Adhesions to the EasyToll system grew 32,1% in the electronic toll placed on the Guadiana International Bridge, at the entrance of Via do Infante/A22, in the Easter period, this being the largest increase in the whole country, announced the company Estradas from Portugal.
Between Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday, according to Estradas de Portugal (EP), «the number of subscribers to the EasyToll system [in the whole country] exceeded 8600, which translates into a growth of 19,3% compared to the same period last year'.
During these four days, a period marked by a strong influx of foreign tourists, especially Spaniards, it was on the first day that more than half of the total number of adhesions was registered, with 4554 registered only on Thursday.
The company emphasizes that "it was in the Algarve, at the point of sale located on the A22, that there was the greatest volume and the greatest growth in adhesions".
In these four days on the A22, at the tolls placed on the Guadiana International Bridge, which connects Andalusia to the Algarve, a total of 3176 people signed up, «which represents 37% of the total across the country between Thursday and Sunday».
This adherence to the EasyToll system – which obliges the motorist to stop at the toll, to insert their card, on which, thereafter, all tolls they cross will be credited – caused long traffic queues on Maundy Thursday, at the entrance to the Algarve via the A22, in particular due to the thousands of Spanish tourists who have chosen the region to spend this short vacation period.
Despite the help of employees of Estradas de Portugal, long lines formed at the toll booths at Ponte do Guadiana, with cars sometimes taking another half an hour to reach the electronic toll booths.
In a press release, Estradas de Portugal says that «in periods of the year with high demand, as happened this Easter», «company employees are placed at the sales points in order to assist, clarify and inform users». also counting on «the collaboration in the field of the Authorities and Support Brigades of the concessionaires of the highways».
For EP, "the points of sale are properly dimensioned, responding with high efficiency to normal daily needs", arguing that, "although occasionally for short stretches there was some accumulation of traffic, the adhesion process took place quickly and effectively" .
The company emphasizes that "the evolution of the number of subscriptions demonstrates the clear preponderance of EasyToll as a simple, safe and fast payment solution, being preferred by users of foreign registered vehicles entering Portugal".
"Data on the number of accessions to the EasyToll system by foreign tourists visiting our country at Easter time has been growing substantially and consistently over the last three years," adds EP.
EasyToll grows over 80% in three years
Thus, according to data disclosed by the company, "compared to 2013, the number of adhesions grew 82%". In that year, a total of 4736 drivers of foreign-registered vehicles were registered to join the EasyToll. system, a number that rose to 7234 in 2014 and 8630 this year.
It is in the Algarve that the increase has been more significant, with a growth of over 126%, compared to that recorded in 2013, which went from 1404 that year to 3176 over the past long weekend.
The company Estradas de Portugal argues that this growth is also the result of its “committed work” in the “promotion and dissemination of this toll collection system among foreign customers”.
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