There has been a lot of talk lately about we will have to pay for driving on highways and highways. And no, we are not talking about the toll on duty, we are talking about the affected highways of the State network. Will it be toll highways in Spain? Let’s summarize everything that is known about it.
The 11,500 km of the State Motorway and Highway Network will be affected by this measure that will certainly enter into force in 2024. A plan that has been in the political ideology for more than 10 years and that has been delayed in the last 2 years due to the Ukrainian War and the economic difficulties derived from the COVID crisis and the war.
The intention to make motorways and dual carriageways pay has always required the consensus of the groups involved, mainly the powers of the autonomies and CCAAs and the road transport group. But the plan is something agreed with Brussels as part of the Next Generation injection of funds and recently, the Director of the DGT Pere Navarro assured that the payment will be effective in 2024 while hours later the Minister of Transportation, Raquel Sánchez, disavowed the same director. All very clear, right?
Why do we have to pay?
We have to mention at this point that the The amount of the money raised will be destined to the maintenance of the same road network. Remember that at this time it would have a conservation deficit of more than 10,000 million euros according to the Spanish Road Association, which will require an investment of about 1,800 million euros per year for 10 years.
Added to this we add the reason to balance the public coffers, which could not continue supporting the expense caused by the maintenance and conservation of national highways. According to official data and to put you in a situation, last year the state allocated 1,371 million for this purpose, 11% than in 2021.
At this point two other premises come into play: “who uses, pays” and “Who pollutes, pays”. Two phrases that can contextualize the “agreement” between Spain and Brussels, but here we get into issues of opinion and it is better to continue with the information, right?
What roads will be affected?
In Spain there are 165,375 kilometers of roads of all kinds, national, secondary, etc. Most direct competition of the Autonomous Communities, Provincial Councils and Cabildos. The toll will apply to highways and highways that are the responsibility of the Ministry of Transport, a total of 26,459 km to support 52% of the traffic and 64.57% of the heavy traffic.
The agreement affects the entire high-capacity road network, that is, motorways and dual carriageways, which leaves aside two-way, national and regional roads. Toll highways, the typical R-3, AP-6 and others are obviously exempt, so as not to pay twice. On the other hand, Catalonia, Navarra and the Basque Country, having transferred powers, will not be part of the “payment network”. Mention that in the Basque Country there is a similar model since last year as a dynamic payment.
The pay
Since it is fashionable, we have invented the Netflix of the Spanish roads… Depending on which group you ask, we will have a different price:
- If you ask the Ministry: 1 cent per kilometer.
- If you ask the Association of Conservation and Exploitation Companies (ACEX): 4 cents per kilometer.
- If you ask the employer of the highway concessionaires (SEOPAN): 9 cents per kilometer.
As you can see, nothing clear or established at the moment. In this order of prices, we will pay for a trip Madrid – Seville of 534 kilometers the order of €5.34, €21.36, or €48.06 extras.
But since everything is already invented and yes, we will be the Netflix of the roads, the mode of payment by subscription or pay per vignette Both the payment per kilometer and the payment per vignette is something that we will have to get used to since it is far from the more traditional toll payments.
This bullet (I think “window” makes more sense) could be valid weekly, monthly or yearly. Ideally it would be a digital system that would read our license plate and a sticker that we will put between the environmental device and the 300 ITV appointments.
At the moment it is known that the workers on work trips, students and patients who go to medical visits will be exempt from payment.
The consequences
This part may be more my opinion than anything else, so I invite you to leave yours in the comments. If we add these payments to trips, we add more, for example, to trips in summer. I am of the opinion that if I can save time and go through the toll for a few kilometers I will pay for it, but I understand that not all of us think and drive in the same way. In Spain there is a high degree of accidents on secondary roads. It is so, we have many black spots that continue to be the order of the day and little can be done with signage.
If I have to add an extra €5, €15 or €35 per trip to my vacation, the option of taking these secondary roads will always be an alternative for tighter budgets. By diverting traffic from highways, which are better maintained, to secondary roads, road safety will be affected.
As I say my opinion, but delighted to read you. In the event of an update by the media and official sources, we will inform you in this same post.
Source: Ministry of Transport, La Vanguardia, ABC, El Mundo and El Debate.
