German Truck Toll Could be Built with New Consortium

German Transport Minister Manfred Stolpe said on Sunday that the country’s troubled nationwide toll system for heavy trucks could be built with different companies instead of the current consortium Toll Collect. Originally scheduled to start last August, the high-tech system has been plagued by delays. Relying on satellites to track commercial transport vehicles on Germany’s highways, Toll Collect is made up of leading German companies, including Daimler Chrysler and Deutsche Telekom. But with the delays costing Germany around €156 million ($186 million) each month, Stolpe has now approved talks with Swiss and Austrian companies that have set up similar toll systems with more basic technology, should Toll Collect fail to get theirs working.