Two million daily drivers to pay the price for the highway's exploitation soon

Algerians will be obliged to pay a new fine after two years, for the exploitation of the highway, after the imposition of a mandatory annual tax that is called the cars’ voucher, which prices range between 500 and 20.000 dinars, depending on the quality and strength of the vehicle.

Transport Ministry decided to impose a new pricing of 01 dinars per kilometer from the East-West Highway, after the completion of the works of setting, and opening the way fully to traffic, including services of stations and areas of rest, and that’s what was rejected and criticized by the Union of Transporters, taxi drivers and even citizens and specialists who described this procedure as a new stealing of the pockets of citizens.

Happiness for the use of the highway, which was described by Algeria as “project of the century”, will not last long for the drivers who will be forced to pay the pricing of the exploitation per kilometer of road, and at the first glance the pricing that was set by the Ministry of Transport “01 ZDZ per kilometer” seems simple and accessible to everyone, but for the daily road users, this pricing is more expensive than the cost of cars’ fuel “diesel”, because the person who comes to the capital from Oran have to pay 400 AD as a right to exploit the highway, while the fuel type “diesel” costs only 240 dinars.

In this context, Head of the National Union of Transporters Mr. Abdelkader Bouchrit, told Echorouk that this is a new way of “stealing money from pockets of drivers”.

“Driver of the bus or truck was forced to pay the coupon of cars, which reaches up to 20.000 dinar, in addition to the tax on business activity, and the Ministry of Transport wants to impose a new pricing on the exploitation of the highway, which is used by 80% of the transporters and traders every day, and this is will be negative on their budget”.

Boucherit threatened to lift the tickets of transport between cities if the new pricing of highway will be imposed. Traders of vegetables, fruits and various commodities will raise in their turn the prices and this would negatively affect the citizens in general. Ministry of Transport should keep the highway free for citizens as it is the project of the century which Algerians could exploit in the best ways.