The President of the Istria and Kvarner Union, Bruno Bulić, commenting at today’s press conference in Pula on the toll collection on the Istrian Ypsilon, called on Istrian politicians to protect the citizens of Istria from discrimination as they pay a higher toll than the average in Croatia.
In his assessment, the toll for the Učka tunnel (28 kuna) and the bridge toll on the Mirna (14 kuna) clearly demonstrates the detrimental nature of the contract that Croatia signed with the French concessionaire Bouygues. Currently, Istrians, at least when it comes to the direction towards Rijeka, pay a higher toll than the average in Croatia, said Bulić, noting that according to his calculations, the average toll in Croatia is 41 lipa per kilometer of highway, while on the Ypsilon for the 89 kilometers of road between Pula and Matulji, 40 kuna is paid, which is 45 lipa per kilometer.
He emphasized that the toll between Pula and the Kanfanar junction, on a section 28 kilometers long, is also higher than the Croatian average, stating that for this section, 12 kuna is currently paid, which is almost 43 lipa per kilometer. Bulić also cited examples from neighboring countries, highlighting that on highways in Italy, the toll is between 37 and 45 lipa per kilometer, while Slovenians paid 34 lipa per kilometer before the introduction of vignettes. Comparing the average salary in Croatia with salaries in those countries, it is evident that on our highways “we pay a very high toll,” concluded the President of SIK, Bruno Bulić, adding that it is strange that Istrian entrepreneurs have not yet spoken out as the high toll will also reflect on the costs of transporting goods. (H)
