici .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/la-svizzera-inaugura-le-vignette-digitali-il-bollino-autostradale-da-ora-seguira-il-numero-di-targa/ on Sun, 17 Sep 2023 22:01:28 +0000.