Vehicles using 100% biogas can get reduced toll rates in Oslo. The Minister of Transport and Communications is positive about it and asked for a quick clarification from the Directorate of Public Roads.
It was the steering group for Oslopakke 3 that have decided that biogas-powered vehicles will receive a discount. Minister for Transport and Communications, Jon Georg Dale of Fremskrittsparti (FRP) has asked the Directorate of Public Roads for an orientation before June 11.
‘’I want a solution as soon as possible for lower tolls for business’’ said Dale.
He has asked the Directorate of Public Roads to map how reduced tariffs should be handled by passage through the toll ring, and how to check whether the vehicles use biogas or other fuel.
It was well received by Arild Hermstad of Miljøpartiet De Grønne (MDG) in Oslo.
‘’Heavy vehicles and cars account for almost half of the CO2 emissions from road traffic in Norway, but so far the government has not lifted a finger to give biogas discounts at the toll-gates. The fact that the Minister of Transport is now changing is very good news for anyone who wants to breathe clean Oslo air, for the truck owners and the business community who want to cut climate emissions’’ said Hermstad.
He now hopes that Dale will open the way for such a scheme to be made available nationwide.
‘’Throughout the country we have the potential to produce biogas, and we have the same problems with emissions from heavy transport.
Dale should not only do this in Oslo, but throughout the country.
In Sweden, where both electricity and biogas are being invested in, the number of vehicles using biogas passed 55,000 in 2017, compared with only 1,500 in Norway.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
