Government considering toll order to expand free access for relief efforts

The Government may have to move to issue a toll order to expand the categories of persons and vehicles that can access toll roads for free to carry out hurricane relief activities, amid restrictions by toll operators.

Transport Minister Daryl Vaz said he is prepared to act, noting that recovery activities are important.

Earlier this month, new protocols were introduced to allow persons engaged in humanitarian activities to apply to the Toll Authority for toll exemptions.

Vaz told Parliament on Tuesday that, as of November 24, the authority had received 2,227 applications, with 700 approved, alongside the launch of a new online application portal.

However, he told parliamentarians that toll operators have since restricted toll exemptions to Class 3 vehicles carrying verified humanitarian aid.

Class 3 vehicles are large units such as coach buses, trucks, and trailers.

Vaz said Class 1 and 2 vehicles, such as cars and SUVs, can only pass toll-free under cost-sharing arrangements, which he said limits the movement of essential responders and partners.

He said he has since been advised by the Toll Authority that greater flexibility is legally available to the Transport Minister under the Toll Roads Act to define emergency services and to designate toll-exempt emergency users by a Toll Order.

Vaz said he has received a request from the Toll Authority to issue such an order to cover the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NARA), ministers and their protection officers, Members of Parliament and councillors with protection officers, relevant government agencies, and international and local relief partners working through ODPEM.

He said this action would immediately remove administrative delays and ensure unrestricted passage for legitimate humanitarian operations.

“And I’m saying, Madam Speaker, that it is with a heavy pen that I will have to do so if I have to do it, because I think that the concessionaires, especially in light of the challenges that we’re facing and still face, especially in the west, could have been more flexible in relation to working out a regime that would be easier for relief in terms of the cost and also access to get down into these areas,” said Vaz.

He added that the Toll Authority stands ready to support the issuance and implementation of the Toll Order to facilitate a smoother, more efficient national recovery effort.

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