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The history of BALM

In the course of time


At the beginning of the 1950s, the Federal Republic of Germany experienced an enormous economic boom. An upswing that was also noticeable in freight transport: A rapid increase in the volume of transport by land, water and rail ultimately required the creation of national guidelines and compliance with them. This development led to the formation of the Federal Agency for Long-Distance Freight Transport in 1953. In the following years, the authority has continuously adapted to the requirements of the rapidly developing road freight transport. With the Tariff Abolition Act of 13 August 1993, the Federal Agency for Long-Distance Freight Transport was transformed into an independent higher Federal authority in the area of responsibility of the Federal Minister for Transport, now known as the Federal Office for Goods Transport (BAG). Not least due to the expansion of the Federal Office's tasks in connection with the route-related truck toll in 2005 and the implementation of a truck toll system on all Federal highways in 2018, the importance of the BAG in securing the market organisation in road freight transport has become evident. Due to its current development of tasks, the BAG has developed from a pure control authority to a modern service provider for everything to do with intermodal passenger and freight transport, which is also responsible for the implementation of European requirements. Since 2014, the BAG has been the responsible administrative authority for the national electronic register for the European electronic toll service (EETS) in Germany and therefore enables its users to access the European toll road network with just one contract and only one on-board device from an EETS provider. Building on an efficient control strategy, the BALM is pushing ahead with digitisation using state-of-the-art technology. As a result, the selection of control-relevant transports will be made even more targeted. Today, the range of tasks of the BALM also reflects future social trends in the field of transport. As the licensing authority, the BALM is responsible for funding programs in the field of road freight transport and passenger transport, model public transport projects, equipping motor vehicles with turning assistance systems (AAS) and cycle transport. The Federal Office is constantly on the move: today we see ourselves as a service provider for modern mobility.

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