There have never been so many cars circulating in Portugal as in 2023, registering an 8.2% increase in traffic compared to the previous year. The data are from Institute of Mobility and Transport which confirm a new record and experts believe that the trend will continue.
Although there is no information on all roads in the country, as indicated by the newspaper Público, the IMT used the volume of vehicles on the highways as a reference to assess the situation.
On average, per day, around 22 thousand vehicles were registered on each national highway.
Territorial dispersion and people leaving city centers are some of the reasons for greater car use. For Filipe Moura, engineer, it is important to have a wide range of public transport, but that alone is not enough. There is also a need for a change in behavior.
Filipe Moura considers that, although Portugal is on the right track with regards to investment in the public transport network, the trend towards an increase in the volume of cars is expected to continue in the coming years.
