The number of vehicles in Madeira has increased dramatically over the past 25 years, rising from 84,057 in 2000 to 206,588 in 2025, an increase of 145.77%.
In Funchal, the number rose by 89.53%, from 46,262 to 87,681 during the same period.
The figures, provided by the Portuguese Insurance and Pension Funds Supervisory Authority, form part of the exhibition Mobility in Funchal: The Path to Sustainability!, which opened at Funchal City Hall on Wednesday as part of European Mobility Week.
Two-wheeled vehicles recorded the largest proportional increase in Funchal. There were 3,184 insured motorcycles and similar vehicles in 2000, compared with 10,736 in 2025.
Over the same period, the number of light vehicles rose from 44,441 to 73,985, while heavy vehicles increased from 1,309 to 1,719. Vehicles in other categories rose from 328 to 1,241.
Road accidents also increased considerably. Across Madeira, the annual number rose from 1,525 in 2000 to 4,125 in 2025. In Funchal, it increased from 770 to 1,471.
During those 25 years, Funchal recorded 18,923 accidents, resulting in 79 deaths, 514 serious injuries and 7,358 minor injuries. Light vehicles were involved in 79% of accidents recorded in the municipality last year. However, the exhibition also highlights measures introduced by Funchal City Council to improve road safety.
The capital now has 89 raised pedestrian crossings and 55 speed humps designed to reduce vehicle speeds and prevent accidents. Between 2024 and 2025, the number of accidents in Funchal fell by 3.86%, despite an increase across the Region as a whole.
Other measures include accessibility improvements, the creation of shared spaces in which pedestrians have priority and the installation of bollards along approximately 20 central streets to discourage illegal parking.
The exhibition also highlights the growing number of electric vehicles, the modernisation of traffic lights and improvements to bus lanes and terminals.
Funchal City Council is now preparing a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan intended to guide the reorganisation of transport and public space throughout the municipality.
Mayor Jorge Carvalho said the exhibition clearly demonstrated both the scale of the challenge and the work already undertaken by the council.
“The figures help us understand the challenge we face. This pressure on public space is real and forces us to act, and we have acted,” he said.
The new mobility plan will examine how people move around the city and help the council establish short-, medium- and long-term policies.
Carvalho expects the public tender for the plan to be completed by the end of the year, after which studies will begin covering pedestrian movement, public transport, private vehicles, loading and unloading operations and other forms of mobility. The aim is to create an integrated picture of mobility throughout Funchal and provide reliable evidence upon which future decisions can be based.
Although the council may introduce smaller adjustments before the study is completed, Carvalho said its broader strategy would depend upon the findings. The future of Funchal’s cycle lane will also be considered and could involve extending the existing route, retaining it in its present form or introducing alternatives.
This year’s European Mobility Week theme is “Mobility for Everyone,” with a particular emphasis on fairness between generations.
“It says a great deal about how we want to approach mobility: creating a city that works for everyone, from children to older people, from those who drive to those who walk, and from public transport passengers to those who travel by bicycle,” Carvalho said.
The European Mobility Week programme continues until the 22nd of September.
Sunday’s events include the Mobi Open Day on Avenida do Mar e das Comunidades Madeirenses and in Praça do Povo, with activities for all ages.
A conference entitled The Future of Urban Mobility in Funchal: Which Way Next? will take place in the Municipal Assembly Room at 09:15 on Tuesday. Speakers will include Carlos Carvalho, President of Transportes Metropolitanos de Lisboa, and Sílvia Amaral, a director of the electric mobility network operator Mobi.E.
Please note the figures are subjective, and there may have been a typographical error in one of the original reports.
Samantha Ganon
info at madeira-weekly.com
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