According to the Mobility and Transport Authority official, any changes to toll payments will negatively impact the public treasury. This discussion was held at the Parliamentary Committee on Economy in Portugal.
Changes In Toll Payments
Carina Oliveira, a member of the Board of Directors of Mobility and Transport Authority (AMT), has laid out her views about the changes in toll payments. She believes that unilateral changes to the SCUT concession contracts will have a negative impact on the treasury. The public will raise their voices upon any increment on the toll payments on roads. Carina stated:
Nobody likes paying tolls. Whenever a contract with the State is changed unilaterally, things don’t go well for the public purse.
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Carina has also been the former deputy of the parliamentary committee. She gave her views regarding toll payments at the parliamentary committee on Economy, Public Works and Housing. She was greatly recommended by the Recruitment and Selection Committee for Public Administration (CReSAP). This is why the former deputy was then appointed as the member of the AMT board of directors by the Government of Portugal.
Parliament Hearing For Changes In Toll Payments
A meeting was held at the parliamentary committee on Economy, Public Works, and Housing. During this meeting, the agenda for toll road payments was discussed, including how they can impact the public treasury. Marco Claudino, the deputy of the Social Democratic Party, raised a question about his position regarding the end of toll payments within the ex-SCUT.
The proposal for the abolishment of road payments after 1 January by the PS party in the interior side of the country and Via do Infante was already approved in the parliament. During the hearing of the parliament hearing, Ana Paula Vitorino, president of the AMT gave her point of view against the argument. In reply, Carina Oliveira stated that even if we exempt the citizens from payment, there is always some kind of payment for using the roads. Carina stated:
There is always an inherent payment (for usage of roads). The contracts we have on the table may not be desirable, but they have a history, they have a circumstance.
She believes that the regulator should have a vision about what to do. The deputy of the socialist party, José Carlos Barbosa, was also concerned about the toll payments and the impact it had on the public treasury. He stated that the PS party is more concerned about the people rather than the burden on the government.
The deputy of the Chega party, Carlos Barbosa, laid the blame on deputy Marco Claudino, from Torres Vedras. He said that Marco was speaking ‘with his mouth full’ after the allowance of public transport in his area. The latter (Marco Claudino) won the right for public transport in his favor compared with others such as Covilhã or even Guarda.
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