Red Tape Hot Box on the road
The problem still exists, of course, though we should give the government some credit for opening up a new forty kilometer stretch of the A2. This has nearly doubled the length of this motorway which, in the very distant future, should allow us to travel from Warsaw to Poznań in less than the current four hours. Provided that anyone chooses to use it, that is...
And here we come to a new problem with Poland's motorways. It turns out that they are among the most expensive in the world (if not the most expensive). To use the 85 kilometer-long A2 motorway costs zł.20 for a passenger car and upwards of zł.70 for a truck (depending on its size). The motorway connecting Kraków and Katowice is cheaper, but drivers still have to pay zł.10 (and over zł.20 for lorries). On average, to drive 10 km in Poland costs as much as it does in Italy and Portugal, and slightly less than in France and Norway. Except that the average salary in these countries is probably three to four times higher than in Poland. In Germany and the Benelux countries, the motorways are toll-free.
As a result of high tolls (far too high for the average Pole), the two most important motorways are relatively empty, while the narrow, old and often poor quality roads running parallel to them are overcrowded to say the least. Since motorway tolls for TIR trucks are particularly high, the number of heavy goods vehicles on local roads has risen dramatically, which means that the poor quality roads are full of craters and ruts. This and speeding (as many drivers see these one-lane roads as a substitute for the expensive motorways) all contribute to the rapidly increasing number of accidents. Not to mention the fact that the government now not only has to find the funds to build new motorways, but the extra money needed to repair the local roads. Given Poland's budget deficit, such extra expenses should be avoided at all costs.
And here we come to a new problem with Poland's motorways. It turns out that they are among the most expensive in the world (if not the most expensive). To use the 85 kilometer-long A2 motorway costs zł.20 for a passenger car and upwards of zł.70 for a truck (depending on its size). The motorway connecting Kraków and Katowice is cheaper, but drivers still have to pay zł.10 (and over zł.20 for lorries). On average, to drive 10 km in Poland costs as much as it does in Italy and Portugal, and slightly less than in France and Norway. Except that the average salary in these countries is probably three to four times higher than in Poland. In Germany and the Benelux countries, the motorways are toll-free.
As a result of high tolls (far too high for the average Pole), the two most important motorways are relatively empty, while the narrow, old and often poor quality roads running parallel to them are overcrowded to say the least. Since motorway tolls for TIR trucks are particularly high, the number of heavy goods vehicles on local roads has risen dramatically, which means that the poor quality roads are full of craters and ruts. This and speeding (as many drivers see these one-lane roads as a substitute for the expensive motorways) all contribute to the rapidly increasing number of accidents. Not to mention the fact that the government now not only has to find the funds to build new motorways, but the extra money needed to repair the local roads. Given Poland's budget deficit, such extra expenses should be avoided at all costs.
