Route 6 Operator Accused of Excessive Fines Amid Concession Extension
Translated & summarized from Now 14 by baba
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Route 6 operator Derech Eretz faces accusations of excessive fines.
- Nearly half of invoices for occasional Route 6 users are paid late.
- The company's concession was extended until 2032.
- Past reports indicated significant overcollection of fees.
- Derech Eretz generates over a billion shekels annually.
Derech Eretz, the concessionaire operating the central section of Israel's Route 6 toll road, is facing accusations of imposing excessive fines and fees on drivers, significantly inflating original travel costs. One reported case involved a customer whose bill ballooned to approximately 5,000 shekels, with about 2,000 shekels attributed to "compensation and expense reimbursement" due to late payments. This incident is one of many similar complaints received by the C14 news outlet, which has highlighted the issue.
Recent data presented to the Knesset's Economics Committee revealed that approximately 47% of invoices sent to occasional Route 6 users are not paid on time, leading to collection costs. Out of roughly 175,000 invoices sent monthly to occasional users, about 82,000 are paid late, potentially amounting to nearly one million unpaid invoices annually.
Derech Eretz, a private company, generates estimated annual revenues of around one billion shekels or more, with profits in the hundreds of millions. The company's concession was originally set to expire in 2029 but was extended by the state until 2032 as part of a plan to expand the highway, a move that drew criticism. The extended contract is valued at approximately 3.678 billion shekels.
Past reports from the State Comptroller's office indicated that Derech Eretz collected tens of millions of shekels more than actual enforcement and collection costs in 2010 and 2011, with cumulative overcollections estimated at around 156 million shekels. While current figures on these overcollections are not publicly available, the article questions the transparency of the current collection mechanism and the actual costs versus the fees charged.
Route 6 has stated that all travel is subject to payment by law and that their website provides necessary information on tariffs and charges, with additional fees applied for late payments as per regulations. However, the company has declined to disclose specific revenue data related to these fines.
Read the original at Now 14