The aim is to mitigate the 8.4% increase that would have occurred in 2023 with the rate update by the CPI
The government has agreed to limit the toll increase on 11 toll motorways to 4% in 2023, with the aim of mitigating the historic increase in rates that would have occurred, as it is linked to the evolution of the consumer price index (IPC) and the effect of extraordinary revisions in three of them.
If this decision had not been taken, the toll would have become 8.4% more expensive as of 1 January. A practically unaffordable cost for users in an environment with high energy prices that has particularly affected the mobility and disposable income of households.
Specifically, the measure will affect the AP-51, AP-61, AP-53, AP-66, AP-7 Alicante-Cartagena, AP-7 Málaga-Guadiaro, AP-68 and AP-71, AP-9 motorways , AP-6 and AP-46. “At this time, it has decided to freeze tolls on SEITT-operated highways, which reverted to the state due to financial difficulties,” they note from the executive.
Transport Ministry sources informed this medium a few days ago that they had been analyzing “various alternatives” for some time to determine the eventual increase in tolls, given the executive’s “call to reverse the inflation spiral to cope”. But the negotiations with the concessionaires were difficult. Finally, between 2023 and 2026, Transport will subsidize part of the income that these companies will no longer receive next year by curbing the toll increase.
In concrete terms, a line of 23.3 million euros is released to finance the reduction of the rate increase in 2023, and the obligation is laid down for the General Government to provide the necessary posts to partially mitigate the increase between 2024 and 2026 in order to mitigate it. to spread .
It should be taken into account that the increase in rates is cumulative, hence the need to pass on the difference that will not be repaid to the user in 2023, the year in which they are expected to increase by approximately 8.38% by inflation, albeit little by little, so that it can be adopted by citizens in better conditions.
In the case of the AP-7 Alicante-Cartagena, in addition to the ordinary review by the IPC, an extraordinary rate increase of 1% must be applied to repay a participatory loan provided by the state to pay for the expropriations, so that, without measures would increase by 9.46%. Still, it’s been approved that next year’s raise will also be 4%, so the ordinary raise is capped at 3%, increasing the associated fee, to which is added 1% of the extraordinary.
The AP-46 Alto de Las Pedrizas-Málaga and the AP-9 Autopista del Atlántico must also apply an extraordinary revision of the rate to generate funds to compensate for the infrastructure improvement works carried out and that implied a change in the terms of the concessions. So, although the increase in 2023 on these roads will be 9.46%, the government has also decided to limit the increase to 4% and increase the subsidy to compensate for the revenue that users no longer receive.
This will be the first time that the government has failed to implement the CPI toll revaluation since its adoption in 2002.
The highest increase in recent years occurred in 2007, when the toll increased by 4.5% according to average inflation in 2006, the increases in recent years have been much lower, with 1.97% in 2022, 0.11 % in 2021, 0.84% in 2020 or 1.2% in 2019.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
