Motorway tolls are set to increase by an average of 3.2% as from January 1st 2012, the increase being above the rate of inflation which currently stands at 2.9%.
The tolls were frozen did not increase in 2010 but did increase by 4.46% in 2009. The increase is due in the main to a contraction in road traffic on the main highway network, down by 5% compared to 2010, and the need to prevent some toll road concessionaires from going bankrupt, most notably those operating the R-2 and the Autopista Cartagena-Vera.
One would have thought that a slight reduction in the tolls would be more likely to stimulate use of the roads during a financial crisis, as opposed to an increase which is more likely to make even more people use an alternative route and therefore require another price hike.