Romania: Damages of Being Outside Schengen Zone for Road Carriers Amount to €2.41 Billion
According to the general secretary of the National Union of Road Transporters from Romania (UNTRR), Radu Dinescu, the total cost registered by road carriers surged to a total of €2.41, accounting for a penalty of 25-30 per cent of the time lost, AtoZSerwisPlus.ro reports.
“The fact that we stayed outside the Schengen Zone keeps us with a penalty of 25-30 per cent of lost time. The closer you are to the western border and you cross into Hungary and wait a day, the higher the percentage, the time you spend at the border crossing, out of the total operating time,” Dinescu pointed out during a conference.
He added that the crisis continues this year, taking also into account the Mobility package which started to affect them more and more.
“Opposite the truck coming home, say, and once every eight weeks. I did a recent study two weeks ago and I’m telling you that 40 per cent of companies can’t return their trucks home, as well as 35 per cent that return their trucks home, well, they do it without cargo,” he said, stressing that the country is penalized in terms of efficiency, in comparison to the country’s peers in Western Europe.
In addition, Dinescu noted that the age of drivers who are eligible to enroll in the truck driving schools has been lowered to 18 years, while considering such a decision as a good thing.
He expressed his hopes that it will be functional after, today, as the bill is, drivers remain with a restriction on their driver’s license, stressing that they can only drive with a companion or an examiner.
Dinescu said that UNTRR believes in abolishing this restriction via administrative measures, emphasizing that “we still need drivers. Dinescu added that the International Road Transport Union estimated a deficit of 71,000 professional drivers at the level of August last year.
UNTRR’s general secretary stressed that the possibility of bringing in drivers from other countries is being seen as a solution, in addition to reducing the age.
He also emphasized that the road transport sector is among the most significant contributors to the country’s export of services, of a total €7.66 billion euros last year.
Despite the ongoing efforts to become part of the Schengen Zone, Romania’s accession to the borderless area in December last year was blocked by Austria following illegal migrant concerns.
