According to a source from the Entre Douro e Vouga Local Health Unit (ULS EDV), which is based in the aforementioned hospital in the Aveiro district, the date for activating the measure has not yet been defined, but one of the dates put forward as likely is this Thursday.

What is certain is that the charge will affect the “more than 180 spaces” available for vehicles belonging to the general public, who will now park in an area closer to the hospital’s main entrance.

“The new system aims to respond to mobility challenges that, in recent years, have resulted in increased pressure on parking spaces at the hospital, and seeks to ensure that parking spaces are used exclusively by patients and companions”, says the ULS administration.

When asked about the price to be charged for parking, a source at the hospital did not say, but a visit to the location already shows on the signage that the first quarter of an hour will be free – thinking about drivers who go to the location just to drop off a user – and that, from then on, each new fraction of 15 minutes will cost 30 cents – for a total of €1.20 per hour.

There is still a reserved parking area for hospital employees, but this is generally recognised as insufficient, especially during day shifts, so some staff will also have to use the paid area – without the aforementioned hospital source indicating whether these workers will benefit from a different price compared to other users.

Highlighting that São Sebastião “was one of the last hospitals in the country to have free parking for several years”, the management of ULS EDV announced that it will take over management of the new system itself, which will operate continuously for 24 hours, 365 days a year, with barriers to control vehicle access and “video surveillance cameras to increase the security of people and property”.

Regarding the revenue generated by the new measure, ULS's commitment is that it will be “reinvested in the hospital, contributing to the continuous evolution of the health services offered” by this unit.

Identical measures have not yet been announced for the hospitals of São João da Madeira, Oliveira de Azeméis and Ovar, which are also part of the ULS EDV, but the administration informs that, within the scope of its new mobility strategy, for the Fair “an improvement in the parking capacity for bicycles and vehicles transporting people with disabilities is also planned”, when these vehicles carry a card or legal sticker for this purpose.