Italy is introducing a toll refund for traffic jams caused by roadworks: If you lose a lot of time, you can claim money back. The new regulation comes into force on June 1, 2026, but is already attracting criticism due to complicated processes and possible additional costs.
Italy wants to ease the financial burden on travelers during long freeway jams in the future. Under certain conditions, tolls paid can be partially or fully reclaimed. The new regulation is intended to ensure greater fairness but is complicated to implement for foreign road users and has already met with criticism.
Since June 1, 2026, travelers have been able to reclaim fees for motorway journeys under certain conditions. The regulation is considered to be a unique approach in European road traffic.
If there are noticeable time losses exclusively in connection with roadworks, a partial or full refund of the toll paid can be requested, depending on the extent of the delay. At the same time, the reimbursement is clearly limited, as the responsible regulatory authority emphasizes: events such as serious accidents, extreme weather conditions or other unforeseeable disruptions are expressly excluded.
Repayment of the toll is linked to specific time losses. Even short distances of around 100 kilometers can result in compensation if the journey takes around ten minutes longer than usual. For longer distances, the requirements increase accordingly: the greater the distance, the greater the deceleration must be.
For delays of more than two hours, the transport authority generally provides for a full refund of the toll charges. However, payment will only be made if the calculated refund amount exceeds at least one euro.
The operating company "Autostrade per l'Italia" uses examples to illustrate the principle: For example, around 75 percent of the toll is to be refunded for a 90-kilometre stretch with an additional 40 minutes of driving time. If there is a delay of around one hour, the entire fee is usually refunded.
Consumer advocates fear that the financial burden on operators will ultimately be indirectly passed on to drivers - for example through rising toll prices. According to their assessment, there is a possibility that the costs of compensation payments will be at least partially offset by future tariff adjustments.
