(Finance) – “The increase in tolls on a significant part of the motorway network translates into a real blow for road haulage. The affected sections in fact host almost half of the heavy traffic, and furthermore the increase in tolls aggravates even more so is the state of suffering of the sector, already overwhelmed by the general increase in costs”. He underlines it ASSOTIRstigmatizing the behavior of the institutions.
“We find a strong contradiction between the declarations and the documents – comments the general secretary Claudio Donati –. Even if the institutions profess maximum closeness to the sector, they then adopt similar measures, demonstrating that they are not at all concerned about the difficulties that workers and companies have to face. The opaque communication from the Ministry of Transport seems to be a further demonstration of this attitude.”
The MIT in fact, last December 31st it issued a press release entitled “Motorways, new year without increases: tariffs frozen for 22 dealers”. In the text however – he underlines ASSOTIR – it was specified that on a significant part of the network (2,800 kilometers out of 7 thousand in total) an increase of 1.8% was authorized from 1 January 20205, which moreover follows the two increases already implemented during the year just ended.
“Beyond the fact that such a way of communicating does not seem in line with the requirement of transparency that must be expected from the institutions – continues Donate – we must underline that these increases affect all users, but for transport companies they represent an increase in a fundamental company cost item. Also because almost half of the heavy traffic circulates on the motorway sections affected.”
“After a few years of truce – adds the national president of ASSOTIR, Anna Vita Manigrasso – we have therefore returned to the ancient practice of New Year’s Eve coinciding with an increase in tolls. An increase that contributes to worsening the situation of suffering caused by the wave of generalized increases in costs (from maritime freight, to vehicles, to bank interest rates, to personnel, etc.) by which companies are overwhelmed, practically without particular defense weapons”.