Road sector

This chapter focuses on the road transport sector in Portugal, the most frequently used means of transportation. The chapter proposes regulatory changes and policy reforms to foster competition. Whilst most of the legislation is convened at the EU level, there are unjustified national barriers to competition. Among these are minimum capital requirements imposed on passenger and freight operators to start a business and licensing for freight operators operating solely with light trucks. Even though secondary legislation is pending to promote liberalisation, long-distance buses are still heavily regulated in terms of entry and price restrictions, and competition amongst taxis is hampered by quantitative and fare regulations. With respect to ancillary services, geographical barriers were identified in driving schools and vehicle inspection centres, in addition to price regulation in the latter. Lifting the identified barriers would increase consumer benefits up to EUR 201.42 million a year with gains for companies from reinvesting one-off savings of up to EUR 27.26 million.