Motorways and petrol
The arrival of 2023 brings with it two stings for the pockets of motorists. The Meloni government has in fact decided not to extend for the new year either the cut in excise taxes on fuel or the blocking of the increase in motorway tariffs, thus going to cash in on the citizens already oppressed by the increases caused by inflation. The price increases started on January 1st and, for motorways, will increase again in July 2023.Stop the discount on fuel
Despite Giorgia Meloni declaring during the electoral campaign that she wanted to abolish the excise duties on petrol, once she became Prime Minister not only did she not do so, but she also canceled the discount decided in March 2022 by Mario Draghi's government.To be precise, before definitively canceling the cut excise duties, the Meloni government reduced it by 12 cents at the beginning of December 2022, to then avoid including an extension in the financial maneuver that would guarantee citizens some breathing space and maintain the discount for the following year as well. Thus, starting from 1 January 2023, the prices of all fuels have undergone a generalized increase of 18 cents per liter.
According to reports from Il Sole 24 Ore, this government choice will cause an increase of about 9 cents per litre. .5 euros more for each full tank, for an overall increase on an annual basis of around 220 euros. Certainly not a nice gift for the Italians, since the price of oil has now returned to levels prior to the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which triggered the energy crisis, equal to around 80 euros per barrel.
Increase in motorway tolls
Furthermore, the tolls of Autostrade per l'Italia, the main Italian operator which owns 50% of the network, also increased by 2% and will suffer a further increase of 1.34% next July. A decision that clashes with the fine imposed on Autostrade only in May 2022 by the Competition and Market Authority, which fined the company for not having reduced tolls, in the face of severe inconvenience to traffic and the increase in travel times, thus giving rise to a collective legal action to obtain reimbursements.Thus, while in 2022 the government had suspended fare increases for the whole year on 98% of the more than 6,000 kilometers of network, with the exception of the A21 Piacenza-Brescia, managed by Autovia Padana (Gavio group), for 2023 the Meloni government has decided to approve the increase which, however, will not concern some sections.
In fact, the increases they will not be applied on the A24 and A25 Rome-L'Aquila Teramo and Branch Torano Pescara motorways, as well as for companies with an update of the economic plan in progress: Brescia Verona Vicenza Padua motorway, Milan Serravalle, Ligurian Tuscany-section motorway company Autocisa, the Valle d'Aosta motorway company, the Naples ring road, the Fiori-A6 motorway, the Italian Frejus motorway plowman, the Tyrrhenian motorway scietà , the Valle d'Aosta motorway connection and the Veneto motorway concessions.
Lastly, there will be no increases for companies with an expired concession, the Brenner motorway, the Ligurian-Tuscany-A12 motorway company, the Ligurian-Tuscan section, the Veneto motorways, Satap-Turin section, Alessandria, Piacenza, the Fiori motorway, the Turin-Ivrea-Valle D'Aosta motorway joint-stock company and will remain also unchanged the BreBeMi, the Lombard foothills, the atrada of the parks and the consortium for the Sicilian highways.