After so many years the Algarve’s transport sector is still poor”, said José Martins de Oliveira, director of AREAL, during an international conference about ‘Renewable Energy and Sustainable Tourism’, which took place this week at the Santa Eulália Hotel, Albufeira.

According to AREAL’s director, “The Algarve has all the conditions necessary to be a pilot region and carry out a practice for the use of electric cars, using charging stations”, which he believes in the future could help the region save energy as well as attract a new niche of tourists.

During the conference José Martins de Oliveira highlighted the fact that the Algarve’s expenditure on fuel is higher than the European average mainly because there are no public transport alternatives to the car.

To counter the use of private vehicles, José Oliveira challenged the region’s 16 regional authorities to unite in the construction of a network of electrical chargers.

The Mayor of Monchique, Rui André, has already expressed his enthusiasm for the proposal, though stressed the implementation of the network “must be gradual”.

Car Hire in Algarve