article_detail

The Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, Raquel Sánchez, once again defended the hugely controversial decision to introduce more tolls on the Spanish road network. Ms Sánchez insisted that Spain is hardly breaking the mould since 24 out of the 27 EU member states have a similar pay-per-use system. Moreover, she confirmed that the plans would be finalised “in the coming months” so that the tolls could be up and running before 2024.

 

Speaking at a meeting in the Congress of Deputies on Thursday September 16, the Minister insisted that she would push ahead with the plan to charge for the use of Spain’s roads as this has already been agreed as part of the recovery fund deal with Brussels. Moreover, she reiterated that the new tolls won’t resemble the current motorway ones but will rather be based on distance travelled, and so in theory should actually prove cheaper for road users. The suggestion presented in the recovery plan is that each kilometre would cost one cent, so to travel from Madrid to the Region of Murcia, for example, would cost just over 3.80 euros.

 

The introduction of a new toll system for highways throughout Spain has been met with vehement opposition by road users and politicians alike, so much so that Ms Sánchez’s predecessor actually shelved the idea before he left office in June. However, the new Minister has insisted that the measure is essential to ensure the ongoing viability of the infrastructure of this country and she is determined to push ahead.

 

Image: Archive