IC19 and VCI lead, Lisbon and Porto break traffic records

There is greater demand for musical transport but, at the same time, the number of cars on motorways has reached a new high.

118 thousand vehicles per day in the city alone IC19, which connects Lisbon to Sintra. 96 thousand vehicles per day in the VCI, which passes through Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia.

These are the updated numbers of the two busiest roads (IC19 is not a highway, officially) in the country. They relate to the first nine months of 2024.

Data from the Mobility and Transport Institute, cited in , show that there was plus 5% of vehicles traveling on motorways between January and September, compared to the same period in 2023.

A average on motorways is the highest since 2009: there were practically 23 thousand vehicles per day.

The trend has almost always been growth. It just wasn’t during the troika and during the strongest periods of the pandemic.

Now there are records again, especially in access to Lisbon and Porto, despite being at a stage where there are more passengers on public transport.

But at the same time, the number of cars on the highways reached a new peak.

As? Most likely because the teleworking is over for thousands of Portuguese, or fully, or partially. And because the economy, employment and even tourism are growing.

Furthermore, the public transport does not reach everywhere, they are not suitable for everyone; or, when they arrive at their intended destination, they are already overloaded and the worker prefers his own vehicle.

Returning to motorway numbers, interestingly the pioneer A1, between Lisbon and Porto, it is not even one of the busiest: 43 thousand vehicles per day.

The highways that have fewer cars per day are: A13-1 (Condeixa-a-Nova to Almalaguês), A24 (Viseu a Chaves) and A15 (Santarém to Caldas da Rainha).