site.btaTIR Trucks Will Not Be Allowed to Travel on Bulgarian Motorways during Busiest Summer Hours

Sofia, July 4 (BTA) - TIR trucks will not be allowed to travel on Bulgarian motorways during the busiest hours in the summer. The rule will be established after an analysis of road camera footage and passenger car traffic data, the Regional Development and Public Works Ministry said on Tuesday, quoting Minister Nikolai Nankov's comment to a national TV channel.

The restrictions will be enforced at the end of this week. At present, TIR trucks may not travel on the Hemus Motorway between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Fridays. A similar ban will probably be imposed for the busiest section of the Trakia Motorway - the section between Sofia and Plovdiv, which carries more than 30,000 vehicles daily. Nankov added that traffic along the Strouma and Lyulin motorways is also very busy. A ban on heavy-duty trucks will also be introduced on Sundays after 4 p.m.

Nankov expects that the first year after the introduction of a road toll system will yield 500 million leva in public proceeds from heavy-duty vehicle traffic. Light-duty-truck drivers will have to buy an electronic vignette whose price will not be any different from current rates.