When trucks cross the border with Romania, the processing takes about 4-5 minutes. A fee is paid for crossing the bridge over the Danube. At the border crossing “Kulata”, you can cross completely freely. All parking lots and scales are gone. Schengen accession is a significant date for people in the industry. In a period of six months, there will be a team that will monitor traffic on the principle of “risk analysis” and will stop vehicles for inspection. This was said by Nikolay Rashkov from the Union of International Carriers in the program “Denyat na zivo” on NOVA NEWS.
He pointed out that an important topic is the infrastructure in the country and at the border crossings. And he stressed that it would be more convenient to charge the fee for “Danube Bridge” to be paid online. Rashkov added that the repair of “Danube Bridge 1” is currently underway and heavy-duty traffic is diverted to one direction. The construction of the section between Botevgrad and Mezdra on the expressway, which should connect Sofia with Vidin, continues, which also makes it difficult for heavy-duty vehicles to move, the expert said.
Rashkov expressed satisfaction that the provision for returning trucks to the place of registration was canceled last year.
On the topic of new transport policies in the EU, he said that the Green Deal is key. “Transport is one of the industries that has clear indicators – to reduce emissions with precise parameters by 2050. The industry is moving towards reducing the use of diesel fuel, the question is what will happen next – "whether it will be hydrogen technologies, electrification, or transitional fuels," the expert also said.
For the movement of autonomous vehicles, he indicated that there is no need for other infrastructure.