If the Americans love to spend their holidays in Mexico, then the Russians with great pleasure go to laze around the expanses of the glorious Belarus or, as the country is now officially called, the Republic of Belarus. What attracts the neighboring state of Russia to itself? First, of course, by nature! Where else can you find such a variety of flora and fauna collected on a small plot of land, especially in comparison with the territory of the Russian Federation. In the reserves of this region you can find bison, wild boars, deer, moose, beavers. Birch groves, pine forests, oak oak forests and tall endless spruce trees beckon with their incomprehensible aroma and fascinate with shady alleys, as if inviting a traveler to take a walk along the storeroom. The unique ensemble of the country's natural heritage attracts tourists from all over the world here, despite the fact that you have to pay for pleasure and pay a lot. Two years ago, the toll road in Belarus worked at full capacity, bringing considerable revenue from this enterprise to the state treasury.
Purely not where they clean
Purely where they do not litter. This unwritten rule worked, works and will work forever. And an example of this is Belarus, for example, the city of Minsk. This is the second of the indisputable benefits of a vacation here. The capital of the republic rightfully bears the title of one of the greenest cities in Europe. Residents of the metropolis and those who came from other cities of the republic throw garbage in the city and beyond, even cigarette butts, only in specially designated places: bins, ashtrays, garbage containers. Following the example of local residents, the capital’s guests do the same, including Muscovites who actively fill guest houses in Minsk not only on holidays, but also on workdays.
By car or plane
The M1 Belarus toll road leads from Moscow to Minsk, and the average travel time by car is only seven to eight hours. Fast, convenient and comfortable. And also mobile. You can easily move around the city, and if necessary, also easily get out of it. Those who want even faster can book a ticket for a regular Moscow-Minsk flight, rent a car at the airport, and after 15 kilometers drive into the capital. The main thing to remember is that the only toll road departs from the national airport of Minsk. In Belarus, as a rule, there are no alternatives. With this method of travel, tourists from outside the Customs Union will also have to pay for travel on the highway.
According to MKAD without traffic jams
The happy dream of every Moscow motorist to drive around the MKAD on weekdays without traffic jams can be done here in Minsk. It has its own Moscow Ring Road: Minsk Ring Road. The low number of cars and well-organized traffic prevents the occurrence of various kinds of road difficulties. Of course, there are traffic jams here, but very, very rarely. Each information kiosk in the driver’s resting places on the Moscow Ring Road has a map of toll roads in Belarus. It is easier for drivers of heavy vehicles to plan their route, and if necessary, correct it immediately. Foreign tourists, as well as drivers from the former Soviet republics, can pay for their fares right here, through the Beltall terminals or gas station operators . Advance payment of toll roads in Belarus avoids unpleasant moments when meeting with police patrols, traffic police or at checkpoints for automatically recorded offenses. According to the Moscow Ring Road without traffic jams, this is the third reason to head to a friendly Republic.
Calm, only calm
Paid travel on the roads of Belarus does not stop the growing flow of tourists every year looking for a Mecca of calm and peace of mind. Do you know that Belarusians are the most non-conflict nation in the territory of the former USSR? The calm atmosphere and safety on the streets of cities, both large and small, attracts family travelers with children for a safe rest and pastime. According to statistics, every eight out of ten offenses in the state are committed by citizens of other states or stateless persons. The penalties for such crimes are severe, and their number is gradually declining.
Toll road in Belarus
The history of the development of tolls in the Republic dates back to the distant times of the Soviet Union, when, in preparation for the Moscow Olympics, a magnificent highway was designed and built in a fashionable fashion in those years with a four-lane traffic scheme (two lanes one way and two lanes the other), a wide security strip dividing traffic flows. The main goal of such a global construction was the prompt movement of athletes from the European part of the continent directly to the Olympic Village, not far from Moscow. Toll road "M1 Belarus" a few years ago was called: "Olympic". It stretched from the border with Poland (the Republic of Poland ) in the area of the village of Kozlovichi (Brest) through the main cities of the country: Kobrin, Baranovichi, Minsk, Borisov, Orsha; with a former border crossing in the village of Krasnaya Gorka, where a modern highway enters the territory of the Russian Federation. Bypassing Smolensk, Yartsevo, Vyazma and Mozhaysk, the route goes towards Moscow, where it merges smoothly with Kutuzovsky Prospekt after the MKAD ring.
With the world on a string
From the moment of the collapse of the USSR until the creation of the Customs Union, the so-called environmental tax was in effect on the territory of the state . That is, in fact, already at that time there was a paid passage on the roads of Belarus, because they offered to everyone who wanted to pay a bribe when crossing the toll stations. In order to increase the attractiveness of the highway, the maximum permitted speed on it for cars was increased from allowed 90 km / h to 110 km / h in the main sections of the sections, where this was acceptable from the point of view of road safety. The transit passage on the highway through the whole country involved a fourfold toll collection . For cars, in terms of Russian rubles, this amount was 22 rubles. That is 88 rubles for one-way fares. Not so much, but everyone was obliged to pay, with the exception of cars on internal numbers, that is, the Belarusians themselves.
Beltoll
Since March 1, 2013, after the creation of the Customs Union, the republic switched to a different way of collecting money from motorists. The national service “Toll roads in Belarus” officially appeared in the country. Beltall is a state-owned network operator of a toll road network. All received funds go directly to the treasury of the republic. Rates for travel increased by several orders of magnitude. Now, instead of 88 rubles, the driver is forced to pay about 25-30 euros for transit toll roads. But there is good news. Not only Belarusians themselves, but also all states officially included in the Customs Union are now exempted from paying for travel. And besides the Republic itself, at the moment there are only two of them: the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan.
Issue price
Not only European road travelers, but also residents of neighboring Ukraine and other former Soviet republics, with the exception of Lugansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine, were hit. For some of them, this is a pretty strong blow to the family budget. Many Ukrainians have relatives living on the territory of the republic, and now the number of their visits will probably have to be reduced. Not everyone can afford each time to give about 40-50 euros for such tolls when traveling in both directions. But drivers of heavy vehicles will have to give even more money for toll roads in Belarus. The prices for driving one kilometer for a truck are two or even three times higher (depending on the number of axles) than for drivers of cars.
Are they checking?
Even as they check. The entire network of toll roads is covered by special DSRC machines (specialized radio communications over short distances), which remotely detect whether the fare for a particular car has been paid. Some frame pillars (portals) are equipped with automatic stations for collecting tolls. After the passage of such portals, the transmitter mounted on the glass of your car emits a sound signal. This is a confirmation that the fare has been deducted from your account. DSRC camcorders and transceiver frames very quickly identify payment regime violators by automatically entering the number of the unlucky traveler’s car into the penal base. Well, then only a matter of technology.
Who is lucky
The map of toll roads in Belarus is becoming more and more extensive every year, capturing the country's main trunk arteries in its radio networks and depriving motorists of the opportunity to quickly go around toll sites along secondary roads. However, there are several other categories of vehicles that are exempt from toll. This applies to those who travel on mopeds or motorcycles, wheeled tractors and self-propelled vehicles with local, Belarusian registration. Operative vehicles, ambulances, humanitarian convoys, as well as vehicles used to ensure defense and law and order, as well as fixed-route vehicles carrying urban transport of passengers, also enjoy the right of free travel. But cars with a permissible total weight of more than 3.5 tons (in common people - trucks), even if they are registered from the countries of the Customs Union, are obliged to pay for travel in any case.
Where to buy and how to pay
The toll road in Belarus begins immediately beyond the city limits of Brest. Payment is made by renting a special transmitter, and you need to leave the collateral value, which is returned after the device is returned to the collection point and replenishing a personal account that opens on the registration data of your car when you first rent a lighthouse transmitter.
The most important surprise that awaits drivers who want to pay for a ride is that from January 2015 all payments in the Republic of Belarus should be carried out only in national currency, namely in Belarusian rubles. Payment by plastic card is also allowed, provided that the issuing bank is not among the sanctioning organizations of the United States and the European Union. If there is no card or it doesn’t work, you have to look for the nearest bank, and they are usually located only in big cities. Such mutual responsibility pushes to non-payment of travel and the compelled need to use toll roads in Belarus for free. The fine for such a violation can reach several thousand euros. And this is not a joke.
And as in Europe
The cost of toll roads in Belarus is quite high, especially compared to other, more developed countries in Europe. The cost of using roads in Austria for ten days will cost 8.7 euros (by purchasing a vignette), in Slovenia - 15 euros per week, in Hungary - 9.4 euros per week. In Italy, France and Spain, as in Belarus, the use of toll roads is paid directly at the entrance to the toll area, but the cost of the service in these countries is higher. Or maybe it is worth taking an example from the countries of Scandinavia? Sweden, Denmark, Finland - there is no toll charge for cars registered in another state.