Tolls on the A22

[Bruce Wallis]

I spoke to a friend living in Carvoeiro, and he said that the whole subject is in confusioin, and nobody seems to know exactly what is happening, except for the fact that the French want their money back!!
Also that it promises to be an administrative nightmare

I suspect that the Algarve government are trying to come up with cheap alternatives to installing tollbooths at every entrance and exit.

The worrying thing is that the N125 returns to being the deathtrap it once was

[sunman]

I wonder why they don't just put annual car tax up a bit? a once a year payment instead of all this ridiculous faffing about

the 125 was a bad ride 25 years ago, sometimes 1 1/2 hours from Faro to Carvoeiro, gawd knows what it'll be like when all the commercial traffic get on it in April, makes the blood boil

[Macherts]

The 15th ?

Thats OK then, as we go back on the 14th

then hopefully it will all be working OK by the time we come back in August.

Macherts

[PTBUXTON]

The 15th ?

Thats OK then, as we go back on the 14th

then hopefully it will all be working OK by the time we come back in August.

Macherts

Would'nt bank on it

[Farol]

Perhaps Steen could tell us how Algarvedriver/YOR are going to be handling this?

[Steen Jakobsen]

If you read back in this thread you'll find what little we know. Everybody is still hoping for some last minute miracle / solution.

[sunman]

the newspaper reports from the authorities say that everything is on schedule to begin on April 15th; but unless they're going to put little men in flat caps with ticket machines round their middles on the entries and exits it's difficult to see how they're going to do it; there's nothing on any slip road/ exit/ sign board anywhere between Alvor & Faro on the A22 so somebody's going to have to get their skates on

[MaisieK]

We shall be arriving on Sunday 1st May to collect our car from Algarve Driver(YOR) at the airport
and my husband says he will travel to Carvoeiro on the N125 unless it is clear what the system is
for the motorway. I shall hate being on the N125 if it is really busy as I am not a good passenger
at the best of times. I have just got my fingers crossed that Steen will be able to fill us in with
more details at the last minute.

[pato]

I wonder why they don't just put annual car tax up a bit? a once a year payment instead of all this ridiculous faffing about

the 125 was a bad ride 25 years ago, sometimes 1 1/2 hours from Faro to Carvoeiro, gawd knows what it'll be like when all the commercial traffic get on it in April, makes the blood boil

"One man's meat" so they say, I've watched the demise of the small businesses on the 125 for years and it saddened me, maybe now things will look up for them and they'll make a success of their long hard wait.

[James Faro]

We shall be arriving on Sunday 1st May to collect our car from Algarve Driver(YOR) at the airport
and my husband says he will travel to Carvoeiro on the N125 unless it is clear what the system is
for the motorway. I shall hate being on the N125 if it is really busy as I am not a good passenger
at the best of times. I have just got my fingers crossed that Steen will be able to fill us in with
more details at the last minute.

Well, make sure that you and hubby have a safe journey on the N125 as I find it also treacherous and a tad unsafe even at the best of times. I really think the Portuguese government made a huge error on this A22 toll.It won't help reduce the national debt and it will affect tourists coming into the region. When tourism is taking a battering this is the last thing the region needs.

[EMM]

I used to drive 80,000k a year in the UK and whilst we all come across bad driving in Portugal there is just as much in the UK.
The 125 appears to be a bad road because of the large number of tourists unfamiliar with the their hire cars, road signage, local driving etiquete and finally for the brits/irish being on the " wrong side of the road ".

The closest shaves we have had in 6 years of visits was a UK reg camper van on the wrong side of the road and the not infrequent hire car also on the wrong side of the road.

If you are not a confident driver in the UK then of course you will find it worse here but just take it easy , do not get stressed by the locals and you will not find driving here as hard as some try to tell you it is.

[Michael Crane]

....If you are not a confident driver in the UK then of course you will find it worse here but just take it easy , do not get stressed by the locals and you will not find driving here as hard as some try to tell you it is.

Very good advice. Keep your wits about you and eyes on the lookout for any potential problems . . . in short, good driving practice.

[Mike Banks]

I normally only use the motorway to get from and to the airport. All other times I use the N125 and I've never had a problem with it. As EMM said, you'll find just as much bad driving here in the UK. Up here in the Peak District we get our share of tourists dithering about, stopping without warning "to admire the view", and even driving on the wrong side of the road sometimes.

[Farol]

I may have missed it but I haven't seen any detail of what the charges will be. I've looked on the estadas.pt web site and can't find it there.

Does anybody know how much it would actually cost joining the motorway at Faro and leaving at Lagoa?

Anybody know where there is a table of charges?

[laserblazer]

We passed three lots of lane closures today between Faro and Lagoe that looked like they were putting in the infrastructure for the tolls. I've heard that the total cost from Vila Real to Lagos will be €42!