Tolls: Post-election… hand deeper in pocket

After the June 25 elections, if a new Government emerges, as all the data shows, the new leadership of the Ministry of Transport and especially the users of the Motorways and the Rio-Antirrio Bridge, will be faced with the harsh reality.

Based on the Motorway concession contracts, the Toll prices are reset every year, according to inflation. Despite the fact that the toll increases were – essentially – “announced” by the concessionaires at the end of 2022, in order to be “legally covered”, they were nevertheless not implemented, following pressure from the previous government, which did not want toll increases to be implemented and in fact, more than 10% in a pre-election year.

According to the announcements that had been made in 2023, toll price hikes can reach, as the case may be, up to 16%.

This means that the cost of each journey could rise significantly as 2022 inflation has climbed to unimaginable heights with the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices reaching 11.26%.

In “Olympia Odos“, regarding the upcoming increases, based on the announcements made by the concessionaires, it follows that the new tariffs will be set as follows:

> Rio: From 2.3 euros to 2.5 euros (8.6% increase).

> Elaionas: From 3.3 to 3.7 euros (12.1% increase)

> Kiato: From 2.3 euros to 2.6 (13% increase).

> Isthmus: From 1.8 to 2 euros (11.1% increase).

> Elefsina station: From 2.1 to 2.4 euros (14.2% increase).

However, competent actors estimate that after the elections and with the assumption of duties by the new government, a “bargain” is expected to take place, since the indexation of the tolls is provided for in the concession contracts, as it is a basic condition of the 6 contracts, specifically the Olympia Road, of the Central and Nea Odos, the Bridge, the Morea and the Aegean Motorway. In the background, various alternatives are already being discussed, in the form of reciprocity. For example, the concessionaires may ask for a possible extension of the contracts beyond 2037, or some revision of the budgets in ongoing projects, while the new projects that will be auctioned and of interest to the Technical Groups enter the “equation”. In any case, the concessionaires have certainly not… forgotten the new Toll tariffs, as they have all announced the prices they will apply some non-election moment in 2023!

Bridge…no “free” weekends

“Gefira SA” had made it known, at the end of 2022, that according to the provisions of the Concession Agreement, there must be an increase – based on the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices – of 11.26%. However, to date, it has not applied the fare hikes to single crossings, which still remain at last year’s levels.

However, the company has not implemented the free return, for those who spend the weekends in Rio – Antirrio, up to 10 hours from the first crossing.

The offer was put into effect, every year, from the first SC of June, but this year it has been “frozen”.

SA, at the beginning of the year, had increased the cost of the multi-pass e-pass card from 242.56 euros to 295 euros, but again after the intervention of the leadership of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, it presented a new product with 44 crossings for 22 working days of the month, for an amount of 232.90 euros.