The Polish government last month adopted a proposal to abolish tolls on state-operated highways in an effort to widen access and improve road safety, according to officials.
President Andrzej Duda on Friday signed the proposed measure into effect after it was approved by parliament, public broadcaster Polish Radio’s IAR news agency reported.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in May that tolls on state-operated highways would be abolished from July 1, while those on privately-operated highways would be scrapped “within a year.”
Morawiecki described highway tolls as “a barrier to mobility” and told reporters that his government was moving to make highways “available to all” in order “to maximise connectivity” and improve road safety.
Infrastructure Minister Andrzej Adamczyk has said that scrapping tolls will boost traffic on highways "and also make alternative, parallel roads safer.”
Adamczyk added that “traffic congestion on roads that run parallel to highways is a potential danger and increases the risk of road accidents.”
He declared last month that the government would abolish tolls on privately-operated highways “within a year and hopefully sooner.”
The move to abolish highway tolls is part of a raft of new spending pledges unveiled by Poland’s governing conservatives during a party convention in mid-May.
(gs)
Source: IAR, PAP