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The two toll motorways in Malaga province are already experiencing a significant rise in prices, although it is less than the accumulated consumer price index (CPI) in recent years would suggest. There is a wide range of tariffs depending on the type of vehicle, the time of year or frequency of use, but, to summarise, someone travelling the entire Costa del Sol motorway this summer will pay 18.85 euros; if they are travelling from Malaga to Marbella, they will pay 8.90 euros, and if they are coming from Antequera and take the two routes in their entirety, they will pay 25 euros. Malaga only has a verbal commitment to provide a 50 per cent discount for regular users and is far from offering the benefits seen in Span's Galicia or Asturias regions, which even include shadow tolls.
In 2022, the CPI as of October, which is when the data is closed to allow time to apply the new tariffs, had shot up to over eight per cent. The Spanish government decided to cap the price at around four per cent and to do two things: compensate the concessionary companies via subsidies, and ensure that in the following years the increase that was not applied at the time was implemented gradually (around one per cent each year, to round it off). This staggered compensation comes to an end in 2026.
Therefore, tolls on the AP-7 on the Costa del Sol, between Calahonda in Malaga province and Guadiaro (Cadiz), will increase this year by 3.89 per cent. If it had not been for this limitation by the ministry of transport, it would have risen by no less than 6.13 per cent. In the case of Malaga's Las Pedrizas motorway (AP-46), it has risen by 5.45 per cent instead of the 7.72 per cent that would have been due. In the case of the Costa del Sol motorway, the AP-46 is among those with the lowest margin of increase and, in the case of the Guadalmedina motorway, among those with the highest.
The Costa del Sol toll motorways website already shows the prices updated to 1 January. Taking the prices for light vehicles, the full journey in low season is 11.60 euros. The first toll in the direction of Cadiz (Calahonda) is 5.50 euros; the second, at San Pedro, is 3.70 euros; and the third, at Manilva, is 2.40 euros. In the case of the high season, the aforementioned 18.85 euros are the result of adding the payment of 8.90 euros for the first toll, 6.05 for the second and 3.90 euros for the last one.
The high season corresponds to the months of June, July, August and September, as well as the 17 days from the Friday before the beginning of Easter to the Sunday after Easter, both days inclusive.
It is worth noting that there are significant discounts for those who use the toll motorway every working day. In this case, prices are reduced by around 20 per cent.
The motorway also offers significant discounts and more convenience to drivers who install a Via-T device in their car, an automatic payment system that does not require vehicles to stop at toll checkpoints, as the barrier is raised automatically. On the AP-7 in the province of Malaga there is an exclusive lane for cars with this small device installed. The savings can be up to 50 per cent and can also mean paying in summer as if it were low season. It is available at most financial institutions, digital platforms and some petrol stations. It can also be used to automatically pay for more than twenty car parks in the province of Malaga.
The other Malaga toll motorway, which links the Alto de las Pedrizas, also offers electronic tolls without stopping, according to its website, which at the time of going to press did not have updated rates. In any case, applying the increases approved in the ministerial order, the only existing toll will be 4.16 euros in the low season and 6.32 euros in the high season.
Regularity is also rewarded, with savings of up to 20 per cent from 40 journeys per month.
3.89%
The AP-7 toll price, between Calahonda and Guadiaro, is up 3.89% this year. If it were not for the limitation of the ministry of transport, it would have risen by no less than 6.13%. In the case of the Las Pedrizas motorway, the AP-46, it is up 5.45% instead of 7.72%.
A distinction must be made between subsidies, which are focused on the concessionary companies, and subsidies, which are applied directly to the user, and here the grievance arises, which has entered fully into the political debate, in this case, led by the Popular Party.
On the AP-9 motorway (Galicia), significant discounts for regular journeys were approved in 2021, in addition to other existing discounts, such as the free use of some sections through the payment of a shadow toll by the State. In addition, at the last meeting of the ministers, an increase in these discounts, which are already active, was approved.
The AP-6 (León) also has significant discounts. They were also increased in 2022 and 2024, as were the bonuses for heavy vehicles, which are being improved this year.
Also on the AP-68 motorway (Basque Country-Aragon), discounts have been granted to light and heavy vehicles since 2009.
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