When will we pay tolls on highways throughout Spain?

The current crisis in the transport sector has been the main cause. The current supply problems, the collapse in industries due to the protests and the increase in the price of fuels and raw materials have momentarily paralyzed the initial plan, although government sources have confirmed that the plan has only been postponed on a date, but it will take effect. 

The payment system proposed by the Government consists of a vignette model, that is, with a fixed payment per vehicle. Later, a payment system based on a determined cost per kilometer would be studied. This system could have exemptions for those who use the infrastructures on a daily basis, to work or study, or for taking a tour for medical reasons, according to the General Director of Traffic Pere Navarro.

The vignette model consists of a sticker that will be placed on the windshield, together with the ITV and the DGT environmental label. This sticker certifies that you can drive through all payment methods, since you have paid the fee. There are several models: the annual payment or the payment for use by days, weeks or months.

The DGT will control through OCR cameras whether the vehicles are authorized or not, as they are already doing with ITV or insurance.

The pay-per-kilometre system still does not have a clear price, and various prices are being considered, of 1 or 2 cents per kilometer. 

In Europe there are already countries with annual rates for motorway payments. For vehicles up to 3.5 tons in Austria the price is €92.5 per year (with supplements in tunnels, passages or bridges), in Bulgaria it is around €50, in Romania €28 (with the Rovinieta electronic label, and they have toll rates on some ferries and bridges across the Danube, between €6 and €12), in the Czech Republic it is €60 and in Switzerland it is around €39 with some tunnels excluded in the cartoon. Drivers of vehicles over 3.5 tons do not need to have the vignette, but have to pay a fee subject to heavy vehicles (€2.96/day, with a minimum fee of €22.75).

In Spain we already have the first toll highway, in the 15.5 km stretch between Beasain and Bergara, on the A-636. It is paid electronically with electronic tolls since January (except motorcycles). The entire section costs €2.53 for cars and light vehicles, €4.11 for light trucks and €5.15 for trucks over 12 tons. Payments are made using an ABIATU device (for residents of Guipúzcoa) or Via-T, if this is not available, they must register and link their registration to a payment card through the company that markets it, Bidagi.

If prior registration is not made, but a card payment has been made 4 hours before at a toll, the amount will be automatically charged. If the payment is not made, an informative letter will arrive with the amount to be paid, and fines of about €100 will soon begin to be applied.

There is still no specific date for the entry into force of this new payment system. The Government has announced that it will not be during the current legislature. We will be attentive to the next news on the subject, although something has become clear after the words of Raquel Sánchez, Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda: "infrastructure financing, maintenance and modernization must be guaranteed". Therefore, we will pay, although we do not know when.