Mobility Package. The post-battle landscape? What will transportation look like after July 1, 2026?
Zuzanna Malek
Published 19.08.2026
10 min reading time
One month after the next phase of the Mobility Package came into force, the TSL (transport, shipping, and logistics) sector is still counting the costs and learning new procedures. From 1 July 2026, the regulations were extended to cover vans with a gross vehicle weight of 2.5–3.5 tonnes engaged in international transport. This means mandatory tachographs, driving time limits identical to those for trucks, and a new level of bureaucracy related to the posting of drivers. We examined what this first month looked like from the perspective of carriers, freight forwarders, and manufacturers, and spoke to people who deal with the new regulations on a daily basis.
Contents
What Exactly Changed Under the Mobility Package from 1 July 2026?
As of 1 July 2026, vans weighing 2.5–3.5 tonnes and carrying out international transport operations must be equipped with a second-generation tachograph (G2V2), and their drivers are now subject to the same driving and rest time limits as drivers of trucks exceeding 3.5 tonnes. This is the most significant change introduced in this year’s phase of the Mobility Package and the one that has had the greatest impact on the light commercial vehicle segment, which many carriers had previously treated as a “grey area” subject to less stringent regulations.
New Obligations for 2.5–3.5-Tonne Vans
A van driver engaged in international transport can now drive a maximum of 9 hours per day (up to 10 hours twice a week), and after 4.5 hours of driving must take a mandatory 45-minute break. The G2V2 tachograph records routes, speed, and border crossings via GPS, effectively eliminating the possibility of manually “adjusting” working time records, a practice some carriers had become accustomed to under earlier, less rigorous reporting rules.
Licences, Cabotage and Posted Worker Notifications
As TruckFocus.pl notes, the obligation for vans weighing 2.5–3.5 tonnes to hold a Community licence has formally been in force since 2022. However, only now, with tachographs enabling effective monitoring, has this requirement begun to be enforced on a large scale during roadside inspections. In addition, drivers must now be registered in the EU posted worker notification portal and comply with the minimum wage requirements applicable in the country where the service is performed. For many small businesses, this represents an entirely new area of administrative obligations.
How Prepared Is the Industry After One Month? Numbers That Speak for Themselves
The industry’s readiness for the new regulations was, and still is, low. According to data from the IRU (International Road Transport Union), just before the regulations took effect, only 27.7% of carriers declared that they were fully prepared, while as many as 46.5% openly admitted they would not be ready in time.
| Readiness Indicator (Data Before 1 July 2026) | Value |
| Fully prepared carriers | 27,7% |
| Unprepared carriers | 46,5% |
| Van fleet requiring tachograph installation | 88% |
| Main barriers | limited workshop availability, high installation costs, technical incompatibility |
Source: IRU.
Such a high percentage of vehicles requiring retrofitting is the result of a simple mechanism: the number of stations authorised to install and calibrate tachographs grew more slowly than the demand generated by the new obligation. Companies that delayed booking installations are still waiting in line. One month after the regulations came into force, this remains a daily reality for many fleets.
What Is Happening Among Carriers: Costs, Inspections and the First Penalties
One month after the regulations came into effect, carriers are reporting three developments simultaneously: higher operating costs, more frequent roadside inspections of vans, and the first cases of penalties for missing tachographs or incorrect working time records. The Road Transport Inspection has placed 2.5–3.5-tonne vans under the same inspection regime as heavy goods vehicles. As a result, drivers who until recently did not have to worry about driving time checks are now subject to exactly the same roadside procedures.
There is also increasing wage pressure. The model of a “low basic salary plus high, lightly taxed allowances”, which has been common in the industry for years, is becoming less viable because the Mobility Package requires higher base pay. According to DriversJob.pl data, this means gross salaries in the range of PLN 5,500–9,000 instead of the previous PLN 3,000–4,500, in addition to hourly wage calculations based on the minimum rates applicable in the country where the driver actually works.
These additional costs are being added to an already difficult financial situation in the sector. According to Obserwator Logistyczny, the debt of the TSL industry exceeded PLN 1.6 billion in 2025, with micro-enterprises operating one or two vehicles being the most vulnerable. These companies most frequently postponed tachograph investments until the last moment because they lacked sufficient cash reserves for an expense that does not generate direct revenue.
Carrier Verification has therefore become a critical element of partnership security, both for freight forwarders and manufacturers outsourcing the transport of their goods.
In addition to standard verification procedures, companies must now confirm that a carrier has properly installed and calibrated tachographs in the vans it declares for a given assignment, and that its drivers have been correctly registered in the posting system.
How Freight Forwarders and Manufacturing Companies Have Responded: Freight Rates and Delivery Times
The market responded to the new regulations in the way it always does when costs rise and available transport capacity falls: freight rates increased. According to an IRU report prepared jointly with Upply and Transport Intelligence, contract road freight rates in Europe rose by 7.9 percentage points quarter-on-quarter and by 15.2 percentage points year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026. Spot rates increased even faster, by 14.6 and 13.9 percentage points respectively.
The same report highlights differences between specific routes. On the Warsaw–Duisburg route, contract rates reached EUR 1.45 per kilometre (up 6.1% quarter-on-quarter), while on the Antwerp–Duisburg route they reached as much as EUR 3.05 per kilometre (up 17.1% quarter-on-quarter). The IRU Road Freight Sentiment Index reached a record high of 28.3 points, signalling that carriers themselves expect further price increases in the coming months rather than a temporary spike.
For freight forwarders, this means renegotiating rates with customers almost in real time. For manufacturers, it means longer delivery lead times in the light international transport segment because mandatory breaks and driving-hour limits for vans extend journey times that could previously be completed “just in time” within a single day.
Consolidation and Digitalisation: How the Market Is Adapting
One month is too short a period to speak of a completed transformation, but the direction of change is already clear. The market is consolidating faster, and competitive advantage increasingly depends on access to data rather than fleet size alone. Smaller carriers are combining fleets, acquiring one another, or sharing fuel, maintenance, and financing costs to cope with the new requirements.
Companies specialising in intermodal transport, contract logistics, and e-commerce services are performing noticeably better than generalists offering “everything for everyone”. As Anna Biekionis, Country Manager of DKV Mobility in Poland, noted in comments cited by Obserwator Logistyczny, the companies that will grow in the coming months are those with organised finances, modern fleets, and access to real-time operational data, at the expense of competitors that still rely on outdated manual processes.
This pressure is also being reinforced by regulations that go beyond the Mobility Package itself. As Obserwator Logistyczny points out, the extension of the ETS2 system to road transport and increasing ESG requirements from major clients further reward companies investing in telematics and reporting capabilities, while penalising those relying solely on low prices.
What Awaits the Industry in the Coming Months?
The first month after the regulations came into force is only the beginning of the adjustment period. The coming months will likely bring further increases in freight rates, more intensive roadside inspections of vans, and accelerated consolidation among the smallest carriers. The record-high IRU sentiment index suggests that the market does not expect conditions to stabilise in the short term. Moreover, additional elements of EU transport policy, including ETS2 and ESG requirements, will compound the effects of the Mobility Package rather than give the industry time to recover.
For freight forwarders and manufacturers, this means one thing: the operating conditions that existed in June 2026 are unlikely to return. Planning transport operations, particularly international van transport, now requires a greater time and budget buffer than was necessary even six months ago.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Mobility Package in Brief?
It is a set of EU regulations governing, among other things, drivers’ working time, cabotage rules, the posting of workers, and tachograph requirements in road transport. From 1 July 2026, it was extended to include 2.5–3.5-tonne vans engaged in international transport operations.
From When Must 2.5–3.5-Tonne Vans Be Equipped with a Tachograph?
The obligation to install and use a second-generation tachograph (G2V2) in vans with a gross vehicle weight of 2.5–3.5 tonnes engaged in international transport has applied since 1 July 2026.
What Penalties Apply for Operating a Van Without a Tachograph or Licence?
A roadside inspection may result in a financial penalty and the vehicle being immobilised until the irregularities are corrected. The Road Transport Inspection treats vans covered by the new obligation in the same way as vehicles above 3.5 tonnes.
Will Van Transport Rates Increase in the Coming Months?
Yes. IRU data indicates a record-high freight market sentiment index, suggesting further increases in both contract and spot rates throughout the coming months of 2026.
How Can You Verify Whether a Carrier Has the Required Authorisations After the Mobility Package Changes?
In addition to standard verification of a Community licence and carrier liability insurance (OCP), it is now necessary to confirm that the carrier has installed and calibrated tachographs in the vans assigned to the transport order and that its drivers are registered in the EU posted worker notification system.
Does the Mobility Package Also Apply to Domestic Transport?
The new tachograph and driving-time requirements for 2.5–3.5-tonne vans apply to international transport and cabotage operations. Purely domestic goods transport is not subject to these obligations.
Summary
One month after the next phase of the Mobility Package came into force, the TSL sector remains in a phase of adaptation rather than stabilisation. This is evident in three areas simultaneously: the low technical readiness of carriers to install tachographs, rising freight rates driven by limited transport capacity, and accelerated market consolidation around companies investing in data and modern fleets. For freight forwarders and manufacturers, two factors have become critical: reliable carrier verification before assigning transport work and realistic delivery planning that takes into account the new driving limits, even in the light commercial vehicle segment.
Monitoring such changes on an ongoing basis and translating them into practical operational decisions is part of the everyday work of the Visline team. If you are wondering how the new regulations affect your routes, costs, or cooperation with carriers, contact us and let’s discuss how to adapt your logistics operations to the next stages of the Mobility Package.
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