Motorway Lisbon-Algarve receives charging stations for electric cars – publico

 
         

                 

                         
                     

                 

 
 

The first four rapid charging stations for electric vehicles were assembled on Monday on the highway Lisbon-Algarve, in Palmela, Alcacer, Aljustrel and Loulé. The option to begin the distribution of equipment for access to the south has a character “symbolic” because it is the area most in demand this time of year. The Assistant Secretary of State for the Environment, Jose Mestre, said that the 50 machines that will be installed on the main roads and cities cost 1.8 million euros.

In the last two weeks, Joseph Mendes has traveled the country to sign with municipalities and intermunicipal Communities letters of “commitment” to decentralize powers in the field of transport management. On Monday it was the turn of the Intermunicipal Community of the Algarve – Amal declare its “full readiness” to take over as Regional Authority of Sustainable Urban Mobility. “The region has decades of disarticulation – each speaking in turn,” acknowledged the President of Amal, Jorge Botelho, highlighting the importance of this initiative which brings together about three dozen entities. The future transport plan, managed by Amal, may mean paying more taxes, to be launched by the local authorities. The law, said the secretary of state, “lets you apply fees” to finance the project. In the initial phase, the government has provided a ‘transitional funding “for hiring technicians. The eventual transition to a “definitive” background, he said, will only take place if negotiations for the State Budget for 2017 are successful.

The minister placed special emphasis on the use of electric transport, recalling that cities are responsible for 70%, the emission of gases that cause the greenhouse effect. The decarbonisation of the Algarve, said Botelho, makes sense “but not home to oil exploration,” he said. In what concerns the mobility cycling, Portugal has less than 1% of users of the bicycle whereas the European average walking by 7%. “Rather than creating infrastructure, we have to change attitudes,” he said. The transfer of government powers to the Intermunicipal Communities in the area of ​​sustainable mobility, involving a financial package of three million euros. However, said José Mendes, the Institute for Mobility and Transport (IMT) will not be extinguished. “It can not and must not leave the scene,” said the official, stressing the role of “cooperation” that the Institute could play in supporting municipalities. In the case of the Algarve, the plan involves, initially, only the road intercity transport. However, in the area of ​​public transport, one of the biggest gaps is the lack of understanding between the highway and the railway so there is a real network at regional level. For example: Arriving by train at the CP station in Loulé / Quarteira, the only alternative to travel to the neighboring towns is by taxi. Who arrive at the airport and want to go to Vilamoura, public transport, is liable to take over two hours to cover 15 kilometers.