At the beginning of the year, the Primorje-Gorski Kotar Alliance (PGS) presented an initiative to abolish the toll on the Krk Bridge, to exempt residents of Gorski Kotar from paying tolls on the Rijeka-Zagreb highway through Gorski Kotar, and to exempt all residents of Primorje-Gorski Kotar from tolls on the Rijeka-Rupa highway. The Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure Oleg Butković called this initiative “cheap populism”, but also announced the possibility of abolishing the toll for Krk.
Member of the PGS Presidency, Damir Pilepić, reported to N1 that maintaining the Krk Bridge costs about 20 million kuna annually, while toll revenues amount to 65 million kuna.
– Therefore, the difference is 45 million kuna. The construction of the Čiovo bridge cost 200 million kuna, and crossing it is free. Every four years we pay for one such bridge. And while Minister Butković assures us that the toll must be paid for maintenance, at the same time, it is not paid anywhere else as if other bridges do not need maintenance. We just want equality for all, Pilepić appealed.
– We are not against the construction of transport infrastructure; on the contrary, but we cannot agree with such criteria that only the Krk bridge is charged. It is true that the local population has free passage, but everything is more expensive on the island because suppliers do not have. We are interested in how long we will be collecting in the treasury while others will drive for free, said Tea Mičić Badurina, president of the Rijeka branch of PGS, as reported by N1.
