The Hungarian motorway and expressway network needs rapid development, to support economic growth. However, there are serious conflicts about the future development of these highways; the introduction of tolls on some old and new motorways has caused major political and perhaps social problems. For example, revenues from tolls may not yet be enough to cover the costs of the state budget needed for motorway operation and maintenance. Several Trans-European road corridors cross Hungary, and they are also important for Hungarian road users. This paper analyses the present situation, briefly reviews related international experience, and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of future scenarios. The five theoretically possible future scenarios for changing the financing of motorway development are: (1) minimal changes to the present regime; (2) stopping toll collection; (3) stopping toll collection and introducing vignettes; (4) retaining the tolls but making some corrections to the present situation; and (5) reducing the tolls, and introducing major changes to the road user charging system. The following major criteria were used to evaluate the scenarios: short-term and long-term environmental aspects, regional development, state budget aspects, taxpayer and population attitudes, road user aspects, and international aspects.
Abstract