Former SCUT roads in Portugal have lost an average of 14,000 vehicles a day since the introduction of tolls, according to data from the National Road Infrastructure Institute.
The highest reduction in traffic occurred on the SCUT roads in Greater Porto, Silver Coast and the Algarve’s A22, which saw daily traffic decrease by as much as 48.4%. Tolls on the former two roads were introduced in October 2010 while on the A22 the electronic tolling system was implemented a year later on December 8.
The A22 registered around 6,500 fewer vehicles in December, which in comparison to December 2010 (12,639 cars per day travelled on that road) represents a 48.4% fall.
A similar scenario has taken place on the Beira Interior A23 road, where tolls were also installed last December, and in the final month of 2011 it suffered a decrease of 30.9% in traffic when compared to December 2010.
The A25 between Beira Litoral and Beira Alta also recorded a decrease in traffic following the implementation of tolls, with a total of 10,861 vehicles on the road in December 2011 compared to the 13,241 in 2010, providing a year on year fall of 18%.
Further north, statistics continue the trend, with almost half of the average daily traffic using the SCUT roads since tolls have been placed on them.
In Porto, the last quarter of 2009 saw approximately 39,560 vehicles using the free SCUT road on a daily basis, however in 2010, and as an effect of the implemented tolling system, the last quarter recorded 21,841 vehicles per day.
The A28 motorway which connects the North Coast and Viana do Castelo to Porto recorded an average of 24,120 vehicles using the road in December 2011, 1,549 cars less per day using the road in comparison to the same period in 2010, which saw approximately 25,669 vehicles per day.
