In addition to Via do Infante, in the Algarve, tolls will end on the following motorways in the country: A4 – Transmontana and Túnel do Marão; A13 and A13-1 – Pinhal Interior; A23 – Beira Interior; A24 – Interior North; A25 – Beiras Litoral and Alta; and A28 – North Coast, in the sections between Esposende and Antas, and between Neiva and Darque.
The PS bill to end tolls in the former SCUT was approved last May, in the Assembly of the Republic, and the law that eliminates them was published on August 7, in the Diário da República.
Tolls on the Via do Infante (A22) began to be charged on December 8, 2011. They remained, despite protests from users and businesspeople, for over 13 years and six governments (five years of PSD/CDS governments and eight years of PT governments), although, in recent times, there have been price reductions.
To mark the end of tolls on the A22, the Via do Infante Users Commission (CUVI) has already asked for a "loud honk", from all motorists on the first day of the year 2025, between 10am and 12pm and from 4pm to 6pm, at the entrances and exits of cities in the Algarve, at the access points to the A22 and along the entire road.
However, according to CUVI, “the fight is not over yet”. This is because, argues the Commission, “what is now necessary is the dismantling, without delay, of all the gantries along the road, to prevent the temptation of any government to want to impose tolls again – which the Algarve will never accept”.
Although their payment ends directly for those who travel on the ex-SCUT highways, the tolls end up continuing to be paid, indirectly, by all Portuguese, through their taxes.
According to the Público newspaper, the end of tolls increased costs with Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) by 1,106 million euros.
Público cites data from the analysis that the Technical Project Monitoring Unit (UTAP), supervised by the Ministry of Finance, carried out of the 2025 Budget.
Source: https://www.theportugalnews.com/news/2024-12-31/the-end-of-algarve-tolls/94555
