Porto, July 22, 2024 (Lusa) - Porto will limit the circulation of ‘tuk-tuks’ and tour buses in the historic centre, also limiting double-decker hop on-hop off buses and ending the circulation of the tourist train in 2026, the mayor announced on Monday.
‘There will be an area of the city where, given the pressure that exists today, the municipality, in the exercise of its competences, understands that there are a certain number of tourist vehicles that should not operate,’ Rui Moreira told journalists today after a private meeting of the municipal government.
At stake is a pilot project that aims to restrict the circulation of various tourist vehicles in Porto's historic centre, by limiting tuk-tuk operators and tourist excursion buses.
The project will also limit the circulation of double-decker tour buses to two licensed companies, as well as not renewing tourist train licences, which in this case only expire in March 2026.
The restriction zone in question will be between Rua de Gonçalo Cristóvão and the Ribeira Tunnel, with demarcations between Rua dos Bragas, Rua de Cedofeita, Rua da Restauração and Rua Bandeirinha, as well as Rua da Alegria and Rua de Fernandes Tomás.
The municipality estimates there are currently more than 100 tuk-tuks in the city, although it doesn't have exact control over their traffic. However, the historic centre should see a reduction of more than half since the service will only be licensed to five companies, with eight vehicles each (40 in total) that must be electric, the mayor's deputy André Brochado explained to journalists.
Rui Moreira believes that after the metro works and the construction of the Pink Line (São Bento - Casa da Música) and Ruby Line (Santo Ovídio - Casa da Música) there will be a reduction in the use of individual transport in the city.
‘If we don't create a buffer here, this empty space will be occupied by commercial tourist operations, as we already see today,’ explained the independent mayor, considering that “this is a good time to take restrictive measures in anticipation of the end of the metro works”.
Rui Moreira aids ‘it's a little incomprehensible to citizens that the city of Porto and the Portuguese state are making heavy investments in terms of decarbonisation, clean transport, terms electric buses, the metro, and at the same time, are going to allow highly polluting vehicles to continue to invade Porto’.
‘Let's be clear: we're no longer going to see tourist buses unloading passengers in Campo dos Mártires da Pátria, for example. Or here on Avenida dos Aliados,’ he told journalists at Porto City Hall.
Tourist excursion buses could park in the Alfândega, Asprela or Camélias car parks, each with a pre-defined and regulated route to get there, according to a presentation made by the deputy mayor at the meeting.
According to the presentation, the City Council hopes to start implementing the restrictions by the end of August. It will also hold a dialogue with the sector's agents and implement' a transitional period to assess the effectiveness of the measure and the need to implement complementary measures’.
A dedicated Municipal Police team will also be set up to oversee the implementation of the dedicated zone.
JE/ADB // ADB.
Lusa