Tag Archives: economic crisis
Algarve A22 motorway revenue is up
We have been talking constantly about the Algarve A22 tolls and how they are not popular with neither locals, nor with visitors. But despite all the protests and unpleasantness related to the tolls it appears that the takings from the country’s toll roads overall are up, the ones from the A22 motorway being among the top revenue earners.
Despite the economic crisis, revenue from the motorways is up, according to the national road company Estradas de Portugal – EP, with former virtual or SCUT toll roads reporting the biggest increases.
Interestingly enough the motorways in the Greater Lisbon Area and in the northern part of the country saw their receipts dropping during the first half of the year, the south being obviously the most traveled through part of the country.
EP highlighted the strong performance of the Algarve A22 motorway, saying that it saw a rise of 22 percent in its income, which amounts to about a 1.6 million euro increase when compared to the same period of 2012. The statement went further in saying that the peak summer period wasn’t taken into consideration when this study was made and since that is by far the peak traffic time for the Algarve, the numbers might actually be higher.
It’s an interesting time for these numbers to be coming out because there have only been two months since EP chief Antonio Ramalho expressed real concerns over the sustainability of SCUT motorways. This is due to the fact that vehicles without an electronic tagging device which use the SCUT motorways, cost as much to bill as the amount they pay in order to use the road.
Despite these positive numbers Mr. Romalho argued that the current system is unsustainable and it won’t be capable in the long term to maintain and preserve the road network.
We do know that a new toll system is in the works for the A22, we have to wait and see how these things will evolve in the future.
Thinking of studying in the Algarve?
For those thinking of studying in the Algarve, there is an interesting phenomenon taking place in the Algarve University numbers, thanks to a combination of two important factors. The numbers of enrolling students is increasing both from local students as well as foreign ones, due to the economic crisis and the fact that the university offers lectures in English.
A spokesperson for the Algarve University said that they are expecting around 300 international students to come follow their courses, while less local students will be going abroad. This is largely due to the economic crisis, which is making universities abroad much harder to attend financially, so some foreign students find the Algarve University as a more affordable alternative, and on the local front, it means that going to study abroad for Portuguese students is that much harder.
