End of Toll-Free Highways 2024

SPAIN could see the return of tolls on highways in 2024. The Partido Popular has warned that the Government of Spain has committed to Europe, so highways will no longer be ‘free‘.

Two years ago, Spain began to implement a toll system on highways, and in the summer of 2022, speculation began as to when toll charging on highways would return. It is finally official, the economics spokesman for the Partido Popular  (PP) Juan Bravo stated that the final details are being discussed and tolls will begin on once “free” highways in 2024.

This agreement was included in Spain’s Recovery Plan, generating unease among professionals and individuals. Bravo reiterated that the decision was not a Popular Party decision, he said: “Let everyone know that they are going to pay for using the highways, but not because the PP is going to do it, but because the Government has already committed it even if it remains unsaid”.

The measure, which was already a commitment of the current PSOE Socialist Government, has been delayed to 2024 so that it will not affect the national elections which will be held next Sunday, July 23, according to Bravo.

The PP spokesman was keen to ensure that the public was aware of this fact and said: “It is in the Recovery Plan, on page two, where it says that in the year 2024, the use of highways will incur a cost… It has been brought forward to 2024 so that it could be implemented after the elections.”

The Government declared this measure necessary with the aim of advancing towards the internalization of external transport costs by charging the “paying user” and compensating for the pollution generated by vehicles using these services. Numerous solutions have been proposed to reduce the cost of using highways, such as the idea of ​​exempting certain trips (for work or health issues) or introducing a reduced rate of one cent per kilometre travelled.

The director of the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), Pere Navarro, stated this Thursday (July 13) that in 2024 Spain will begin to implement tolls on the highways “by the imposition of Brussels”.

In an interview on TV3’s “Els Matins” program, the head of the DGT stated: “Brussels demands it of us”.

An official government statement is yet to be released.