The study analysed data collected in November and December in Braga, Porto, Aveiro, Coimbra, Lisbon and Setúbal.
“Many Portuguese continue to need major financial gymnastics each month to pay their expenses arising from transport, whether public or private,” Deco’s Bruno Santos told Lusa News Agency. “It remains one of the expenses that weighs heaviest for families.”
Whereas nationally, the average monthly expenditure on transport was €70, in Lisbon the figure is much higher, with one third of those surveyed quoting a figure of more than €100.
The study showed that most people continue mostly to use a private vehicle to get around, because public transport does not meet their needs. Still, they often face problems finding a parking spot.
“A considerable number of drivers who responded to us take more than 15 minutes at least once a week to find a place without having to put coins” into the meter, states the Deco study, which also says that 20 percent of those questioned “feel that their monthly income constrains their choice of transport.”
As for traffic jams, in Lisbon 64 percent and in Porto 63 percent of those questioned said they face these at least once a week.
At least once a week, 63 percent of people walk more than 500 metres on foot, the study found. By contrast, the use of bicycles was minimal, despite a major expansion in bike lanes in many cities in recent years.
The minimum salary in Portugal is €580, albeit paid 14 times a year rather than 12.