TIJUANA.- Last week, a group of Tijuana residents pushing to become legally exempt from the Playas de Tijuana toll charges received a form of validation from federal legislators.

The House of Representatives in Mexico City have approved a bill that would require that federal toll highways establish special rates or exemptions for residents. The measure still has to be reviewed and passed by the senate in order to become law.

The measure is especially targetted at those communities that have no free road alternatives, or who live far away from free roads leaving them with little alternative but to use the toll highway. Such is the case of residents of Tijuana that live to the south of the toll booth in Playas de Tijuana.

While residents currently qualify for a 50% discount if they can prove they reside in this area, even these tolls can add up. This is especially true for parents of children that go to school in Playas de Tijuana or Tijuana, or who attend extra-curricular activities there. Some parents have claimed they have had to pay the toll up to four to six times on any given school day as they shuttle their kids back and fourth.

It is estimated that 12,000 residents along the toll road would qualify for relief under the proposed legislatioin. The reform would establish that "if no alternative free road exists, the Secretary of Communication and Transportation must implement rate discounts or exemptions for residents of the affected zone.

Regardless of what happens with the proposed legislation, the "Movement Against Toll Charges for Residents at the Playas de Tijuana Toll Booth" is pushing forward to obtain a legal exemption via a collective "amparo". The group will be holding a meeting on March 5, 2015 at 7pm at the Hacienda de Real restaurant in Real del Mar. In the meantime, those who currently qualify for the discount are being urged to sign the collective petion via this website.

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