The new year is presented in an unflattering way for most drivers. If a few days ago the end of the aid of 20 cents per liter of fuel was confirmed, now we have another announcement that will affect their pockets. And it is that the tolls will also be more expensive in 2023, with a rise that will extend in the following years. We will have to settle for the fact that a limitation has been placed on this rate growth by the Government by means of a Royal Decree-Law.
A rate increase of 8.4% had been planned in eleven of the busiest turnpikes from the country. This growth was due to the evolution of the CPI and also to extraordinary revisions in three of them. However, the Government has approved limiting the rise to 4% of tolls with the aim of helping drivers. They say they have enough with high energy prices stemming from the conflict in Ukraine. Despite this, many still think that it is an insufficient measure after what happened with fuels.
The measure has already been approved by the Council of Ministers, at the proposal of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (Mitma). They are going to allocate €23.3 million to stop this increase in rates in 2023 and then have committed to partially mitigate the increase between 2024 and 2026 so that it is staggered. The point is that the rate increase is cumulativeis going to increase anyway, only that the Government wants it to be more gradual so that it can be “assumed in better conditions by the citizens.”
In addition, you have to deal with the fact that some of the toll motorways, in addition to the review due to the rise in the CPI, also have extraordinary increases to repay participatory loans made by the State to pay for the expropriations or pay for the works carried out. In fact, the climb on some of the roads would exceed 9% were it not for this limitation by the Ministry. The highways that remain with the 4% increase are the AP-51, the AP-61, the AP-53, the AP-66, the AP-7 Alicante-Cartagena, the AP-7 Málaga-Guadiaro, the AP -68 and AP-71, the AP-9, the AP-6 and the AP-46.
toll roadsExpected rise in 2023 with the limitationAP-99.46%4%AP-68.38%4%AP-469.46%4%AP-61 AND AP-518.38%4%AP-538.38%4%AP-668.38%4%AP-7 Alicante-Cartagena9.46%4%AP-7 Malaga-Guadiaro8.38%4%AP-688.38%4%AP-718.38%4%