Everyone on the EN125
All of the region’s business associations, including ACRAL, NERA, CEAL, AIHSA, AHETA, the RTA and the Junta Metropolitana, are poised to boycott the Via do Infante (A22) motorway today (Friday, November 12) in a bid to prevent tolls being introduced. The associations are appealing to all local residents to join the demonstration and prove to the Portuguese government that the EN125 national road is not a viable alternative to the A22.
According to a spokesman from the Núcleo Co-ordenador, the boycott will start at 9am with two caravans departing from either end of the EN125 – one from Lagos and the other from Vila Real de Santo António. Eventually, they will meet in Guia, between the EN125 and the IC1. “We are not going to cause any trouble. We just want to get the message across that the EN125 is not an alternative,” explained the spokesman.
Expensive driving
According to the Minister of Transport, António Mexia, if tolls are introduced on the A22 motorway, a journey from Lagos to Vila Real de Santo António could cost up to 5.98 euros. The price was calculated on the current Brisa toll tariff, which, at present, is between 4.3 and 5.1 cêntimos per kilometre.
According to a recent study conducted by the Transportation Association, the average Algarve driver currently travels 28 kilometres twice a day on the A22, which will translate to a cost of between 1.20 euros and 1.29 euros a day if tolls were in place. If this average journey is made twice a day, five times a week, it will cost between 12 and 12.90 euros every week. However, the study also revealed that a large number of people currently travel around 58 kilometres from Faro to Portimão to work everyday. This journey would cost 2.67 euros each way, amounting to 26.70 euros a week.
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