Background:
Via Verde (literally "Green Lane") is an electronic toll collection system used in Portugal since 1991.

How to use it:
Upon passing in a non-stop lane at a toll, an electronic devise, that is attached to the vehicle's windscreen (windshield), transmits an identifier code. When the vehicle passes the last toll station again the identifier code, plus the toll amount is sent to a processing centre. The toll is debited directly from the client's bank account. If the information is for some reason not correct the vehicle is photographed and legal procedures are began. As an alternative there has been the possibility to pay at a tollbooth too.

This is about to change.
The Portuguese government has stated that all users of the auto-estradas (highways/motorways) in Northern Portugal will have to pay tolls using this electronic system. This will start on the 15th October 2010 . Some of these roads are presently toll free, others as stated above used to have the option to pay at a tollbooth. The rest Portugal’s auto-estradas will have this system in place implanted on the 15th April, 2011. All you will see is a gantry above the road. At present I am unsure as to what signage will be used, if any, to indicate the electronic tollbooths.

How it will affect you as a holidaymaker:
It is understood foreigners travelling (even with a hire car) on these auto-estradas will also have to use this electronic device. Foreign motorists driving on the designated roads without any electronic identification may be fined between 120 and 600 euros. But it seems that there is scope for higher fines if it is deemed necessary. There are going to be extra Police patrols to catch the persons who infringe the law. They will have the power to fine you immediately.
The price set by the Portuguese government is (for a car) eight cents per kilometre on the following roads:- A-28, A-29, A-41 and A-42. This toll could be higher if you hire a van (minibus).

I will update this when I know how it is intended a tourist should pay for the tolls.

You should note that when landing at Oporto airport it is impossible to leave it without driving along one on the auto-estradas affected by this toll scheme.

Website in Portuguese.
At the time of writing there is no mention about this new scheme.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Shannon,

Thanks so much for posting this confusing new information. Please do keep us updated. The thing of specific interest to foreign travellers (specifically those who are travelling by hired car) is, of course, what is the actual payment logistics?
Will the traveller's credit card information used to rent the automobile be provided to the toll collection authority?
If so, how will the traveller be assured that their card information will be safe from continued charges AFTER they have turned in their rental car?
Will the rental car company, instead, be charged for the tolls and this amount added to the travellers final bill? This would seem to make more sense.
What if an auto is rented in Spain and driven into Portugal?

Wow!

This has nightmarish potential!

To be honest I simply cannot find out much about how to pay. It is said that you have to pay in gas stations, which this company also own or directly at banks. But when you land and hire a car, it is a different ball game. When I do know more it will be posted.
The Portuguese have to system linked to their bank account. Reading through the Galician newspapers there is a lot of concern over this plan, or rather the lack of information about this plan.
The feeling is that it is not going to be good for tourism or trade. I will be reluctant in advising anyone to use Oporto airport to drive into Galicia. That trip will cost around 10€ (one way); more if you take the wrong turning

Ribeirasacra, I see a potential business opportunity here for you. Develop driving routes for clients that help them avoid the toll roads.

quote:

Develop driving routes for clients that help them avoid the toll roads.

Hi Deborah - you can in fact do this using http://en.mappy.com/itinerary_homepage

Click on the "more options" tab below the "vehicle" tab and check the box that says "avoid tolls"

Michael

But this exactly the point of my posting. You will not be able to leave the airport of Oporto without paying a toll. But know one, not even mappy, knows how to avoid these tolls.

Notching Deborah’s idea up a gear I did think about purchasing the electronic boxes and either hiring or selling them to tourist. But they maybe linked to car registrations. If so those ideas will not work either.

Unfortunately there is still no news on how foreigners/tourists are expected to purchase a card. There is only 15 days to go before this is implemented.

Now I am back from my trip to the GTG in Venice I can up date this bit of news.

Things are reported as being chaotic at the moment. There are fewer cars on the Via Verde routes. Every one wants or needs an identifier (electronic devise) but there are not enough to be had.
I have to assume that Portuguese hire cars will be registered in this system, especially if you pick one up in the North of the country. But I would strongly suggest you check with the hire company (not the booking agent) that an identifier has been installed in your hire vehicle. If it has how much credit on the toll card do you receive too?
The problem will occur if you take your Spanish vehicle car into Portugal. It is a certain bet that these vehicles will not have any form of identifiers installed.

How it works for non-Portuguese registered cars.
The driver has to pay 27€ to rent the identifiers. They then have to pay a minimum of 50€ to cover toll charges. To confirm to have paid the tolls you insert a card into the identifiers. When travelling along the highway your identifiers will send a message to the gantries above and deduct the amount tolled for the distance you have just covered.
It should be noted that the 50€ for toll fees will only last for a maximum of 90 days, if not you loose any money left on the toll card.
When you return the card and you have any money left you will find extra fees of 4.30 € for the first week and 1.37 euros for every additional week after that. It is not clear if this is deducted automatically every week or when you return your card.

It is complicated so let me give you an example:
You are in Portugal for say 10 days; and you drive (for example) 150km on the Via Verde routes.

Euros Total cost in Euros
Hire of the identifiers: 27.00
Toll card 50.00
Tolls for say 150 km* -13.50 13.50
First weeks fee - 4.30 4.30
Second week fee** - 1.37 1.37
Subtotal (amount returned) 30.83
Total cost of using Via Verdes for 150km 46.17

* I cannot confirm this 100% but it seems like tolls work out round about 9cents/km.
* *Even for part of a week you will have to pay for a full week.

Where to buy the identifiers and cards?
All I can find out is the places listed on the Via Verde website.
But I have read in the local Galician papers that there is one “shop” near to the border with Galicia, this is not listed on this page.
Some translations:of the Via Verdes website.
Horário de funcionamento = Opening hours
Dias Úteis = weekdays
Sábado = Saturdays.
Postos De Assistência Técnica (destinados unicamente à reparação de identificadores) = Service Stations (solely to the repair of identifiers)

Photo of gantries:

I cannot format the cost correctly can a kind moderator help please?

Here is a link to a map showing the roads affected by this new toll system.
Toll road map
It sates the toll from the border between Portugal and Galicia is going to be 8,10€ there and back, plus 40 cents to get to the airport. This is taken form the price obtaining the identifiers and the first purchase of the card.

Thanks for posting all this information. I am going to get it all turned into a travel note for the main website, unless you think it is better to wait a few weeks to see if things change a bit.

More news on the pay roads.
Because the new automatic toll booth system the older N roads are collapsing under the extra traffic that would be normally carried by the A28. At times the traffic is 5 times more than before the new toll system was introduced.
Because of this extra traffic the journey between Oporto and Valença takes more than 3 hours rather than the 1.5 hours on the A28. The traffic on the A28 is presently very light.
Article in Spanish

An alternative route to this chaos is to take the A3. it is still a toll road, but at least you can pay at manned booth, for now!

Today the local newspaper published a route where you can drive between the airport of Oporto and Galicia using the manned tollbooth route. This route means you pay less tolls but it will take a bit longer.

A basic translation of the discretion of this route is as follows. ( I have left out references to Ikea)

The easiest option to get from Galicia to Oporto is to take the motorway A-3 until it connects with the inner ring road for Oporto; the A-20. Do not follow the signs for Lisbon, but take a right and head towards the industrial area of Oporto. From there take the A-28 in direction of Viana. The urban section of the highway is not tolled. You take exit 9 to link the N107 road to the airport. The toll will be 8.75€, for the A23 between Valença and Oporto.

Important note: I have not done this trip and you have to reverse the route instrutions if you drive from the airport to Galicia.

So from the map posted
http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/v...8082315360527655.htm
this is just affecting the small area of motorways around Porto - the rest of the motorways in Portugal, Lisbon, Algarve areas for example, remain free of charge?

Michael

Michael, in one of my previous postings I said the following:

quote:

Originally posted by Ribeirasacra:
This is about to change.
The Portuguese government has stated that all users of the auto-estradas (highways/motorways) in Northern Portugal will have to pay tolls using this electronic system. This will start on the 15th October 1010 ……………….. The rest Portugal’s auto-estradas will have this system in place implanted on the 15th April, 2011.

So at the moment yes, but it seems that just in time for Easter next year (read the start of the true vacation season) the south will have a similar system. Note that the electronic collection method has yet to be implemented to replace the manned tollbooths, which are on some existing toll roads.

Whilst not immediately driving through Portugal I was interested in reading this thread.
I also read in the UK Caravan Club that you can use a CC to hire the TD and then the Toll charges are automatically paid. This makes sense because I also read that paying the cash Deposit for charges (€50) is not a good idea if not using the full amount because it is non refundable.
The Map showing the VIA VERDE routes are displayed on this useful page : http://www.estradas.pt/mapa
The Caravan Club notice is on this page:
http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/n...ic-tolls-in-portugal

Nige
I am having a conversation with the moderators about whether or not to re publish this thread as an article on ST. I have sent updated information to the above, including the link to the Portuguese website with the roads on. I have to say that also in my email to the mods I said that I feel there is some miss information around and funny enough I talked about the CC website. All the newspapers in Galicia suggest that you cannot do what the CC says in paragraph 3. You have to pay for the identifier and the card. That is an up front fee of 77€.
The CC website also gives a link to a de-funked link about where to purchase. It is the same as in my first posting.
The problem for ST and publishing a good article is that the information I am finding mean that something new could be added.
As aside note: There are some Galician businesses, along with the Xunta de Galicia (the Government of Galicia), going to the courts in the EU to say toll system is against EU rules for free movement of goods. But who knows how long it will take to get a hearing and an outcome. I wish them luck. Getting a verdict could take months or years and in the mean time we have to try and live with this.

Clearly the only way to establish the facts is to travel - must do that soon !
meanwhile reading the BRISA web site (Brisa are the people who manage the Toll roads in Portugal) they say in the FAQs about payment :
You can pay your toll using one of the following means:

* Via verde identfyier
* Cash (in case of foreign currency, the exchange is made at the office serving the toll booth)
* By Cheque (paid at the concessionaire's closest office to the toll booth) * Bank debit cards
* GalpFrota Card
* Euroshel card (although this gas supplier no longer exists, these cards will be valid for payment until they expire)
* Solred Card
* CEPSA CArd
* Tarjeta6000 Card
* UTA Card
* DKV Card
* SERVISA Card
* BP PLUS EUROPA Card
*Visa and MasterCard (national and international)

But exactly what this means in practice is anybody's guess.

The Visit Portugal web page says:
Portugal has a good road network consisting of auto-estradas (AE, motorways), itinerários principais (IP, main trunk roads), itinerários complementares (IC, complementary trunk roads), estradas nacionais (EN, national roads) and estradas municipais (municipal roads).
All motorways are marked with the internationally recognised sign and motorists using them have to pay tolls. See prices on www.brisa.pt or www.aeatlantico.pt

In case of breakdown or accident on the motorway, you can phone for assistance on 808 508 508

Toll gates have Via Verde channels. This is an innovative electronic system enabling motorists to debit tolls to their bank account. Only holders of Via Verde identifiers supplied by Brisa can use it.

Nige
The Via Verde’s do not have tollbooths. You have to pay electronically. You cannot do this easily if you have a non-Portuguese registered car. It is presently unknown what is included if you hire a Portuguese car either.

The link from Brisa website here

quote:

Lanes with this symbol above toll booths and marked on the road with mention “Reservado a Aderentes” ("Reserved to Subscribers") are exclusively for Via Verde subscribers.
Payment Means: Via Verde

This corroborates the points I have previously raised. How does one subscribe? Read above!

The later link you have given is for the southern part of Portugal. At present they do not have a fully implemented Via Verde system; that is scheduled to start in April 2011.

May I ask; when do you plan to go to Portugal and where?

The Portuguese government has (after some considerable pressure) “seen the errors of its ways” and has now changed the method of payments to allow drivers of foreign registered vehicles to use the automatic tolling system on the Portuguese Via Verdes.
This note is only written as guidance to those readers who are on vacation either with their own car or a hire car from outside of Portugal. It is not a guide for those who live in Spain (because the payment methods will be different) or if you have a Portuguese registered hire car (in this case you should establish if your hire agreement includes the electronic identifier and if the first payments on the toll card are included.

The changes to the above posting/information are important.
As a driver with a non-Portuguese registered car you will be able to make a payment to the Via Verdes electronic toll system at one of the flowing locations. Some good news; none of these will require the driver to purchase or install an electronic identifier. These are called coupons.

1. Portuguese or Spanish post offices
2. At a service station located along the Via Verdes system.
3. At certain machines installed at Oporto’s airport.


Details of these payments: (numbers related to the above)

1. The amount of post offices will be limited so you may have to spend time locating one that sells these coupons. The further you are away from the border with Portugal the less chance of finding one. All you pay is the price of the toll of the road you wish to cover. The media reports suggest that the police may still stop you, as the coupon is not read by the electronic system on the Via Verde roads.
2. Just like in the post offices you can also purchase coupons. This may be the best solution for a vacationer as they will be the easiest to find. But just do not go pass the last service station before the start of the Via Verde.
3. The local media reports that in the very near future ATMs will be able to issue coupons too. So maybe you will need one after picking up your hire car. Again it is suggested that you check when hiring the car.

One newspaper reports that in reality we all need to be issued a guidebook on how where and when to purchase toll passes, because there are other ways of payments that are aimed at Galicians who travel on various frequencies across the border.
Note that the map HEREgives the locations of the service stations where you can purchase a toll coupon. There are other toll roads in Northern Portugal and on these you can use the normal manned tollbooth. The A3 is one the springs to my mind. So there are no toll free highways/motorways in Northern Portugal. It is still planned to roll this out throughout the rest of Portugal before next Easter. It is also planned to merge the electronic toll system of both Spain and Portugal into one system. But at least in Spain you will still have the option of a manned booth or free highways/motorways.
HERE is a link to another photo of the readers above the road together with the signage. It is very different to that given on the any of the links posted in the thread above.

Thanks again for posting all this great information.

More information.

I have mange to find out that the Portuguese highway system is broken up so that several companies run different roads. Until I understood this my further research on this subject has proved to be fruitless.
Here is a link from the Ascendi website. It gives the roads covered and the amount of service station etc. Note there are only 6 covering this area of the North of Portugal.

From this website I found a link to information (in English) on how foreign registered vehicles have to pay these tolls.
I clearly states that you have to have an electronic tag. And that these can be obtained from Service stations and Post Offices. Given that there are only six service stations covering this area it is not going to be easy to hire and return these devises. If you go to a Post Offices whilst more common, means you will have to drive into city or town to find one; that may or may not be a simple task.*
Note the fines!

From this I went to the link (at the bottom of the page) given for more information. This turned out to be only in Portuguese, that in turn, gave a link to this website.
Here is more information about the tolls. I cannot speak Portuguese but with my Spanish I can understand some. At first glance it seems that this last link is mainly for the Portuguese residence. I will confirm that when I have had time to peruse the information.

* After reading what has been published in the local newspaper this seems to be out of date. That is normal for this part of the world. Sometimes information on the web is not regularly updated or you may find that the employees do not have the latest information to hand.

If you want to know how many Concession Companies of Toll Motorways or Bridges exist in Portugal go to www.apcap.pt/index1.html. This is just to know their names, that will not help you or anyone about the new electronic tolls, because it doesn't matter who is the concession company, the electronic payment system will be valid everywhere, similarly to the "Via Verde" payment that exists since long time ago.
The great turmoil is that now you have tolls in some highways (mainly in the north and center part of the country, and previously called SCUT) that are exclusively electronic. All other highways (the main ones) maintain the usual system of manual and electronic tolls on separate lanes. For portuguese, or foreigners, with cars that don't have the electronic device for Via Verde the question is how to pay the tolls on these previously SCUT.
What are those SCUT's:
A4 - Matosinhos, Águas Santas, Ermesinde, Valongo, Paredes, Penafiel and Amarante (only between Matosinhos - Águas Santas you'll find the new system, the rest can be paid manually)
A17 - Marinha Grande, monte Redondo,Figueira da Foz, Mira and Aveiro (only between Mira-Aveiro you'll find the new system, the rest can be paid manually)
A28 - Matosinhos, Vila do Conde, Póvoa do Varzim, Esposende, Viana do Castelo and Caminha
A29 - between A25 Angeja (Aveiro)and CRIP Vilar de Andorinho (Porto/Vila Nova de Gaia)
A41 CREP (Porto region)- Matosinhos and Alfena (Ermida).
A42 - (Porto region)Alfena, Paços de Ferreira and Lousada.
Hope that it helps.

Latest update.
It now seems you can prepay by registering on line. However I have yet to be successful at doing this.
I will explain the full method in case someone is able to register.
· Go the website of the Portuguese Post office: The English version does not work.
· Hit the link for Correio. This opens up a new page. In the left column click “Outros Serviços Estaçao Correio."
· Click Pagamento Portagens.
· Click Matríula Estrangeira.
· In the sentence “Adquira aqui o seu pré-pago para veículo de matrícula estrangeira.” Click aqui. This looks the same as the rest of the font as if they wish to hide the link.
· In the sentence “Se ainda não está registado clique aqui” again hit the word aqui.
· Fill out the data. I feel this is self explanatory but if need be I can give some translations. Fill out all the starred sections.
· Fill out only one block. At the bottm of the three blocks you will see a red button “Copiar Dados Pessoais. Hitting this will fill out the last two block from data provided in the first one.
· Ignore the other tags along the top of this form.
· It states it send you an email. However I have never received one. When you log in again (on this page). I have been thrown out of the website. Persist and you will get through, especially if you go right from the start on the of these instructions.
· Once you are in you will be asked for some more details. Again these should be easily to understand but if you cannot let me know please.
· At this point you will need to know your vehicles registration. So you cannot order these prepayments before you pick up your hire car. Note, at the time of writing, the second tab at the top of this form does not work. To go onto the next page press the red button marked Seguinte.
· The next page gives you several more options this is the type of card you want to purchase. Again I feel this does not need too much explanation, does it? After making your choice; hit the red button.
· The last page is the total you are going to be charged. At the bottom of the page you can choose between Visa and Master card. To the right you have to fill out the section “Data de Início da Viagem:” This means date of travel. Below the calendar is a small tick box. Devolução do saldo remanescente This means that you want any outstanding money from your card returned to your choice of payment. However expect the Portuguese and or your CC to make charges for this. The section below this is a ticked box stating you agree to the terms and conditions. Links are given to these terms too. Once filled in hit the Confirmar red button.
· This brings up a small window asking if you want to confirm if you want to proceed with the payment. Sim is Yes.
· This brings us up to the payment section; fill out your card details. I have not gone beyond this page yet as I do not presently intend on travelling to Portugal.


As described before there are several other ways of making payments. Call in at any Portuguese Post Office or a service station along the highway. Just ensure you have made a payment before you pass a overhead gantry. When making a payment do not forget to take a note of your vehicles registration and country of registration when leaving the car. This information will be required when filling out the forms before payment.

Latest update on the news about the tolls.
Link here.

In the first 2.5 months of operation they managed to collect a 45millon€. The Portuguese government thinks that they can collect around an extra 330millon€ per year.
To help reach this target the following roads will be added to the system on the 15th April 2011.
Viseu - Chaves.
Guarda-Torres Novas.
Aveiro-Vilar Formoso.
And a road known as Via do Infante, which is in the Algarve.
So far around 225000 electronic units have been sold.

Here is an interesting statement:
55000 fines have so far been issued. These are only Portuguese drivers.
So far no Galician has been fined. Why? Because it seems the gantries, contra to original statements cannot read registration plates of cars from non-Portuguese cars. However if this information is public knowledge, then no doubt the Police sooner or later will be looking that bit harder at non-Portuguese cars. It brings up the question; is it worth the risk?
The Portuguese government did promise to inform the citizens of Galicia on how to pay the tolls, but never happened. Hence my only source of information has been our local newspaper. The method of payment via the Portuguese Post Office website is still tortuous. I will post a small update on the procedure as the PO website has changed. You still cannot purchase your toll ticket at any Spanish Post Office.

The Galician government is again protesting about these tolls mainly because of economic reasons.

Slightly revised information on how to pay the electronic tolls in Portugal.



· Go the website of the Portuguese Post office: The English version for payments still does not work.
· Hit the link for Correio. This opens up a new page. In the left column click “Correio Digital."
· Click Outros Serviço Estaçao Correio
· Click Pagamento Portagens.
· Click Matríula Estrangeira.
· In the sentence “Adquira aqui o seu pré-pago para veículo de matrícula estrangeira.” Click aqui. This looks the same as the rest of the font as if they wish to hide the link.
· In the sentence “Se ainda não está registado clique aqui” again hit the word aqui.
· Fill out the data. I feel this is self explanatory but if need be I can give some translations. Fill out all the starred sections.
· Fill out only one block. At the bottom of the three blocks you will see a red button “Copiar Dados Pessoais. Hitting this will fill out the last two block from data provided in the first one.
· Ignore the other tags along the top of this form.
· It states it send you an email. However I have never received one. When you log in again (on this page). I have been thrown out of the website. Persist and you will get through, especially if you go right from the start on the of these instructions.
· Once you are in you will be asked for some more details. Again these should be easily to understand but if you cannot let me know please.
· At this point you will need to know your vehicles registration. So you cannot order these prepayments before you pick up your hire car. Note, at the time of writing, the second tab at the top of this form does not work. To go onto the next page press the red button marked Seguinte.
· The next page gives you several more options this is the type of card you want to purchase. Again I feel this does not need too much explanation, does it? After making your choice; hit the red button.
· The last page is the total you are going to be charged. At the bottom of the page you can choose between Visa and Master card. To the right you have to fill out the section “Data de Início da Viagem:” This means date of travel. Below the calendar is a small tick box. Devolução do saldo remanescente This means that you want any outstanding money from your card returned to your choice of payment. However expect the Portuguese and or your CC to make charges for this. The section below this is a ticked box stating you agree to the terms and conditions. Links are given to these terms too. Once filled in hit the Confirmar red button.
· This brings up a small window asking if you want to confirm if you want to proceed with the payment. Sim is Yes.
· This brings us up to the payment section; fill out your card details. I have not gone beyond this page yet as I do not presently intend on travelling to Portugal.


As described before there are several other ways of making payments. Call in at any Portuguese Post Office or a service station along the highway. Just ensure you have made a payment before you pass a overhead gantry. When making a payment do not forget to take a note of your vehicles registration and country of registration when leaving the car. This information will be required when filling out the forms before payment.

From this link.

The local newspaper says the situation still has not changed. So it is hard to us who live in Spain to purchase the equipment.
Most of the article concerns anyone who regularly travels over the boarder. It is the near to last couple of sentences that will be of interest you the tourist.
If you do manage to navigate your way through the complex of links on the Portuguese P.O. website.

A rough translation is;
If you pay via Portuguese P.O. site (ctt.pt). You must have some knowledge of the designation of roads and sections intended to be used. In addition to this the commission added to the payment almost doubles the cost of total bill. For example; a toll of 1.70€ plus commission added by the P.O. almost doubles the amount of the total of the bill. The total is 2.94€ The information bout the commission payments is not given at the start of the purchase

If this article is true, then it is sad news.

The tourism association say that overnight stays in North Portugal have dropped by 18%. They say that this drop in visitors is down to the new road tolls. The article does not say how they prove this.

Spanish newspaper article.

Hopefully that will help the officials figure out a way to make this toll road stuff a bit easier for travelers to figure out.

The latest update about the tolls is that various bodies are getting together to pile up pressure on the Portuguese government to change the way non-Portuguese drivers pay the tolls. All groups agree it is harming trade. There is still talk about rising this matter with the EU as it is seen as an unworkable system that punishes free trade between member countries. It is said that the EU (Brussels) is not very content with the justification of the introduction of the tolls.

Form the 15th April 2011 new tolls will be introduced to Northern Portugal.
The roads affected are a section of highway A28 added so that the tolls are nearer the border with Spain/Galicia.
The A25 between Aveiro in Portugal and the border with Spain/Castilla y Leon. The others talked about are located more to the mid and southern areas of Portugal The A28 and the A22 in the Algarve. I have read on other forums that there are going to be roadblocks to protest about the introduction of the tolls on the Algarve route in the coming weeks.
Article 1
Article 2

The story goes on!
Here is the latest bit of news (in Spanish).
Toll road news 31st March 2011
Brief translation:
The method of paying on line at the Portuguese PO website is complicated and basically unworkable; (Read above). So now the government of PT has made it easier to purchase “tickets”
Now tolls can be purchased unlimited travel for 3 days. These tickets can be purchased at Post offices; AMTs which have a “Payshop” service or hire the electronic apparatus.
The article goes on to say that trying to incorporate and payment system in Spain may not be possible at the moment due to the political crisis in PT. This same crisis is also to blame for the lack of response (by PT) to the questions raised by the EU over this matter.
So the situation has not changed much, despite some peoples hopes. Apparently there are rolling blockages in the Algarve in protest about the tolls. But these only last an hour or so so they should not presently present too much of a problem.

Thanks for keeping us posted on this.

Brief résumés of the following links provided.
Policitcal problems
The resignation of the Portuguese Prime Minister, Jose Sócrates, might free to more than the half of Portugal of having to pay new automatic tolls. There legal doubts as to whether the government’s present/provisional situation can approve the necessary decrees to (implement) the automatic tolls in the highways serving the areas around Algarve, Beira and (in the north) the A-24 that joins with Chaves with the Spanish frontier.
The Portuguese cabinet thinks that to apply on April 15 the automatic tolls to four affected highways would be necessary use their legislative powers, task for the one but there are questions if the government of Portugal is fully functioning.
In the north of Portugal some businesses are thinking about giving incentives to try to encourage the Galicians to return to visit the region like they it were doing before the launch of the tolls.

Spanish do not pay tolls!
It seems the Spanish do not pay the tolls!
They simply ignore the signs and do not purchase the electronic devise.
It is not said how they looked at all the Spanish cars but they do state that not one of them seen on the A28. Despite this there is no evidence that a Spanish driver has been fined for non-payment of these tolls.

More protests from Spain
The Galician government (Xunta de Galicia) issued a new protests against the tolls yesterday stating that this system inconveniences individuals and entrepreneurs crossing to operate in Portugal.
The Regional Minister of Galicia, Alfonso Rueda, called on Portugal to find away to permit Galician drivers to comply with the obligation to pay the toll, when driven on the highways of northern Portugal.

The article goes on to states that since the Portuguese government introduced a toll on their highways trade between Galicia and Portugal have been reduced by 18%.
The Confederation of Employers of Galicia (CEG) participated in a meeting with the CECEL de Castilla y León, and the ASP of northern Portugal have all met and also expressed their frustration against a system that they say slows economic exchange.
The CEG is still awaiting an outcome from the complaint issued to the EU about these tolls.
President of the CEG, Antonio Fontenla, who noted that Portugal is "fearful" that the European Union to outlaw tolls.


In these articles is a lot of waffle and news that is not so interesting for the vacationer. I have not translated these sections.
I do find it interesting that no Spanish driver has been fined for non payment. This goes against the initial warnings that there will be extra police patrolling the highways. Would I risk it? Not with my luck as I would be famous to the first Spanish driver fined

Since the introduction of the tolls in North Portugal we have not had a guest who has arrived with a Portuguese hire car. I have always wanted to know what the companies are doing about these tolls.
Now I can post an answer. Guests flew into Oporto picked up a hire car from Hertz. No information about the new tolls and no electronic devise.

Because of the current economic crisis in Portugal and the collapse of the government most newspapers are reporting that the completion electronic toll roads in the south of Portugal have been put on hold: Well at least until the new government is installed. Voting takes place in June 2011.
The electronic tolls in the Northern part of the country will still operate.
Most, if not all of the infrastructure for the tolls on the southern roads has been installed. The only thing missing is the legislation. So no government no legislation.

The tolls were not introduced in the south of Portugal. Maybe after the elections is a time period still being touted.
This article suggests that the overhead readers cannot recognise non-Portuguese registration plates. It also goes on to give facts about who pays the tolls and who does not. There is also a bit that says there are no extra police patrols catching the lawbreakers. (This was something heavily published when the tolls were introduced). The gantries in the south of the country are being vandalised.
I this is a link to Fodors and a piece written by someone whom I know and have regular contact with. So this also confirms what I have learnt from guests. Car hire companies are just not informing their customers.

It has been a while since I updated this, mainly because there has been nothing to report.
However HERE is the latest article from “my” local newspaper.
No fines are being issued to drivers of cars not registered in Portugal. The cameras cannot read them, plus it is assumed that the Portuguese government is afraid of a ruling from the EU. The proposed toll roads in the southern half of the country still have not been implemented.

Hello Ribeirasacra.....we just returned from Portugal and drove from Lisbon to Torres Novas and were still able to use the manned tollbooths.

Is this likely to change anytime soon?

Thanks.

Hello Jorge,
There are no updates at the moment I have read a lot on the Internet about rumours as to when the date of inauguration of this toll system for the southern half of Portugal will be. Once this date has been officially confirmed I will post something here.

The route you took was along an existing tolled road. These have manned booths, even in the North of Portugal. The electronic toll collections are to be (or have been) installed on highways which were previously free to use.

Regarding the question earlier on toll roads here in Portugal. Tolls will be charged on previously free motorways (or so-called SCUT motorways) by no later than mid-September this year, (2011), and some are already starting up.

Also, news this week that British Airways is going to make an offer to buy TAP Air Portugal as “the deal of a lifetime”. Over the first seven months of this year TAP registered record passenger growth of 11.6.

Lets hope that merger will bring a better variety of cheap flights to Portugal... if only fuel prices could do the same.

Antonio

A warm welcome to the forum António.
When you have more news about this airline merger than keep all of us updated in this section. Airfares & Airlines. I am sure it will raise an interesting conversation.

After a government meeting it has been agreed that the tolling go of the A22 (Via do Infant) in the south of Portugal will also go a head.
The following article states that the tolls will be installed before the end of 2011.
This article (in Spanish) goes on to say that the method of payment is going to be looked into. The present method is far too difficult (no kidding).
The last paragraph states that the tolls in the North of Portugal have affected the traffic over the recently (nearly one year ago) tolled roads, the measurement for tourism has not been measured.

It seems that the “free” ride for Spanish registered cars is over.
The National Republican Guard (GNR) –Police- will be stopping cars and check with “base” to see if the cameras have picked up the registration along the road network. If so you will have to pay all of the tolls due plus a fine. The fines will have to be paid on the spot.

Article in Spanish

Update on the implantation for the Scut/Portagen tolls in the south.
Articles from the south of the peninsular.
The Via do Infante is better known as the A22 (less common name is Via Infante de Sagre). However there are some other highways which are due to be tolled at the same time. These are nearer Lisbon.
Spanish one

It talks about an article in a Portuguese press saying the tolls are to be put into operation on the 15 October 2011. There are also reports of planed protests. One date mentioned for this is the 8th October 2011.

And Portuguese one.

This just states that the proposed start date for tolling the roads in the south of Potugal is 15 October. The exact date (to one year) of the implementation of the tolls in the North of the country.

Here you can see a good photo of the cameras that capture images of the registration plates.

From the same newspaper I have found this photos which show what the overheard gantries, for the cameras, look like. There are a number of them, plus there are no toll booths.

Sorry, Mikewgarden, it's not illegal. At the airport, before you leave it, there's a post office where you can buy the electronic device to use during your stay . The car companies have to inform their costumers about that, unfortunatly Sixt didn't do it.

Hi mike and welcome to The Slow Travel forum.
The tolls are not illegal.
If you read everything I have written, it seems that even the EU are unwilling to take any action on this matter. Neither are the car hire companies willing to give you information about the tolls.
Whist I can see you have paid a toll of under 1€ I do not understand why you ended up paying £22.Was there any explanation of these extras?
You might like to know that the flights from Vigo to London operate only during the summer.

After many false starts it has been announced that as from the 8th of December 2011 tolls will be charged on the A22, A23, A24 and A25. This is in addition to the tolls roads already established and written about above.
There are some toll concessions available only residence of Portugal and will not affect the holidaymaker.

Cost of the new section of tolled roads, in Spanish.
Newspaper article
Remeber these can change at any time, so if you read this anytime after 2011 please check with the Portugese website if any increases have occured.

This forum will not allow be to move the post, so I deleted it and copied it here

64novpt posted under a separate heading the following information:

quote:

Info here http://www.estradas.pt/portagensestrangeiros
And the latestes news:
"Estradas de Portugal (EP) provides, as of today, electronic kiosks for acquisition of pre-paid option without electronic device for vehicles registered abroad, installed in three locations near the border with Spain. These kiosks, installed at Vila Nova de Cerveira, Vilar Formoso and Vila Real de Santo António, "are already in operation 24 hours a day" and are "clearly identified"."

I have moved it to this thread so we can all find the information in one area.

This is good information. However I feel we need to know how travellers can make payments? I would assume with credit cards. Is there a link to a web page?
The only information I can find is unfortunately contrary to this good news. It says that some Galicians still find it impossible to make make payments.
News in Spanish