Question

When calculating routes through Hungary using xRoute with a heavy-duty vehicle profile, the toll amount returned by xServer appears to match only the HU-GO infrastructure fee. The HU-GO toll calculator (utdijkalkulacio.hu) displays a higher total that includes a separate externality charge (distance-based fee covering air pollution, noise, and CO₂ emissions for vehicles over 3.5 tonnes). Users want to know whether xServer's toll amount is incomplete or whether the difference has another explanation

Answer

PTV xServer returns toll amounts excluding VAT/tax. The externality charge is not a missing component — the observed difference between the xServer result and the HU-GO calculator total is largely explained by the Hungarian VAT rate of 27%.

To verify: multiply the xServer toll amount by 1.27 and compare to the HU-GO calculator total (infrastructure fee + external fee).

Example from this case:

The results are in the same order of magnitude. The remaining small difference may be attributable to route alignment, vehicle parameter mapping, or rounding in the reference calculator.

Additions hints

• PTV toll data is provided without VAT across all countries, not only Hungary. Always apply the applicable national VAT rate when comparing to third-party toll calculators or invoiced amounts.
• The HU-GO externality charge is not a separate toll component modelled independently in xServer — it is part of the gross toll rate already reflected (pre-VAT) in the dataset.
• When validating toll amounts, ensure the vehicle profile in xRoute matches the reference vehicle as closely as possible: gross weight, number of axles, axle load, number of trailers, and emission standard (e.g. EURO_6). Small differences in these parameters can produce noticeable toll amount variations in Hungary.
• The xRoute call must include "useDetailedToll": true in routeOptions.tollOptions and "enabled": true in resultFields.toll to receive itemised toll data per section and system