Although driving on many of the highways and motorways in our country had been completely free until now, the plans of the Spanish Government could put an end to this custom. In 2021 the Executive announced its intention to put tolls on all roads in Spaina measure included in the initiative of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan. The intention, they revealed, is to contribute to the development of a much more sustainable future, which involves regulating the traffic of private vehicles to favor the use of other alternatives.
However, putting “more urgent needs such as social policies” on the table is also another reason, as confirmed by the Secretary General for Infrastructure, Sergio Vázquez: “We are going to implement a charging system. It makes no sense that the maintenance of the roads continues to be paid for with the taxes of all Spaniards ». This toll system would serve, as explained by the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, to correct the impossibility of conserving solely with the general budgets of the State highways and motorways and dedicate that investment to other more important measures.
This measure will not be ready until 2024, but the truth is that this year the first stones have begun to be laid to make it a reality. Thus, in April 2022, the First Vice President of the Government and Minister of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, Nadia Calvino, confirmed that the distribution among the autonomous communities of the 13,300 million euros of the project had been completed. For its part, the elaboration of the new tax system that will be implemented in our country also began last August.
Even though the new highway payment system It will foreseeably be implemented throughout Spain from 2024, not all drivers will have to go through this process of paying tolls. But in what cases will someone get rid of paying the toll stipulated by the Spanish Government?
Drivers who will not have to pay the toll
Not all drivers of private vehicles will have to pay this toll if they travel on Spanish highways and motorways. This was explained in May 2021 by the person in charge of the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT)Pere Navarro, who announced before the Senate Interior Committee that there are some cases in which it would not be necessary to make this payment when they are implemented from 2024.
These are the three types of drivers who will not have to pay the toll with the new highway payment system:
Workers who are making journeys from home to their place of work and vice versa
Students traveling by private vehicle to and from the corresponding study center
Drivers who undertake trips for reasons related to health matters, either on the way to the hospital or medical center
This model will be based on “affordable rates” that are yet to be defined. However, despite the words of the director of the DGT, there is no confirmation that these people remain exempt from paying these fees. In addition, how these fees will affect professional carriers has also not been addressed.