A22 Update (Part 17)

As reported last week, the A22 motorway, started to charge tolls on December 8th, yesterday as it happens.
Baring in mind that it has been around 12 months in the planning, the authorities chose to implement the start date on a Bank Holiday, not that anything like that matters to the Portuguese, they have Bank Holidays for anything and yesterday's was for the Immaculate Conception, now there's a story.
Anyhow, no matter, it's a nice way to cheer people up and get them in the festive spirit just before Christmas, especially when a good number of Portuguese may not be celebrating this year as around 15% of the population are unemployed, I understand that it is even higher in the Algarve region.

I just happened to be flying back from the UK on the 8th of December, I needed the motorway to get home, or risk being killed on the notorious EN125, which is the only alternative road.
As previously mentioned, the toll road will not be administered by the usual roll up and pay at the booth style, this stretch of motorway works by each vehicle having an electronic device(a transponder) inside the vehicle and as you pass a check point, your transponder clocks up the toll, You then pay by direct debit or just roll up at the post office and stand in the queue with your transponder for 2 hours and 45 minutes and pay accordingly.
Well, this is how it would work if you could get a transponder, which are not available anywhere, they seem only to have made enough to send one to each post office for you to buy at €27 a time and when you get there, that one has already been sold. Obviously you ask when the next one is coming in and will be greeted by a vacant look, 12 months in the planning doesn't seem to be enough time to put these sort of things together.
So what then, you may well ask, for the Portuguese who do not have a transponder, you can go to the post office, trying another one will not help because the queue's are the same, and you will still stand in a queue for 2hours 45 minutes and pay for the trip which you have just made on the motorway by telling them your vehicle registration number, which then checks with the gizzmo on the motorway, all done by internet, marvellous really.
Waiting time now 3 hours as the internet is down, again.

However, if you drive a foreign registered vehicle and again have no transponder, you could try the same queue, waiting time now 4 hours, because it's old Senhora Costa's turn and she wants to tell the nice lady behind the counter about her chickens that have stopped laying eggs, don't worry, keep cool, your turn will be soon.

Finally you reach the counter and it's now time for the clerk's tea break and she will be back soon. When she returns you will be told by the clerk, "we have not been told how to charge foreign vehicles and no we do not have any transponders, PROXIMA(NEXT)".

And you thought waiting in a NHS hospital was bad.