The bars are lifted all over Greece

The first loud slap directed against the toll increases will occur this Sunday at 3pm, by the Pan-Hellenic movement against tolls, by lifting the bars along the entire national road network, from Thessaloniki to Tripoli.

The new national trumpet call reflects the enraged opposition of the citizens to the toll increases, crowned by  the new increases of up to 0,60 cents, which are being adopted by all contractors.

With «They’re afraid of us, we’re not afraid of them» as their motto, the  war committees all over Greece are asking drivers to oppose the fare hikes of the big contractors and declare they are ready to go to court on the legality of the tolls.

The government is preparing its counterattack against the drivers that do not pay, calling forth the Personal Data Protection Authority, which recently gave the order to submit the personal data to contractors under certain conditions so they can go after the lawbreakers.

«The decision of the Authority to relinquish to private companies the data pertaining to the owners of vehicles whose drivers refuse to pay the fare hike for the guillotines that the private initiative has baptized as highways, is unreasonable, unethical and illegal» stresses the Pan-Hellenic Committee Against Tolls Coordinator.

The information on toll classification as public revenue collection by tax authorities, is contradicted by government officials, but they confirm they seek to provide solutions to the revenue bleedout by the non-payment of tolls.

The measure which names the tolls State revenue so that their non-payment equals State debt is characterized as illegal and unfair by the committees. «Toll fares are collected by private companies, which were granted with gratuitous and colonial-type contracts the motorways that were built (and are still being built) with key national and European subsidies" is their reply.