The Government is eyeing a move to put toll gates (perhaps not physically) on the nation's autovías and main roads. Until now, only autopistas had tolls.

This idea is part of the Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia, which has been submitted to the EU to convince them that Spain fully intends to pay back Covid funds that have to be returned.

“Those that contaminate, pay and those that use [roads], pay,” appears to be the logic of the socialists Central Government.

But don’t start hunting around for coins because the idea won’t be studied until 2022 and come online until 2024, when the economy is expected to have recovered. This two years between studying the idea and putting it into practice is because the Government knows that it will take a good deal of ‘tweaking.’

The Government says that it is carrying an 8,000m euro deficit in the maintenance of the nation’s roads, which is the justification behind the move.

The leader of the Valencian Government, Joan Baldoví ( Compromis) is firmly against the idea arguing that the autovías in that autonomous region are “paid, repaid and re-repaid,” underlining the fact for over 40 years A-7 users in Valencia have paid a toll every time they use it – you can’t move one end of the region to the other without having to use it.

The Asociación de Empresas de Conservación y Explotación de Infraestructuras (Acex) considers that a charge of between three to five cents per kilometre would be sufficient to pay off the 8,000-million deficit.

If a nationwide charge of four cents per kilometre is levied that you would pay nine euros to travel from Madrid to Burgos; 12 euros between Madrid; Zaragoza and 14 euros between Madrid and Valencia and 15 euros from Madrid to Córdoba. These figures come from Acex.

The Government also adds that paying for road use would lessen exhaust emissions and the greenhouse effect as well as other environmental problems.

Spain has a road network of 26,466 kilometres, 12,000 of which correspond to autopistas and autovías (the most extensive in Europe). Furthermore, the Government points out, the majority of European countries charge tolls on parts of their road-communication networks. France, Portugal and Italy have pay-tolls on their autopistas (motorways) where as all of Germany’s a free to users.

Furthermore, the system would be implanted by stages, starting with the autopistas and autovías before moving on to main roads. The Government is well aware that motorists will shun (where and when they can) road tolls, avoiding autopistas and then autovías, for which reason they “guarantee” reasonable charges.

Editorial comment: There is a sentiment in EU countries that are net payers of why should Spain’s high-speed, road network be free, when at home they are not, especially as EU net payers they have financed Spain’s enviable network.

On the other hand, the elevated tax at the pumps are there to pay for road maintenance, so why is there a deficit? There is a deficit because during the midst of the 2008 economic crisis, many private companies that ran autopistas went bust and had to be bailed out but the Governments (both conservative and socialists) decided to make them free to use.

Finally, this tax (that is what a road toll is) will affect the middle and lower class, both directly and indirectly. People who use roads daily do so to go to work and the vast majority of whom are on salaries. Secondly, if road transport companies have to pay more to get their goods to the consumer, then the consumer is going to end up footing the bill.

(News: Spain)