Kazakhstan, Astana, May 30 / Trend D.Mukhtarov /
In Kazakhstan the fare for passenger vehicles on the route from Astana to Burabai on the Astana-Shchukin motorway will be 200 tenge ($1.3), which is about one tenge per kilometre, the press service of the Ministry of Transport and Communications of the Republic of Kazakhstan reported.
According to the report, the fare per kilometre for buses will range from five to 10 tenge depending on the number of seats and five to 20 tenge for trucks on the basis of carrying capacity. However for motorcycles this road will remain free. Emergency services, ambulance, fire, police cars and machinery working on the road are also exempt from the toll.
For cars registered in the areas adjacent to the road, there is a 50 per cent discount. They will also be free for moving within one district.
The international experience has been studied in preparation for the introduction of road tolls in Kazakhstan. Today, these exist in more than 30 countries around the world particularly in Russia, Belarus, Germany, Turkey, Malaysia and other countries. Considering the high budgetary expenditures for construction and operation of high-speed lanes, the introduction of the toll roads will reduce the burden on the national budget and the released funds will be spent on repairing other roads.
Kazakhstan set the lowest fee on such roads. This is due to the fact that only the cost of annual maintenance and repair of the highway was taken into account in the calculation of the tariff, not the money spent on its construction.
The motorway is divided into five zones the length of which is determined by territorial boundaries of surrounding districts where there are special arches fixing the movement of vehicles. The fare will consist of charges for travel on each intersected zone.
As for the payment mechanism, a hybrid system of charging is being introduced on the road for the convenience of drivers. They will be able to pay the fare at the exit from the highway via the terminal by cash (notes and coins), bank cards, or using special transponders. Change cassettes with different denominations are installed for the convenience of car owners.
In the case of movement of vehicles between the districts, payment will be charged by the control arches. Paying the fare will be possible on the bill sent to the place of registration of the vehicle or in a remote way via a transponder.
In order to avoid queues at payment points at the early stage, special consultants will help drivers use the terminal in case of complications