Even with volatile fuel prices and the 4.9% increase implemented on tolls, the average daily traffic on Portuguese motorways in the first nine months of this year exceeded the value recorded in the pre-pandemic period by more than 10%, according to numbers cited by Jornal de Negócios.

It was in April, the month in which Easter was celebrated this year, that the biggest year-on-year increase was seen (more than 14%). But data from the Mobility and Transport Institute (IMT) show that the increases continued throughout the summer: compared to the same months in 2019, July saw an increase in traffic of almost 12%, in August of around 8% and in September surpassed that mark.

The month of August, in particular, had a weighted average of 26,784 vehicles circulating on the highways, being the highest number in an August month since the IMT began publishing data in 2008.

Compared to the same period in 2019, all 15 road concessions analysed recorded growth in daily circulation last August.