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EXPLAINED: What you need to know about Austria's vignette motorway toll stickers

The Local Austria
The Local Austria - [email protected]
EXPLAINED: What you need to know about Austria's vignette motorway toll stickers
A police officer inspects a vignette sticker in France. Image: JEAN-PIERRE CLATOT / AFP

In order to drive on Austria’s motorways, you’ll need a vignette. But what is a vignette, how do you get one - and how do you get one on the cheap?

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Since 1997, in order to drive on Austria’s motorways you’ve needed a small toll sticker known as a vignette. 

While these may seem odd to some foreigners, they are absolutely essential - and anyone not displaying one risks a fine. 

What is a vignette?

The small stickers show that you’ve paid the tolls necessary to travel on Austria’s main arteries.

The money goes to the government and is used for funding roads. 

According to ASFiNAG, the peak body for roads in Austria and the entity which collects the fees, “almost 100 percent of all income from the sale of the vignette, the truck toll (GO toll) and the route toll flow back into the construction, operation and security of the high-ranking road network in Austria".

You need a vignette to travel on all of Austria’s expressways and motorways, although there are some exceptions that apply currently. 

These are listed below. 

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Which vehicles need a vignette?

All cars, motorbikes and camper vans on Austria’s motorways and expressways need a vignette. 

Bikes, skateboards and snowboards do not. 

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Where do I get one?

Vignettes are available at around 6,000 outlets across the country, so anyone who fails to get one will have few excuses. A list of outlets is available here

If you’re reading this in an Alpine cottage with only an Internet connection and no outlets nearby, don’t fret - digital vignettes are also available online.  

Unlike the sticker, digital vignettes are affixed to the licence plate. 

I have many cars. Can I buy one per year and use it for all my cars? 

No. The stickers are vehicle specific and cannot be transferred across if you buy a new car. 

However, if you buy a digital vignette and you transfer your licence plates over to a new car, then this will be valid as digital vignettes are licence plate specific. 

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What happens if I don’t have one? 

Vignettes are compulsory, meaning that everyone who does not have one is liable to be fined. 

Fines start at 120 euros - which is more than the cost of a year-long vignette - meaning you might as well go out and buy one. 

Where do I put it? 

For cars, the vignette should be put in the top left corner of the windshield or in the area behind the rear view mirror. 

The vignette should always be placed inside the window. 

For motorbikes, the vignette should be placed on a visible part of the bike which is difficult or impossible to remove. Austria's Kronen Zeitung suggests putting it on the fork leg of the front wheel.

How much do vignettes cost? 

The 2021 annual vignette stickers will be available for purchase from the end of November 2020. 

These will cost 92.50 euros per year - an increase of around 1.5 percent on the cost of last year's stickers - and will be apple green in colour. 

For anyone looking to save a bit of cash - and who will be sticking around in Austria for a year at least - the annual price is by far the cheapest. 

By purchasing a year-long vignette, you’ll save yourself more than 20 euros. 

New tariffs 2021 for cars: ten-day vignette: 9.50 euros, 2-month vignette 27.80 euros, Annual vignette: 92.50 euros 

New tariffs 2021 for motorcycles: ten-day vignette 5.50 euros, 2-month vignette 13.90 euros, annual vignette: 36.70 euros.

What colour is it? 

The current vignette until January 31, 2021, is blue. 

The upcoming vignette - from December 1st, 2020 - is lime green. 

What are the exceptions? 

According to ASFiNAG, five stretches of road in Austria currently do not require compulsory vignettes (as at November 2020). 

The exceptions apply to the following stretches of road:

The toll road A 1 Westautobahn between the national border at Walserberg and the Salzburg Nord junction;

The toll road A 12 Inntalautobahn between the national border at Kufstein and the Kufstein-Süd junction;

The toll road A 14 Rheintal/Walgau Autobahn between the national border at Hörbranz and the Hohenems junction

The bypass bridges to be built on the toll road A7 Mühlkreis Autobahn between the Hafenstraße junction;

And the Urfahr junction (currently still under construction) and the toll road A 26 Linzer Autobahn (currently still under construction).

 

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