Motorway toll prices in Portugal will increase by 2.21% next year, reflecting October inflation without housing on the continent, recently confirmed by the National Statistics Institute (). This increase includes an additional 0.1%, resulting from a compensation agreement with concessionaires.
The calculation of tolls is governed by decree-law no. 294/97, which defines the annual inflation rate as a reference, using the most recent value up to November 15th. In 2023, the annual inflation rate without housing, used as a calculation basis, was 2.11%, a value that will result in a greater increase than that seen in previous years.
Compensation agreement with concessionaires
The addition of 0.1% to the increase in tolls is the result of an agreement signed in 2022 between the Government and concessionaires, in response to the impact of annual inflation on the continent, which exceeded 10%. This high increase would lead to a significant adjustment in tolls for users. At that time, the Government, represented by the then Minister of Infrastructure Pedro Nuno Santos, intervened to limit the increase in 2023 to 4.9%. Under the negotiated solution, 4.9% of the increase was paid directly by users, while the State absorbed 2.8% of the impact, with the remainder falling to the concessionaires, whose margin of increase was slowed.
In return, the concessionaires obtained the right to apply, over the following four years, an annual increase of 0.1% to the inflation rate.
History of increases
Last year, tolls had already increased by 2%, corresponding to an inflation rate of 1.94% in October 2023, to which the same 0.1% provided for in the compensation agreement was added. In 2022, the increase was 1.83%. In 2020 and 2021, toll prices remained unchanged, as inflation was at negative levels, not justifying changes in motorway prices.
Impact and predictions
The increase for 2025 reinforces the impact of inflation on transport fares, directly affecting regular highway users. The update also aims to maintain the balance between the cost to the user and the sustainability of the concession contracts in force, while the country progressively recovers from the economic effects of the pandemic and adjusts prices to the new inflationary context.
This annual adjustment of tolls highlights the direct link between the consumer price index and road tariffs, in a context of constant adaptation and negotiation between the private sector and the Government to maintain an accessible and efficient infrastructure for mobility in the country.
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