שיחות להנחות אגרה לתושבים

The proposal was presented by the PSD councillor at Almada City Council, Nuno Matias, indicating that the inhabitants of Almada and the Setúbal peninsula are taxed to travel to the country's capital.

For the president of the municipality, the socialist Inês de Medeiros, there is a clear problem of constitutionality in access and free movement.

The councillor defended that there is no reasonable alternative or that is considered reasonable for residents to travel to the country's capital since the only way to do so without paying a fee would be through Vila Franca de Xira.

“We present a recommendation to create measures of positive discrimination in tolls on the 25 de Abril bridge,” she said, adding that in the recommendation to be sent to the Minister of Infrastructure, the Prime Minister and the President of the Assembly of the Republic, the Government is asked to analyse a solution together with the municipality of Almada and other municipalities on the south bank.

As a result of this analysis, she added, the recommendation points to the renegotiation of the concession contract with Lusoponte to include positive discrimination measures.

“This is a problem that violates the user-pays principle in Almada and in other municipalities in the Setúbal Peninsula that have no alternative. We can swim across but that is not rational”, said Nuno Matias.