Toll for the Giurgiu–Ruse Bridge Can Be Paid Online

Starting Monday, 15 June 2026, the eTarifGiurgiuPod online payment system will become operational on the Romania–Bulgaria route across the Giurgiu–Ruse Bridge. The application is expected to become available from 10:00.

The new eTarifGiurgiuPod system, or e-TGP, will allow drivers of cars and passenger vehicles with up to 8+1 seats, including the driver, to pay the bridge crossing fee in advance, without having to make the payment directly at the toll booth before entering the bridge.

Payment can be made via the e-tarifgiurgiu.ro web platform or through the eTarifGiurgiuPod mobile application, available for Android and iOS users on Google Play and the App Store.

The system will operate on a prepaid basis. When vehicles pass through the designated lanes, the technical system will automatically verify whether the payment was made at least three minutes before entering the control zone. If the payment is confirmed, the barrier will open automatically, ensuring faster vehicle passage.

On the Giurgiu–Ruse route, access to the Friendship Bridge is organized through eight lanes. Two of them — lanes No. 3 and No. 4, as indicated by road signs — will be reserved for vehicles whose crossing fee has been paid online. The remaining lanes will continue to serve payments made in cash or by bank card at the toll booth, as well as categories of vehicles exempt from payment under the current rules.

The introduction of online payment is part of a broader trend toward the digitalization of border and transport infrastructure in the Danube region. For one of the key road crossings between Romania and Bulgaria, this may help reduce queues, increase throughput capacity and make border crossing more predictable for passengers and carriers.

Comment by the Institute of Danube Research

According to experts from the Institute of Danube Research, the digitalization of payment on the Giurgiu–Ruse Bridge has not only a service-related but also a strategic significance for regional mobility.

“The Giurgiu–Ruse Bridge is one of the important nodes of transport interaction between Romania and Bulgaria, and more broadly between the Balkans, the Danube region and the Black Sea area. The transition to online payment, automatic payment verification and dedicated traffic lanes indicates the gradual modernization of border infrastructure. For Ukraine, this experience is also important, as the efficiency of the Danube and Black Sea transport corridors increasingly depends not only on physical infrastructure, but also on digital solutions that reduce the time required for control procedures,” the Institute noted.

The Institute of Danube Research also emphasizes that such solutions may become an important element in the development of so-called “seamless logistics” in the region. Reducing administrative delays on bridges and at border crossings directly affects the quality of transport connectivity, tourist flows, small business activity and freight logistics between the countries of the Lower Danube.