The Popular Party (PP) has requested that the AP-68 highway be free in its Álava and Bizkaia sections for tourist and light vehicles. The PP spokesperson in the General Assemblies of Álava, Iñaki Oyarzabal, along with the PP spokesperson in the General Assemblies of Bizkaia, Raquel González, explained that this request will be submitted to both provincial chambers through initiatives.
Oyarzabal will request explanations on this matter from the Deputy General of Álava, Ramiro González, during the control plenary session next Wednesday. The AP-68 highway is a key infrastructure for Álava's connectivity, linking Bilbao with Zaragoza and facilitating access to the Mediterranean corridor.
The governments of Aragon and La Rioja have already officially confirmed the total free passage of their respective sections starting in November; and Navarra, for all light vehicles. However, the provincial councils of Álava and Bizkaia have expressed their intention to maintain toll collection, which, according to the PP, "constitutes a significant comparative grievance with neighboring territories."
“"The accumulated experience on other toll highways shows that when drivers perceive the cost as disproportionate or unfair, they often opt to divert their traffic to alternative conventional roads that lack the safety conditions of a high-capacity route."
Oyarzabal stated that maintaining the toll for tourist and light vehicles poses a "serious risk to road safety." "The accumulated experience on other toll highways shows that when drivers perceive the cost as disproportionate or unfair, they often opt to divert their traffic to alternative conventional roads that lack the safety conditions of a high-capacity route," he indicated.
For her part, the PP spokesperson in the General Assemblies of Bizkaia, Raquel González, criticized that the PNV and PSE "intend to condemn Biscay residents to a situation of clear discrimination." González further denounced that the Provincial Council of Bizkaia "maintains a revenue-generating policy despite the upcoming liberation of the AP-68," and argued that "with provincial coffers as full as rarely seen, the reasonable approach would be to alleviate costs for citizens and pursue responsible management, not to maintain a permanent revenue-generating attitude."
