Prices of public transport rise 1.5% in 2017 – Diário de Notícias – Lisbon

Information was advanced by the Assistant secretary of State and the Environment

The prices of public transport will have an update of 1.5% in 2017, said the Deputy secretary of State and of the Environment to the Business, ensuring however that “the Portuguese families will pay less through” tax deductions.

José Mendes has ensured that the Government will take forward a package of measures to “smash” the increase.

families will be able to deduct the collection of the IRS an amount equivalent to 100% of the VAT paid on the purchase of passes per month, which is 6%, advances.

The Business, the secretary of State gives the example of a family with three elements that have the pass Navigator, which costs 35 euros a month, they will be able to take a deduction yearly to the collection of IRS of 75 euros, without the necessity of subjection to the condition of the resource.

college students up to 23 years will, from the school year 2017/2018, be able to access a discount of 25% of the value of the monthly pass.

for example, José Mendes said that in a year, this university student will have a discount of 105 euros.

The ruler justifies the application of the discount to all university students with the intention of trying to “bring them into the public transport system”.

“In the should and be, for a family with three elements, the update rate of the passes, the Mariner results in increased only to 18.9 euros, when at the same time the deduction of the collection will mean a benefit of 75 euros. And if you are a college student plus more about 100 euros,” he explains.

José Mendes defended the need to “look for these measures in the set”, stressing that the government “no longer thought of only in a rate increase of 1.5% without think of other measures to make more accessible public transport”.

In 2015 and 2016 there were no increases in public transport.

This year, the increase of 1.5% – the forecast for inflation — “corresponds to a track of the increase in costs of production” refers to the secretary of State to the Business.

The Business advances that the Government intends that the process of updating the tariff in the public transport pass to be made “on the basis of a mechanism for automatic or semi-automatic”.

José Mendes said to the newspaper that the government already has “advanced studies” in this sense, arguing that this process “would create transparency, and would repeal the arbitrariness of the State in the decision of updating the fares.”