Nov
14
PUBLISHED:
November 14, 2014
at
7:30 am
• LAST EDITED:
November 14, 2014
at
1:41 pm
•
0
Comments
Do you have news for us?
Click to contact the newsdesk!
PORTUGAL is demanding payment from 300,000 drivers, mostly from Huelva and Galicia, for overdue electronic toll fees estimated at €80 million.
Payment issues have arisen due to the way Via Verde road tolls and their payments are set up on Portuguese roads, which have been made particularly complicated since 2011 when the government introduced four new electronic highway tolls.
These are not only expensive but also complicated to pay, there are no barriers so cars pass through an arch system while cameras read and snap pictures of the license plates to automatically deduct payment.
It is a system installed to help with the financial hole the state-owned Estradas de Portugal company, which manages Portuguese roads, is suffering from but that has been abused.
Payment has to be made by either buying (€27,5) or renting an electronic device to be placed on windshields or by purchasing fixed rate prepaid cards online, at post offices, airports and some services areas near the border.
Police have blacklisted cars that regularly fail to pay the tolls and keep a lookout for them near the border in order to collect their permanent address.
The President of the association of carriers FeTRAM, Fernando Teijeiro, said: “I am not justifying non-payment, but one must ask if there is an alternative to the toll road.
“Entering through Zamora, or Galicia, or Chaves, or Badajoz or by Ayamonte, there isn’t one, so the principle of free movement in the European Community is violated.”
Tourism between Huelva and Portugal has decreased by 50% on both sides since the tolls have been put in place.
Reader Comments »
The views expressed in the comments above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Olive Press.
Messages will be moderated or deleted if they:
• Are considered likely to disrupt, provoke, attack or offend others
• Are racist, sexist, homophobic, sexually explicit, abusive or otherwise objectionable
• Contain swear words or other language likely to offend
• Break the law or condone or encourage unlawful activity. This includes breach of copyright, defamation and contempt of court
• Advertise products or services for profit or gain
• Are seen to impersonate someone else
• Include contact details such as phone numbers, postal or email addresses
• Describe or encourage activities which could endanger the safety or well-being of others
• If you have a complaint about a comment please email [email protected]
Open all references in tabs: [1 – 4]
Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.