Spanish Road Association wants us to pay a road usage fee

The AEC (Asociación Española de la Carretera) is going to launch a proposal to implement a road usage fee so that those funds can be used for the maintenance and improvement of the road infrastructure in our country.

Such a proposal would make us pay a variable amount (an annual fee of between 150 and 180 euros is being discussed), depending on the number of kilometers traveled annually on motorways and secondary roads, the hours of greater or lesser congestion, and even which road is involved, since the most congested ones would be more expensive. As a consolation, the proposal would allow us to drive without paying a single cent at night and as long as we do not exceed 15,000 kilometers of annual use.

The strange proposal already has its debate secured among the parliamentary groups next week. It should be noted that not all groups agree to debate such a thing, given the foreseeable social cost of taking the decision of “pay per use” in an economic situation like the one we are suffering, while about 20,000 million euros would be collected in payments.

An idea put together on a whim, since the maintenance of the roads, except for those roads granted under concession, is the responsibility of the state. Furthermore, it seems that other consequences have not been analyzed. For example, the impact this could have on reduced car use, aggravated by even more expenses related to it, or the impact on the costs of goods transported by road, price increases in public transport and freight that use the roads, etc.

But what seems to be the most serious is the blow to the freedom that the car provides you. Being able to get into the car and drive as many kilometers as you want, simply for the pleasure of driving. Moreover, it is still not known how the number of kilometers one travels and which roads we are using will be “controlled,” without invading our privacy as citizens.

Source | Siglo XXI