Government and opposition deputies agreed in calling for the reduction in TAG charges, the electronic toll collection system, to extend to regional highways. This is reported according to Diario Financiero, following President José Antonio Kast's announcement this Monday for Autopista Central.
The agreement ends there. The governing coalition welcomes the measure but warns that tolls are much more expensive outside Santiago. The opposition, meanwhile, questions the "fine print" of the agreement with the concessionaire, which it believes favors the company.
The most criticized point is the term. According to opposition deputies, the agreement extends Autopista Central's contract by 20 months in exchange for the discount. Socialist Francisco Crisóstomo, a member of the Chamber's Transport Committee, called it "a patch". According to him, "all Chilean men and women end up paying" for that supposed discount.
Crisóstomo added that the measure "is designed only for Santiago". He recalled that unemployment, rising fuel prices and the cost of living also hit the regions.
Communist Deputy Sofía González accused the President of announcing the reduction "with great fanfare". She called it "a misleading announcement with fine print". González pointed out that the measure excludes Chile's most expensive toll, at the San Pedro-Quillota mainline toll plaza, in the Valparaíso Region. She also warned that savings for families are minimal, while the concessionaire will increase its profits.
Broad Front member Ignacio Achurra, of the Public Works, Transport and Telecommunications Committee, agreed on the need to ease pressure on family budgets. However, he rejected the mechanism. According to Achurra, extending the contracts prevents highways from being put out to tender again at lower prices, so families will pay just as much in the medium and long term.
Jaime Mulet, of the Social Green Regionalist Federation (FRVS), welcomed the renegotiation. He did, however, call for reducing or eliminating fines paid by those who pay late or do not have a device, often drivers from the north or south arriving in the Metropolitan Region.
Within the governing coalition, the tone was different. René Manuel García (RN), chair of the Public Works Committee, said they were pleased with the news. "We are not criticizing it; we are asking them to include the rest of the country in this toll reduction," he said.
Republican Leandro Kunstmann called for similar agreements in the Los Ríos Region. His concern is the future tolls on Valdivia's northern and southern access roads.
RN caucus leader Diego Schalper defended the announcement as relief for the middle class after difficult months for transport. According to Schalper, the reduction "is moving forward progressively with different concessionaires". The report does not specify which other highways the executive branch is negotiating over or whether it will include regional routes. According to previously published information, the discount on Autopista Central will take effect in January 2027.
