BERLIN, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- A glitch in the highway payment systems "Toll Collect" has cost the German state millions of euros, the newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) reported on Monday.
According to information obtained by SZ, private highway operators wrongly received income from small trucks which were falsely classified in a higher price category. As a consequence of the payment systems failure to distinguish between 7.5-ton and 12-ton vehicles, Germany's federal budget paid an excess of a "two-digit figure in the millions".
The majority of Germany's larger public-private partnership highways were affected. Several highway operators have rejected Berlin's attempt to reclaim the lost funds, however, maintaining that it was the federal government's responsibility to guarantee the integrity of payment systems.
The German transport ministry refused to comment on the costly technical error in detail and merely noted that it was "in discussions" with its contractual partners.
The payment scandal also extends to the already crisis-struck private highway operator A1 Mobil. After being touted as a model of cooperation private-public cooperation for infrastructure projects, it was recently revealed that the firm was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. The transport ministry would most likely lose out on any chance of reclaiming excess payments in the event of A1 Mobil's insolvency.
SZ further revealed that the French highway operator Vinci holds a share of Toll Collect. The company is responsible for German toll payments and a recipient of the earnings it generates at the same time.
The arrangement raises questions over a potential conflict of interest.
The news comes amidst mounting pressure on transport minister Alexander Dobrindt, who has come under fire for his handling of the diesel emission scandal "dieselgate", his role in A1 Mobil's financial woes, and his plans for a controversial new car toll.
Green party faction leader Anton Hofreiter described the payments glitch as a "lesson in failed industry policy".
