Proposed Highway 2000 toll hike pushes round trip to $5,220

Motorists could soon pay higher tolls to travel on the Highway 2000 North-South link, with the proposed charge for a Class 1 vehicle using the full route from Caymanas to Ocho Rios rising to $2,610 in each direction.

The new rate would be $115, or 4.6 per cent, above the existing charge. A return journey along the entire highway would therefore cost a Class 1 motorist $5,220.

Higher-category vehicles would attract substantially larger fees. Under the proposal, operators of Class 3 trucks would pay $7,830 for a one-way trip between Caymanas and Ocho Rios, bringing the return cost to $15,660.

The proposed rates were published after the Jamaica North-South Highway Company Limited submitted its yearly application for a toll adjustment.

The Government has defended the planned increases, arguing that the toll changes are governed by legally enforceable concession agreements reached under previous People's National Party administrations.

Transport Minister Daryl Vaz said the contracts with private concessionaires link yearly toll revisions to movements in the United States Consumer Price Index and the exchange rate between the Jamaican and US dollars. According to Vaz, those provisions are binding on both the present administration and future governments.

He said the Government intends to engage the concessionaires in talks aimed at securing toll charges that are more affordable for road users.

Vaz also pointed to the negotiations surrounding the May Pen to Williamsfield highway. He said the administration obtained a reduced maximum toll ceiling and a more favourable revenue-sharing agreement for that project, which the Government believes will deliver savings to motorists over the long term.

The minister said the concession arrangements affecting the Jamaican public were established in 2001 and 2012 by the PNP administrations of those periods, and successive governments remain obligated to honour the contracts.