The bypass of Otrokovice and the motorway from Cheb to Karlovy Vary will be free of motorway charges13/10/2017|Press releasesThe Ministry of Transport has decided to listen to the needs of five regions: starting from next year, they will have selected motorway sections exempt from the motorway charges (sticker). From 2018 about 40 more kilometres of motorway in five section will be free of charges as well. "The mayors of cities, through which hundreds to thousands of cars pass every day but which could use the motorway, have repeatedly asked me for an exemption from the motorway charges. Where it makes sense for the traffic, we have decided to accept these requests as much as we have accommodated the remarks of the South Bohemian region, Karlovy Vary region and the Zlín region. From next year, residents of the cities and towns concerned will be able to breathe again. But also drivers will be able to take advantage of a safer motorway," said the Transport Minister Dan Ťok. The sticker will not be required on the D3 around Veselí nad Lužnicí, the D6 between Cheb and Karlovy Vary, the D55 around Otrokovice, the D52 near Pohořelice or part of the D46 motorway near Hněvotín thanks to the free use of the Olomouc bypass on the D35 motorway. This way, the ministry follows its decision from the past years when 145 km of motorways situated near cities were excluded from charges. Sections of the D1 around Brno, the D3 motorway around Tábor, the D6 near Cheb and the D10 around Mladá Boleslav had already been exempt from charges. In the next wave, charges for access to Prague for the inhabitants of surrounding municipalities near Prague, i.e. sections on the D6, D7, D10 and D11, were lifted. City bypasses and free-of-charge sections now also include Beroun and Králův Dvůr on the D5. The D5 motorway around Pilsen or around Ústí nad Labem on the D8 are now also charge-free. Another similar section lies near Olomouc and on the D35 or D46 motorways around Prostějov. The amounts collected from motorway coupons have been growing, not falling "These changes did not show in the sales of motorway stickers. On the contrary, their sales have been growing every year. Last year CZK 3.6 billion were collected, which is CZK 170 million more than in 2015 and 300 million more than in 2014," says minister Ťok. In 2014, when no section was excluded from the fees, a total of 4.7 million motorway stickers were sold and in 2016 it was nearly six hundred thousand more. The sales of one-year motorway coupons for 2018 for weight category up to 3.5 tonnes will start no later than on December 1. Coupons with a validity period of one month or ten days will be available for sale with the arrival of the new year. Coupon prices for 2018 remain the same as this year. The one-year coupon for 2018 is valid from December 1, 2017 to January 31, 2019, and its price is CZK 1,500. The price of the one-month coupon is CZK 440 and the price of the 10-day coupon is CZK 310. New motorway stickers will again be provided with security features due to their increased counterfeit protection.