Since the Algarve’s only motorway, the A22, became a toll road just a few short months ago, the spirited fight to have them abolished has gathered significant pace.

Early March saw expat newspaper, The Algarve Resident, announce that the European Commission had ruled the tolls illegal on grounds that they prohibited free movement within the EU. Surprisingly this illegality ruling does not refer to the imposition of tolls themselves but rather the fact that local Algarve residents get ten free trips on the motorway each month and non-residents do not. The fact that non-residents receive no free trips is seen as discrimination.

In addition to the discrimination allegations, local publications have been inundated with angry letters from tourists who have faced problems when attempting to pay the toll. This is due to the lack of traditional booths and the requirement instead to pay in selected local post offices. To add more fuel to the fire, service stations owners are in uproar at the significant drop in business that they have experienced since the road opened.

It is startlingly clear to worried residents that the electronic toll infrastructure is not sufficiently organised to cope with the influx of people due into the area with summer just around the corner.

Another concern is the loss of thousands of Spanish tourists and day-trippers who are choosing not to visit because of both the cost of tolls and the difficulties that can arise when trying to pay them.

The Spanish Government is now showing support to the A22 Users Group, who promise to continue their fight to have the tolls abolished.

A petition is available via The Algarve Resident’s website and a public protest involving the blocking of the Guadiana bridge between Spain and the Algarve is expected to be organised in the coming weeks.

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