The franchise was extended, the public pays the price: The money machine of Highway 6

An investigation by C14 reveals that Derech Eretz, the operator of Highway 6, charges high fines from customers who are late in payment, while its franchise has been extended until 2032. About half of the bills for occasional users are not paid on time, and the company's revenues are estimated at billions of shekels per year. The company refuses to disclose its revenue data from fines.

An investigation by C14 exposes the aggressive collection mechanism of Derech Eretz, the franchisee operating Highway 6. A customer who accessed the system discovered a debt of about 5,000 shekels, of which about 2,000 shekels were fines the company calls 'compensation and expense reimbursement.' Following the publication, dozens of similar complaints were received. Data revealed in the Knesset shows that 47% of bills for occasional users are not paid on time – about 82,000 invoices per month. The original franchise of Derech Eretz was supposed to end in July 2029, but the state extended it until 2032 as part of an expansion plan costing about 3.678 billion shekels. The company's revenues are estimated at about one billion shekels per year, with profits in the hundreds of millions. The State Comptroller previously found cumulative excess collections of about 156 million shekels. The company refuses to disclose its current revenue data from fines.