Outcry Over the Algarve Toll System Backed by Socialist Leader
Algarve toll roads
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Local opposition to the new Algarve toll system has been long, loud and fiery. When the toll system was implemented, local opposition continues with socialists voicing the loudest opinions against it. More and more tourists are also discovering the inherent flaws in the toll system and, consequently, are throwing their support behind local opposition.
António Eusébio, leader of the Socialist Party (PS) Algarve asserted that the new system of collecting tool fees from vehicles with foreign number plates is yet another proof of the Government’s irresponsibility. The toll system cannot also solve the problems repeatedly highlighted by the socialists in Algarve.
He further stated that the present toll collection system is an unfair system detrimental to the Algarve Region especially its tourism industry. Tourists are the bread and butter, so to speak, of the Algarve in particular and of Portugal in general.
Foreign tourists entering Portugal from January to June 2012 was nearly 2.6 million, an increase of approximately 3% from the same period last year. Even with such an increase, experts predict relatively lower revenues for the tourism industry because fewer local and foreign tourists stay in hotels and other hospitality establishments.
The new toll system in the Algarve is also expected to play a detrimental role in encouraging an influx of tourists to the area. Add in the economic woes of Spain and Portugal and the horizon for the tourism industry is not as rosy as in pre-recession times.
Anyways, Eusébio further asserted that the Government should address the concerns related to the collection of tolls at the Via do Infante (A22), the main road system going into the Algarve Region. The “shameful” performance of the system over the Easter break should be addressed soon.
Eusébio also criticized the lack of rehabilitation of the EN125, which is the only alternative motorway to Algarve. The toll road in Algarve was introduced without the rehabilitation of EN125, thus, aggravating the issue.
It is not just the socialists that have strong words against the new collection toll system. According to the head of Users Committee of the Via do Infante, Joao Vasconcelos, the government can be held responsible for the increased number of fatal vehicular accidents on EN125. This is because of the increased traffic volume sans the appropriate rehabilitation of the motorway.
It should be noted that after the honeymoon period, locals mostly shunned the Via do Infante motorway in favor of the old EN125 road. The result: overcrowding that led to frustrating, if not dangerous, drives.
Vasconcelos also suggested that suspending the tolls on Via do Infante is the most effective, if not the only, way to prevent more injuries and deaths from happening on the EN125. He further stated that the Algarve is experiencing a state of catastrophe because of these injuries and deaths.
He said that the committee will continue to fight against the new toll collection system until it is suspended by the Government preferably before August 2012. The system is killing not just the motorists but the economy of the Algarve as a whole.
An informal survey conducted among motorists regarding the new toll collection system especially on the Via do Infante revealed several issues. Most motorists deem it a tourist trap on the coast’s only motorway running from the Spanish border and then past Faro and farther to the west in Lagos.
Even the Spanish have put in their two-cent’s worth into the issue. They claim that the tolls are a blatant violation of the trade agreements between the two neighboring countries and, consequently, many totally refuses to pay the tolls despite repeated demands.
The press representative of the Portuguese Embassy has even agreed that the new toll collection system has not been without its share of serious problems. According to said representative, the system is embroiled in too much bureaucracy such that the interests of visitors to Portugal as well as that of the Portuguese Tourist Board have been forgotten.
The Portuguese Embassy issued a statement saying that Turismo de Portugal, the entity responsible for tourism in the country, will continue working with the Estradas de Portugal, the entity responsible for the new toll services, and the car rental companies to ensure that tourists will be provided with the correct information in the toll system and, thus, facilitate payment.
The only silver lining in the new toll system is that those travelling on the Via do Infante have most of the road all to themselves. Such a relatively hassle-free drive is worth the toll fee.
Now, if only motorists can figure out how to pay it considering the complicated process involved.
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Published in: Guide to Portugal / Portuguese Life / Travel