Highway tolls set to rise again
Motorists heading to one of Attica’s major highways, the Attiki Odos, will be hit with higher charges in February in the second price hike for the popular road network’s toll costs over the last 16 months. Cars using the road will be required to pay 2.70 euros from next month, compared to the current price of 2.50 euros, Attiki Odos AE said yesterday, while motorbikes will be charged 1.30 euros. In a bid to try and sweeten the news, the e-pass electronic device that allows drivers to pass through toll booths without stopping will no longer cost 20 euros but will be free of charge. The highways that surround Athens have improved in the last few years but not without burning a hole in drivers’ pockets. The last increase in toll charges from the Attiki Odos came just after the Olympic Games, while motorists were stung with a 40 percent price hike on state-managed highways in April last year. However, costs appear to be having little impact on usage rates, as frustrated Athenian drivers are grateful to be able to travel at higher speeds. Some 250,000 cars use Attiki Odos on a daily basis, pushing the road’s capacity to the limit. The highway is currently managed by a privately owned company but its higher-than-anticipated revenues may mean that the road will be returned to the government before the end of the agreed 30-year period. Environment Minister Giorgos Souflias said last month that the government is looking into taking back Attiki Odos sooner than expected in order to finance the addition of a new metro line. Drivers on the Rio-Antirio Bridge in western Greece will also be required to pay more as of Monday, with cars being charged 10.50 euros as compared to 10 euros currently.
