Mayors in the Algarve have officially approved a proposal to set a €40 price ceiling to the Algarve’s bus and train passes.
The proposal had already received a thumbs-up at a meeting of the Algarve municipalities’ association (AMAL) but was only officially approved on Friday, April 18.
Says AMAL, the passes will cost between €14 and €40 starting May 1, representing an 80% decrease on the current tariffs.
“It is an important step to ensure public transport provision in the Algarve is strengthened and the number of vehicles travelling on public roads reduced,” said AMAL boss Jorge Botelho, adding that the move is also expected to have a positive environmental impact.
As he told Lusa news agency, “if more people are using public transport, positive pressure will be created so that buses and trains can be improved in the region”.
Whether this will actually happen remains to be seen. For now, the Algarve’s public transportation networks usually make headlines for the wrong reasons. Last year, there were reports of over 1,000 cancelled trains. Passengers were often left stranded and there were little to no alternatives for those whose train was cancelled.
The proposal to set a price ceiling in the Algarve had been presented by the Algarve’s PSD mayors to ensure that regional citizens did not pay more than those in Lisbon and Porto, where a €40 tariff ceiling had already been implemented.
The price reduction will be compensated with money from the Environmental Fund (Fundo Ambiental).
Botelho also revealed that AMAL is working on a sustainable urban mobility project called ‘Vamus’, which aims to make both public and private transportation “more efficient, inclusive and environmentally-friendly”.
Photo by: BRUNO FILIPE PIRES/OPEN MEDIA GROUP
