Tolls on the A22

[laserblazer]

....If anyone does not believe me please PM and I will give you proof that I am not just making trouble.

I don't believe you.

Well I genuinely give alar the benefit of the doubt. It has nothing to do with the price paid for the villa or the tolls, it's the potential stress of having to pay them. Stress is what you go on holiday to get away from. If we are in any doubt about being able to pay when we go back to Faro, then we'll leave a bit earlier and take the N-125.

We cancelled a holiday in the Maldives once because there was some building work on the island we had booked. I'm sure it would have been of no consequence but we didn't want to take the chance.

[James Faro]

I wouldn't be too sure that the tourist trade will not be affected.

We were due to come out in June with our daughter, son-in-law and 3 year old grandson - his first time abroad. We had lined up a beautiful villa and all told we would have probably spent £6 - 7,000 excluding flights in the two weeks.

We are no longer coming. I have no objection whatsoever to the tolls, but it is much easier throwing a few coins in a basket, like here or Spain, and the hassle and confusion has put us off. We like Carvoeiro, but we also like other places around Europe and until this is sorted we will just go there for this year.

How many tolls will it take to make up the £6 -7,000 the local economy would have received?

Alanr,

Whether you are absolutely correct or totally wrong on your opinions; you have the absolute right to express your views on this forum as everybody else and not to be insulted or derided.

You are not accountable to anyone here and nor do you have to prove anything. Post what you believe.

[Michael Crane]

.....We are no longer coming......

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[joeysoap]

Alanr,

Whether you are absolutely correct or totally wrong on your opinions; you have the absolute right to express your views on this forum as everybody else and not to be insulted or derided.

You are not accountable to anyone here and nor do you have to prove anything. Post what you believe.[/quote]

+1

I hire 5/6 times a year. the toll charges are one thing, the collection another entirely. my sticking point - along with many others- is the 'return' leg to Faro airport. Tourists are NOT going to queue up in a ctt to pay the tolls (nor are they even going to look for a ctt, and why should they, they are on holidays not boot camp)

I had intended on one of my longer visits this year to make a few day trips, one to Tavira. Unlilely now to make such a trip. too much hassle. no big deal but if multiplied by others you can see how it may affect tourism in the Algarve. I would guess that lots of day trippers from other resorts visit CVO during their holidays and it will be interesting to see how the tolls affect bars/cafes/restaurants locally from such day trippers (stop humming )

[alanr]

Thank you James Faro & Joeysoap. You are, of course quite correct.

I will spend my money where and how I want. Believe it or not, there are other places just as nice as Carvoeiro and until things are sorted we will just go there.

Let me make it plain - we love the Algarve - and no doubt will return. But just think for a minute - I have dared to put my head above the parapet and been shot down by the Carvoeiro 'thought police'. How many have taken the same view and will not come and just keep quiet.

I have emailed Michael Crane and given my name. address etc and will happily give him my confirmed fights etc etc. I hope he will have the good grace to respond on these boards.

[bruce]

alanr - totally agree with you, it is making me wonder whether we need the aggro of this system or whether we should give the Algarve a miss this year. We have no objection to the toll but would like to know how it is to be operated before we make plans.

[EMM]

As the vast majority of us rent cars it is now down to the hire car companies to find a solution to this.
We are the customers if they want our business then they should take over the responsibilty.
Although I think they are over reacting I can understand why some visitors feel concerned at the apparent chaos.

Once again ( Steen please note ) Car Hire companies get your act together and put your customers first and make it easy for us to visit the Algarve and keep you in business and in work.
There are some like us who for various reasons although we make many visits year prefer to rent. If the companies do not find a solution for renters then I am sure that we will bite the bullet and purchase car.

This will mean that the companies will lose much of their year round season revenue, at a time when they desperately need it.

[Lesley Jean]

I agree with what you are saying EMM, also as frequent renters of hire cars we do need to know how the hire companies are going to solve the problem of people using their cars and travelling back to the airport on the A22 and how you pay for the toll when you are 'out of hours' for payment with early or late flights??
I don't mind actually having to pay to use the road just how on earth we are going to be able to do it!!!

[Polli62]

Here Here EMM. I have spoke to quite a few people/ companies who hire cars & also do airport transfers and they are apparently being left in the dark with info. I for one will not be using the A22 with all this confusion but a mixture of 125 and other small roads to arrive at my destination & also to get back to Faro.Are the goverment trying to kill tourism, if there are many problems with tourists hiring cars & not being able to pay at source or being fined once they have arrived back into their home country the people will not come back to the Algarve.How sad, its like cutting off your nose to spite your face, utter greed for more coffers in the purse.

[pickwick]

Good God

In the name of the wee man! Drive back to the airport in your hired car and get on the plane home! What do you think is going to happen?????? Hung drawn and quartered, 10 years hard labour??? No the hire company will either pay the toll and deduct it from your credit card, write it off (they will eventually add £5 to every rental to cover this cost) or give your address so a bill can be sent for you to pay.

Not the end of the World is it??????? certainly not worth cancelling your holiday over!!!! I suspect there is a village somewhere missing an idiot - they should look here, they will certainly find a few.

Pickwick

[sam]

Good God

In the name of the wee man! Drive back to the airport in your hired car and get on the plane home! What do you think is going to happen?????? Hung drawn and quartered, 10 years hard labour??? No the hire company will either pay the toll and deduct it from your credit card, write it off (they will eventually add £5 to every rental to cover this cost) or give your address so a bill can be sent for you to pay.

Not the end of the World is it??????? certainly not worth cancelling your holiday over!!!! I suspect there is a village somewhere missing an idiot - they should look here, they will certainly find a few.

Pickwick

Good to see your standard of debate is as a abusive and unhelpful as ever. I see you say the bill may be sent to you. By this time there will no doubt be fines added to the fee, and how will you be able to pay if you cannot do it on-line and do not have a Portuguese bank account. I reiterate what someone else said - tourists are on holiday they do not want or need the stress, either on holiday or after. Imagine you are a tourist - you have used the A22 a few times on holiday and some time after you get home you are sent a bill for a couple of hundred euros for fees plus fines plus no easy means of payment. Would you want to return to such a resort? I see alanr's point. Yes the tolls may only be small, but the difficulties in payment and possibility of large fines are big - who wants the stress and added expense when there are plenty of other places in the world to relax and spend your money.

[Michael Crane]

....I have emailed Michael Crane and given my name. address etc and will happily give him my confirmed fights etc etc. I hope he will have the good grace to respond on these boards.

Yep, I got a PM. I thought the in my comment showed I was taking the piss, but alanr took me seriously (how little he knows me ). So, sorry alanr, but I don't really not believe you, but I do think you're being a bit of an arse by cancelling due to a road toll and its (perhaps, complicated) payment collection mechanism.

But, it's your money. You spend it where you want.

[laserblazer]

I think your miss alanr's point MC. What he's saying is that there are loads of great holiday destinations and the uncertainty about the A22 tolls is enough to swing the balance away from Portugal. I expect he'll spend his £7K somewhere else.

Regarding what are the car hire companies doing about it, why don't people ask when they collect their cars. Maybe even write a letter to the management expressing our concerns over the uncertainty and asking if they can update us on the situation as they see it.

[Farol]

As the vast majority of us rent cars it is now down to the hire car companies to find a solution to this.
We are the customers if they want our business then they should take over the responsibilty.

I tend to agree with EMM over this. It is wrong for the rental firms to bury their head in the sand and to advise their clients not to use the motorways.

I do not want to take the N125 to go to & from the airport, although I do generally use the N125 for local trips. I cannot see the Portuguese authorities pursuing a fine though the UK courts which is what they would have to do if you just ignore it - I doubt that Uk law would even allow this. Nor can I see them arresting you at the border the next time you fly in. This just leaves the car rental companies exposed in the middle as the likely target for the Portuguese authorities so, assuming that that will be the outcome, they (the rental companies) need to meet, sort out a common approach and publicise what they are going to do.

In the absence of a common approach this could become a factor of why a potential client will choose one rental firm over another. The first to get their act together with a common sense approach is likely to get the custom of those concerned about the tolls and potential fines.

(As a thought starter don't forget that there is a CTT branch at Faro airport only a few yards from where most rental firms operate.)

[economycarhire]

Hello,

At the moment, the car rental companies have not been informed about how this system will work. In fact there are doubts about whether the new charges will even be introduced.

Of course, as soon we have any information we will inform all customers with future bookings.