Toll roads in spain

[Trickydicky1]

Hello, can anyone tell me if the AP 7 motorway from France to Alicante is still free please.

[laimeduck]

It was when we used it in January - I downloaded this map then

[Solwaybuggier]

I can update a bit on that - it still was last month.

[peedee]

I used it in September all the way from the boarder to Alicante and not only is it free they have demolished all the toll gates so it is likely to remain free into the future.

peedee

[John52]

4 hours ago, Albertslad said:

What are the chances of France doing similar I wonder?

Zero.

Because France is a Transit Country with the overwhelming majority of traffic on its motorways just passing through - so it won't harm the French economy to tax them.

Whereas practically all the traffic between the border and Alicante will be travelling within Spain so Spain would just be taxing themselves. As would Britain if we had any more motorway tolls here.

[Geeco]

You should consider your luck in the UK, in Sydney all the motorways are tolled. Not only that because my MH is higher than 2.8M I pay truck rates that are very expensive. cheers,

[John52]

41 minutes ago, Geeco said:

You should consider your luck in the UK, in Sydney all the motorways are tolled. Not only that because my MH is higher than 2.8M I pay truck rates that are very expensive. cheers,

They have considered it, but its a bit too obvious when its a tax you have to noticeably pay.

English Government prefers multiple stealth taxes like Insurance Premium Tax, freezing personal allowances, etc  35 stealth tax rises in this Parliament, highest taxes since WW2 and you think we are lucky?

“the art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount of hissing.” (Jean-Baptiste Colbert) 

Sorry but if that is political how can you separate taxation from politics?

[Globebuster1]

I don't think a toll road is a tax John - it's an optional route which you can use, and you'll pay for the privilege.

You probably can't separate taxation from politics, but clearly a question relating to toll roads does give you  the opportunity to bang on about stealth taxes and politics.............again.

[John52]

1 hour ago, Globebuster1 said:

I don't think a toll road is a tax John

I don't care whether you call it road tax or road toll.

I was responding to the assertion we are lucky not to be paying more of it.

So its relevant to point out how much we are paying already.

https://ifs.org.uk/articles/will-be-biggest-tax-raising-parliament-record#:~:text=Compared with a world in,will not be shared equally.

[Globebuster1]

17 hours ago, John52 said:

I don't care whether you call it road tax or road toll.

I was responding to the assertion we are lucky not to be paying more of it.

So its relevant to point out how much we are paying already.

https://ifs.org.uk/articles/will-be-biggest-tax-raising-parliament-record#:~:text=Compared with a world in,will not be shared equally.

Totally irrelevant to the actual question - as usual

But if it gives you the opportunity........blah, blah, blah 🥱 

[onecal]

Hi 

In answering the OP question , yes it is free for now, even though they have removed some tool booths the EU is putting pressure on the Spanish Government that they have to collect monies from the motorways otherwise they will receive no funding from the EU for road repairs 

Regards

[Brian Kirby]

1 hour ago, onecal said:

Hi 

In answering the OP question , yes it is free for now, even though they have removed some tool booths the EU is putting pressure on the Spanish Government that they have to collect monies from the motorways otherwise they will receive no funding from the EU for road repairs 

Regards

But, apparently, not any more.  🙂  https://tinyurl.com/yl4so3ju  All friends again - no road tolls.

Whether that outcome is deemed a tax, or a tax break, is a matter of conjecture.  Countries continue to need, and use, roads.  Roads cost money, and someone has to pay the bill.

Ultimately, however you argue the point, that someone will be us - whether through charges for road use, or out of taxation via the common exchequer.  The same applies to all government spending.  Where and how that spending is recovered is a political decision, but no matter what the charge is called, one way or another, we still have to pay. 

There seems little point in arguing about it.  Whether it is called bovine excrement, or bulls**t, the bill will remain the same.  😄 

[onecal]

Hi Brian

I agree 100%  They will collect in some form . That's life 

Regards

[malc d]

9 minutes ago, onecal said:

Hi Brian

I agree 100%  They will collect in some form . That's life 

Regards

Benjamin Franklin was quoted as saying, in the 18 th century ( i.e. before motorways ) ;  "in this world nothing can be certain except death and taxes " - 

Unlikely to be different any time in the future.

🙂

[onecal]

Hi

I am afraid so ..lol 

Regards

[John52]

On 20/11/2023 at 11:03, Globebuster1 said:

Totally irrelevant to the actual question - as usual

But if it gives you the opportunity........blah, blah, blah 🥱 

Its totally relevant to the question of road tolls because its the reason we are not paying them directly -

Because we are paying stealth taxes instead.

You didn't complain when someone said we are lucky not to be paying more tax

You accepted that as relevant

So why do you complain when I point out how much tax we are paying?

[onecal]

Hi

Well someone has to pay in one form or another to keep the roads in acceptable condition we can all drive on them . 

Regards 

[Derek Uzzell]

On 18/11/2023 at 17:11, Albertslad said:

That’s a substantial part of the network isn’t it ?

What are the chances of France doing similar I wonder?

or maybe there’s already an equivalent map?

A

On the following webpage there is a map of France identifying the autoroutes that are toll-free (completely or in part) or carry tolls. Also shown are major non-autoroute trunk roads. 

https://about-france.com/geo/motorways.htm

The reason there are so many toll roads in France is because (unlike the UK) the main roads are operated by different companies rather than being owned by the government. The number and variety of the toll operators means that there is little consistency over pricing.

[laimeduck]

Michelin Maps and the online versions on Via Michelin also indicate the free autoroutes. On maps pay autoroutes are yellow with a red centre and have Red lollipops with yellow centres for mileage (Km) markers and the mileages are in red numbers, whereas free autoroutes have a white centre to lollipops and blue numbers.

If you put a route into Via Michelin it will also tell you how much to expect to pay in tolls. You can also select no tolls to get a toll free route. https://www.viamichelin.co.uk/web/Routes

Jeremy