Algarve motorway tolls vote as early as next week

João Vasconcelos, (pictured) the Portimão councillor, newly elected to parliament as a Left Bloc MP, has been instrumental in the party proposal to ban tolls on the Algarve’s Via do Infante.

The 8th of December is the 4th anniversary of the tolling of the Algarve’s arterial route across the region and also the date that the Left Bloc again is proposing to parliament the abolition of tolls.

Vasconcelos has been the mainstay of CUVI, the local anti-tolls movement which has organised another rally at the Guadiana bridge for this Saturday.

"The Algarve has lost competitiveness with neighboring Andalusia, mobility in the region has regressed and traffic has returned to the EN125 which has gone back to being a very dangerous road," said Vasconcelos, adding:.

“The Left Bloc proposal is for the complete abolition of tolls based on the principles of solidarity and defence of social cohesion, promoting the improvement of territorial accessibility as an essential tool for a sustainable development strategy, and the consecration of the right to mobility as a tenet of a modern democracy."

Add to this, the loss to the region from Spanish tourists who now do not travel to the Algarve. It is estimated that this alone has shaved between €20 million and €30 million in revenue from local businesses.

The previous government steadfastly refused to study the full financial effects of the Via do Infante toll scheme, probably as it became obvious early on that the financial benefits were accruing to the concession holder, leaving local drivers and the general taxpayer badly out of pocket as a result of a one-sided contract that saw the toll company without commercial risk as it was compensated whatever the traffic volume.

There was a draft report released in 2014 that seemed to illustrate that if HGVs and other commercial vehicles were moved back onto the motorway from the EN125, the savings on EN125 wear and tear would outweigh the toll income lost.

With a new vote set to be taken in parliament next week, João Vasconcelos said, "the Left Bloc delivers what it promises."

From the Socialist Party’s point of view, the Algarve toll scheme was raised during its election campaign but only a reduction in toll rates was put forward as a solution.

The new agreement between the Socialists and the left-of-centre parties may finally enable a ‘no to tolls’ vote to be won as Prime Minister António Costa works to keep the new alliance together.

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