Porto, Portugal, Oct. 28, 2024 (Lusa) - Porto city council on Monday cancelled a scheduled meeting with the Road Association of Heavy Passenger Transporters (ARP), citing a lack of conditions "for a sensible dialogue", which left the association "taken by surprise".

"The municipality considers that the conditions for a sensible dialogue have not been met, given the statements made recently by ARP which, in addition to being sectarian, insist on channelling more than 400 buses a day into the city centre," can be read in a statement sent to newsrooms today by Porto city council.

At issue was a meeting to discuss the limitation of tourist vehicles in the city centre, implemented since October 1st, which had been scheduled since last week.

Contacted by Lusa, the president of ARP, Rui Pinto Lopes, said that the association was "taken by surprise" by the cancellation this morning, saying that "ARP has not been given any justification", and referred to a more complete position for later.

On the sidelines of today's city council meeting, Ricardo Valente, Porto's councillor for the Economy, said that "you can't negotiate on the basis of a hijacking".

"When we have an association that says it wants to hijack and paralyse the city, we're facing a question of hijacking and, therefore, it's very difficult to negotiate with someone who wants to hijack the city," he said.

The decision to cancel the meeting was announced to the councillors at the private executive meeting, with the mayor, Rui Moreira, taking the view that "the minimum conditions for holding the meeting are not met".

For the mayor, "the Municipality of Porto does not accept threats" and "there have been no minimum conditions of lucidity, wisdom and respect for the common interest on the part of those responsible for the ARP".

In the communiqué justifying the decision, Porto city council "repudiates the recent statements made by the Heavy Road Transport Association", considering that the latter claimed "in a frivolous manner that instead of Porto city council limiting tourist buses' access to the city centre, it should limit the private vehicles of Porto residents, as well as those who travel to the city to work".

At issue are statements made to the Jornal de Notícias (JN) and Público newspapers by Rui Pinto Lopes.

The Porto city council, expressing its "astonishment", quotes statements made by the president of ARP to JN on 25 October, in which Rui Pinto Lopes states that "the problem is not with the buses, traffic is chaotic because of private vehicles".

In today's statement, the municipality also quotes statements made by the association's leader on 22 October to the newspaper Público, stating that "the operators of both buses and tuk-tuks, if nothing is done, are preparing to block the city", despite Rui Pinto Lopes stating that the action was not being planned by the ARP.

The quote from the 22nd is included in today's statement from Porto city council, but on the same day the mayor made statements to Público, and the following day the council's official website published a note confirming the meeting, stating that the council was "willing to listen to operators about limiting the circulation of tourist vehicles", also quoting the mayor's statements to JN.

Today, the Porto city council categorises the statements as "a set of positions by the ARP that reveal a clear disrespect for the public space and its essential functions, which are governed by the public interest and not by private interests, as is the case here".

Today, the municipality reaffirms "its commitment to ensuring that the public space continues to be managed in a rigorous, transparent and responsible manner, always seeking the well-being and quality of life of its inhabitants".

"This attempt to take over the roads in the city of Porto, as if they were the exclusive property of private operators, will always be unacceptable", and the council believes that the "significant increase in demand for tourist vehicles (...) has led to a generalised and intolerable disregard for the established rules on stopping and circulation".

For the municipality, "the change to traffic signs promoted by the municipality on 1 October 2024 is a strategic measure for the management of public space".

SPC/AYLS // AYLS

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