The average daily traffic volume on the motorway from Lisbon to the Algarve(A2) and the Algarve’s Via do Infante (A22) increased in the last quarter of 2013 after more than two years of decline.
According to a bulletin issued by the Commission for Coordination and Regional Development - Algarve, all about mobility and transport in the fourth quarter of 2013, the section of the A2 between Almodovar and Messines saw an increase in daily traffic of 5.4% year on year, and traffic on the A22 which stretches between Lagos and Vila Real de Santo António, rose 13.1%.
The introduction of tolls on the Via do Infante in December 2011 saw the start of a long-term decline in traffic volume on the Algarve's primary route to 50% of it peak.
The growth of traffic volume on the A22 to 6,324 vehicles per day was 'due to more tourist traffic,' according to the report.
Volumes on the Algarve’s major roads grew but the use of urban public transport and inter-regional public transport decreased, which may also have boosted the traffic volumes on the main roads.
The creaking trans-Algarve railway system also recorded an increase with 375,198 passengers using the service, an increase of 12.7% over 2012.
Public transport by road was the only sector that went against a general positive trend, according to the report.
