Cyclists met in Rousse for a protest on August 11 2008 against the tolls that motor vehicles have to pay for crossing the Romanian-Bulgarian border, an amount of 35 leva a car.

The use of bicycles was a direct aim at the validity of the tax, as bicycles are the only type of vehicle that do not pay a  toll on the bridge that crosses the Danube River, connecting the Bulgarian Rousse and the Romanian Giurgiu, private broadcaster bTV reported.

The participants in the demonstration wore T-shirts saying “No to the tolls!” They crossed the Danube Bridge, rode to the Romanian town of Giurgiu and returned back to Bulgaria.

Local people said that the taxes needed to be done away with, as they very often travelled to Romania’s nearest airport, and to Bucharest or Giurgiu, while Romanians often came to the Danubian city of Rousse.