Despite a long-standing political promise from the current prime minister that tolls on the Via do Infante pan-Algarve motorway will reduce over time until they are zero, there has been a January 1st increase in charges.
Infraestruturas de Portugal has decided that drivers on the Via do Infante motorway should pay more as from January 1st this year and has raised toll charges accordingly.
The new toll rates apply to several sections of the road. For Class 1 vehicles, three sections have price hikes: Mexilhoeira to Alvor, Albufeira to Boliqueime and in Tavira to Monte Gordo.
According to Infraestrutura de Portugal, 32% of Portugal’s tolled road sections have had price increases out of a possible 500, with drivers paying between 5 and 10 cents more per section.
The pressure on the one alternative road, the notorious EN125, will increase proportionally and user groups despair at the continued price rises when the government should be working to cut or eliminate the Via do Infante tolls, as António Costa promised before being appointed prime minister in late 2015.
Infraestrutura de Portugal, the company that in 2015 spent €150,000 on a new logo and €170,000 on a launch party, will continue to raise charges to cover its unbridled costs until the government calls a halt to the toll scheme, or insists on reductions rather than annual price hikes.
Last year, the National Road Safety Authority recorded a total of 30 deaths as a result of road accidents in the Algarve. This includes only victims whose deaths occurred at the scene of the accident or in the ambulance on the way to hospital, which means that the actual number is greater, since some of the seriously injured later died.
The number of fatalities was down on 2015 (37 deaths) and 2016 (32 deaths) but the number of serious accidents was up.
In 2017 a total of 10,752 accidents were logged on the Algarve's roads, an increase of 511 compared to 2016 and up 1,262 compared to 2015.
This increase in accidents has led to an increase in the number of serious injuries, up 18.5% on 2016 and up 15% on 2015.
The Algarve had the 4th highest number of accidents in Portugal, behind Lisbon (26,698), Oporto (23,606) and Braga (10,980).
