Today, “9 years of Calvary in the Algarve” are marked as a result of the introduction of tolls on Via do Infante, he reminded the Commission of Users of Via do Infante (CUVI).
The movement2, which fought against the introduction of this fee from the start, recalls that the tolls, «imposed by the PSD/CDS Government, with the support of the PS», began to be collected «precisely on December 8, 2011».
“It has been 9 years of real ordeal for the Algarve, in which mobility in the region has declined for more than 20 years and territorial inequalities have worsened”, considers CUVI.
«The economic and social damages have been enormous and many lives were lost, as the Via do Infante portajada forced the massive diversion of traffic to the EN125, which is still not fully reclassified between Olhão and Vila Real de Santo António and which has boosted road accidents. PS and PSD, by not solving this saga once and for all, are the main responsible for the discrimination against the populations of the Algarve», according to anti-toll activists.
Even so, CUVI still considers "a positive measure" to 50% reduction in toll prices from July, a proposal by the PSD that was approved with the votes of the majority of deputies in the Assembly of the Republic – only the PS and the Liberal Initiative voted against.
The decision “represents some relief for users, companies and populations, but what is needed is the abolition, purely and simply, of tolls in the region. It is a fight that the Commission of Users will continue to pursue until the end. The PS, a few years ago, promised a 50% reduction in toll rates, but it never delivered. But now it ended up bending due to the vote of the opposition in the Assembly of the Republic».
CUVI did not give up, however, to see the tolls on Via do Infante abolished, which is what “should happen”, at a time “when the Algarve is experiencing one of the most serious crises in its history and which will worsen dramatically, due to the pandemic, the monoculture of tourism and the lack of support from the Government».
«The Government has no intention of responding positively to the social and economic emergency that the Algarve is going through. The region already has more than 25 thousand unemployed and it is foreseeable that many companies will be thrown into bankruptcy, increasing unemployment, the difficulties and the needs of the population», accuses the movement.
“In this way, the Government must suspend tolls in the Algarve, as stipulated in the Resolution of the Assembly of the Republic no. 50/2001, of 20 June 2020. In other words, the Government must comply with what was approved in Parliament. In addition, the PPP of Via do Infante (like all the others) is very ruinous for the State, transferring tens of millions of euros every year to the pockets of the private concessionaire, which are missing from taxpayers to fight the crisis, for the NHS, for investment. And the Prime Minister must once and for all fulfill the word given to the Algarve in 2015: that, if he were the Government, he would put an end to tolls in the Algarve. To this day, this promise has been nothing but empty and unfulfilled words», concluded CUVI.
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