Why the contractors don’t want electronic tolls

About 30mil euros less will augment the funds of Nea Odos AE if it installs the electronic tolls promoted by the Infrastructure ministry in order to implement a fairer system which will calculate the fare based on the mileage covered.

As revealed from the lists of contracts that calculate the revenue of each highway until 2032 with the current paying system, the revenue for 2013 for the Athens-Thiva part will reach 78,1mil euros. If the electronic tolls are implemented, estimations talk about 49,6mil revenue, which means that the company will collect 28,3 million less!

As members from the movement against tolls from Northeastern Attica explain, this difference shows the unfair system of fares paid by locals for their trips around the area, as Nea Odos is implementing a system of zones for the payment of tolls.

For the disputed section of Athens-Thiva, a 51-km-long part of zone A from Metamorfosi to Schimatari, drivers are forced to pay the equivalent of 51km at the front station in Afidnes regardless of the distance covered.

And according to Takis Kouris, an engineer and member of the movement committee, the consortium had been obliged to adopt an electronic system since August 2009, upon delivery of certain sections of the network. It never happened.

The electronic tolls issue is part of the negotiations between the government and contractors but according to sources, it is only one measure to which the consortiums are opposed. A government official conveyed to us an indicative dialogue with a representative of a major European contractor, in which he said that electronic tolls will not solve the problem since «the Greeks do not have the culture to pay tolls»! According to Ioanna Germanou, resident of Oropos, a representative of Highway Aegean AE, which is constructing the Maliakos-Kleidi section including the deadly Tempi pass, recently stated that the main funding for these projects comes from toll fares.

«He unwillingly admitted that his company, with zero investment danger, is asking the driver to fund the project and will continue to collect net revenue for the next 30yrs without risks. Thus, the driver is a partner but without any claim on revenue, nor future benefits from fare decreases», she says.

However, by means of a press announcement the Infrastructure ministry states that after consulting the Data Protection Authority, it will allow contractors who put up and operate the national highways use of the personal details of drivers who do not pay tolls. These details include the name and address of the owner as included in the driver's license database of the ministry. It is noted that the Authority has given its approval since December 20, 2010 but information states that the ministry has not been able to implement it so far due to legal gaps.