The Minister of Territorial Cohesion, Ana Abrunhosa, has announced that in 2023 there will be a reduction in the price of tolls on the interior highways and on Highway 22 (A22), but declined to advance by how much.
In Barcelos, district of Braga, on the sidelines of the Regional Industry Forum, Ana Abrunhosa stressed that the reduction will be part of a “more complete” program of mobility and accessibility to encourage the use of public transport.
“The commitment is to reduce tolls on the interior highways and on the A22. We are going to study the reduction in tolls that we can make in a broader program”, she said, adding that the mobility and accessibility study should be completed in the first quarter of 2023.
“Tolls in inland territories are a very high context cost, we have never denied that”, she also said, noting, however, that the reduction will have to be “sustainable”, to last over the years.
The Minister of Territorial Cohesion also acknowledged that the measures that encourage the use of own vehicle are “in counter-cycle”, with the need to encourage the use of public transport, but recalled that the interior has no alternatives.
“In the interior there are no alternatives in terms of roads and there is also no public transport like on the coast. The idea is to reduce tolls, but it is not the solution. The solution is to promote the supply of public transport”, she stressed.
Source Lusa
