A few hours before the vote on the proposals on the abolition of tolls on the ex-Scut, as proposed by the left, or the study for a gradual reduction, as the right wants, Chega took a step back from what it proposed and decided to vote in favor of the PS bill so that the use of these roads will no longer be paid for on January 1st of next year. An attitude that earned Ventura the accusation from social democrat Hugo Soares that there is a “collusion” between the two parties and that “Chega wants to govern with the PS from Parliament”.
It is, in practice, a green way towards the end of tolls on the ex-Scut roads. André Ventura announced in Parliament, early this Thursday afternoon, that he will vote in favor of the PS diploma. After the IRS, this is the second case in which Chega’s bench joins the socialists and goes against the will of the PSD and the Government.
The president of Chega states that he tried to reach a compromise with the Government so that a timetable could be defined for the gradual reduction of tolls until their extinction. Apparently, he was unable to reach an agreement for that period. And he decided to change his own draft resolution, the first version of which predicted a phased reduction until the abolition of tolls throughout the country (not just in the former Scut) within six years, to recommend the end of tolls in two years .
Questioned by PÚBLICO about this change of position, André Ventura explained that in conversations with the Government he realized that it did not intend to end tolls and therefore did not want any temporal commitment. Supporting the PSD project, which recommends a phased reduction but does not propose any deadline, would be going against what Chega promised in the electoral campaign, which was to abolish tolls over time, claims the party president.
In the electoral program, Chega committed to “putting an end to the requirement to pay tolls on motorways in the interior of the country, proceeding with the renegotiation of concession contracts”, but did not put forward a timetable. However, in the campaign, the leader of Chega promised to end all tolls in the country during the legislature and estimated that the measure would represent a cost of around one billion euros.
Chega delivered, last week, a draft resolution (without the force of law) in which it recommended that the Government approve a plan to exempt all tolls within six years, starting this year, with a generalized reduction of 15%, prioritizing roads in the interior of the country and the Algarve, with a reduction of 25%. Now, the new version of the diploma talks about a two-year plan for the entire country, but giving priority to the former Scut, providing for a 75% reduction in toll rates in 2024, “with the total exemption from the obligation coming into force payment of toll fees throughout the national territory in 2025”.
The PS bill provides for the elimination of tolls on sections and subsections of ex-Scut from the A4, A13, A22, A23, A24, A25 It is A28 (between Esposende and Antas and between Neiva and Darque) “or where there are no alternative routes that allow quality and safe use”. Socialists want the rule to come into force from January 1st of next year, to avoid any criticism of violation of the law. brake norm.
The PSD and CDS-PP draft resolution proposes that the Government, “with respect for the sustainability of public finances”, make an “ambitious, but gradual and responsible” reduction in toll prices, without mentioning any time limit. The executive must present to Parliament, in a detailed manner, the costs involved in this reduction, and also a study to “establish base values that cover road maintenance costs”.
Social democrats and centrists also ask for toll prices to be reduced in the metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto when they “contribute to congestion in the center of the two cities”
