25 de Abril Bridge - Tolls

Tolls

The bridge was projected to have paid all debt in 20 years, and to become toll-free (or reduced toll) after that period. However the Government kept charging tolls well beyond the 20 year period, until it gave the concession to Lusoponte, creating a monopoly of the Tagus crossing in Lisbon. As such, the bridge has always required a toll, first in both directions and from 1993 northbound only, with the toll plaza situated on the south bank of the Tagus river. The tolls have become a source of political dispute in recent years.

When opened, one had to park their car and walk to buy the toll ticket costing 20 escudos. On 14 June 1994, the Government, which ran the bridge at the time, raised the toll by 50% (100 to 150 escudos), to prepare to give the bridge into private concession for 40 years from 1 January 1996. The concessionaire was Lusoponte, a private consortium formed to build the Vasco da Gama Bridge at zero-cost to the public finances in exchange for tolls from both bridges. As a result, a popular uprising led to road blockades of the bridge and consequent police charges, an event which made the then right-wing Government highly unpopular and which many believe led to a centre-left win in the 1995 general elections. The toll is set at €1.55 for passenger cars, northbound (into Lisbon). There is no toll southbound and, until 2010, no tolls were collected during the month of August. From 2011 on, the Portuguese Government abolished this exception and ordered tolls to be charged also during this month, in order to help the efforts to reduce the budget deficit.