Charging of inland waterways in the European Union

Continuous growth in transport performance leads to deterioration of the transport infrastructure and there is also a need for states to raise funds to cover the costs of repairs, maintenance and modernization of this infrastructure. One option is to charge users of such infrastructure. In the Czech Republic there is a system of charges only for the use of road and rail transport routes. There is no charging of waterways in the Czech Republic, but it exists in some european countries. This diploma thesis deals with the issue of the charging of waterways in the European Union and thus points out the existence of an alternative possibility of financing expenditures for repairs, maintenance or modernization of the transport infrastructure serving the Czech water transport. The first three chapters contain the theoretical background, focusing in particular on the importance of freight water transport and European policy. The other chapters include an analysis of the established charging system for waterways in Germany. Subsequently, the total revenue from the charging of users of waterways for freight transport is calculated. From this analysis, the thesis is also based on the creation of a model for charging the Elbe waterway in the Czech Republic. After creating the preconditions for charging the Elbe waterway, the potential revenue obtained by this charging was also calculated and compared with the average annual cost of repairs and maintenance of watercourses in the Czech Republic.