ARCHIVED - New payment system for roads in Spain confirmed
In less than 2 years, drivers in Spain will be charged for using the roads
After months of speculation and much controversy about the Spanish Government’s decision to begin charging for the use of roads, the Ministry of Transport has confirmed that the changes will come into effect in 2023 and it has outlined the associated costs.
According to the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, the new pricing will contribute to the maintenance and improvement of Spanish roads.
The first change will be introduced in January of 2023 and will require all highway drivers to display a special sticker on their vehicles. Road users will have to pay a fixed price for the label which will then give them access to the Spanish high-speed roads. Officials have indicated that drivers who haven’t paid for the sticker will be fined, but the means of detecting these infringements hasn’t yet been established.
The sticker system will only be temporary as the Ministry’s ultimate plan is to charge drivers one cent per kilometre. The implementation of a pay-as-you-go method presents several logistical problems, however, and so the Government hopes to start working on it in 2022 in order to have a roadmap drawn up before the end of the year.
Paying for road use is very common within the EU, but the legislation has been met with strong criticism, particularly from truck drivers, many of whom fear going out of business when the new charges come into effect.
It is not only professional drivers that oppose the move; while the measure has the support of the PSOE, the Podemos party has gone as far as threatening direct opposition if the charges are brought into law, although they have pledged their support if certain populations are excluded.
Image: Archive
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