Transport Industry in Crisis After 40% e-TOLL Fee Hike

Poland's road transport industry is facing a deep crisis following the implementation of significant e-TOLL road fee increases and an expansion of the toll road network on February 1, 2026. According to a survey by the Transport and Logistics Poland Employers' Association (TLP), rates have increased by an average of 40–42 percent, and the network covered by the system has expanded by 645 kilometers, reaching nearly 5,900 kilometers nationwide. This cost surge directly impacts the profitability of businesses. The TLP survey, which involved nearly 62 percent of small companies (1–10 vehicles), reveals the industry's dramatic inability to pass on the burden. As many as 60 percent of the surveyed carriers admitted they could not obtain compensation for the higher fees from their clients, forcing them to cover the costs partially or entirely from their own margins. Consequently, over 73 percent of companies expect a serious deterioration in the profitability of their transport operations in the coming months. Half of the firms are even considering cuts to their vehicle fleets, indicating the scale of the financial problems. The system of road tolls for heavy goods vehicles in Poland, initially based on vignettes, was replaced by the electronic e-TOLL system in 2021. Its goal was to increase the efficiency of fee collection and investment in road infrastructure, but the fee level has been a subject of dispute between the government and the logistics industry from the start.The decision to raise the fees was made by the Ministry of Infrastructure led by Minister Dariusz Klimczak. It has met with sharp criticism from the industry. Alvin Gajadhur, former Minister of Infrastructure, commented in an article for wGospodarce.pl: „Minister infrastruktury Dariusz Klimczak robi wszystko,aby zapisać się w historii jako "grabarz" polskiej branży transportu drogowego” (Minister of Infrastructure Dariusz Klimczak is doing everything to go down in history as the 'gravedigger' of the Polish road transport industry.) — Alvin Gajadhur. Maciej Wroński, President of TLP, emphasizes that with increases exceeding 40 percent, the risk of financial problems in parts of the industry is real, especially for the smallest enterprises, which dominate the sector's structure.