Starting September 15, heavy goods vehicles will be prohibited from using the Via de Cintura Interna (VCI) in Porto between 7:00 and 21:00 on weekdays. The government approved the measure to reduce traffic congestion on one of the country's busiest roads, with the Porto City Council confirming the implementation date.
The VCI (Via de Cintura Interna) is a major inner-ring motorway that circles the city of Porto. Starting 15 September, heavy goods vehicles are prohibited from using this road during daytime hours on weekdays to reduce traffic congestion and improve safety in the city center.
The Automobile Club of Portugal (ACP) is collecting five thousand signatures to bring a simple question to the Municipal Assembly: should Lisbon stop authorizing shared e-scooters in public spaces once current licenses expire? This referendum is essentially a certificate of regulatory incompetence issued to Carlos Moedas. Despite agreements on parking zones and fleet caps, the city remains cluttered with improperly parked scooters, posing significant risks to pedestrians, the elderly, and the visually impaired. With enforcement lacking and accidents rising, the city faces a choice: hold operators accountable for user non-compliance or follow the lead of cities like Paris and Brussels in banning the service.
After the Automobile Club of Portugal (ACP) advocated for a municipal referendum to ban electric scooters in Lisbon, operators Bolt, Lime and Byrd contested the proposal, stating that it “associates a real problem with the wrong solution.” In a statement, they argue that eliminating shared e-scooters “would not solve” safety issues.
Mário Alves, president of Estrada Viva, believes that shared electric scooters are becoming a problem, however, he admits that a ban may not be the best option.
The club is collecting the five thousand signatures required to initiate the process. ACP cites “increasing risks to the physical integrity of users and third parties” and the impact on public space.
A city that allows vehicles to be abandoned on pavements, bus stops, or building entrances does not promote soft mobility. It creates unnecessary obstacles for those trying to practice it. Opinion by Eduardo Mota
There are ties that bind, but this one became a source of discord. For nearly a decade, the future operation of the Lisbon Metro has divided governments, parties, municipalities, and users. The debate pitted the Circular Line, chosen by Socialist Party governments, against the Loop Line, which was defended as a way to preserve direct connections between the northern axis and the city centre. The author, who previously opposed the Circular Line, argues that while the project's delays and cost overruns—now reaching 379 million euros—are the responsibility of previous governments, an immediate conversion to the loop is currently unfeasible due to further costs and risks to EU funding. The current government is prioritising the opening of the circular line to test its efficiency in practice, leaving the possibility of a future transition to the loop open if the circular model fails to meet passenger needs.
The notices involve a total investment of nearly two million euros for the areas of urban logistics, school mobility, and decarbonisation of the taxi sector, under the scope of the Mobility and Transport Fund.
When an abundance of advertisements replaces the debate on urban mobility, it becomes difficult to distinguish a coherent strategy from a simple accumulation of projects.
Porto City Council has extended the 30 Network to the area north of Avenida da Boavista, through the implementation of vertical signage in several areas of Bessa, Foco, Pinheiro Manso, and Vilarinha.
Twenty-five years after the initial vision for a Portuguese-made city car, the BEN project has emerged as a tangible result of the CEIIA's collaborative innovation strategy. This project, which aligns with modern mobility trends, sustainable energy, and urban needs, now requires public policy support to move into operational production. BEN represents not just a vehicle, but a strategic ambition for the Portuguese economy, offering a new, shared, and environmentally conscious solution for urban life that challenges traditional automotive manufacturing models.
Collisions between vehicles and bicycles are a major concern. Approximately 38% of the network has high or extreme risk levels for this type of conflict.
Stellantis has agreed to sell its Free2move car-sharing business to the German investment firm Mutares, the automotive group announced on Tuesday, without disclosing the value of the deal. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. Stellantis stated that the sale aligns with its 'Dare Forward 2030' strategic plan, focusing on disciplined capital allocation. Mutares plans to use this acquisition to build a new mobility platform, focusing on fleet management, the transition to battery electric vehicles, and urban mobility needs. Free2move, created in 2016 by PSA, currently operates in 14 cities across Europe and the United States.
Associations criticise the permanent occupation of public space in the capital by terraces, cars, motorcycles, markets and fairs. Walking has become a difficult task, despite changes to pavement design.
Suspended since November 2021 due to construction work on the Porto Metro's Pink Line, the historic tram line 22 returns to the tracks in Porto this Saturday, covering a half-hour route between Carmo and Batalha. The Sociedade de Transportes Coletivos do Porto (STCP) guarantees that...
For car owners, the debate over parking is rarely abstract. It is the daily anxiety of circling the block, paying increasingly higher fees, and still feeling like a nuisance. The truth is that individual motorists did not invent this city model; they simply adapted their lives to a system that, for decades, encouraged car use and promised freedom in exchange for roads and easy parking. At the same time, many drivers rely on their cars because public transport is insufficient or unreliable on many routes, and because work schedules, children's schooling, or their place of residence do not fit into a collective network designed primarily for main urban axes. Seen from this perspective, measures that reduce parking spaces or increase tariffs often sound like a penalty for those without a real alternative. Especially when, beyond the vehicle's price, the driver bears the costs of fuel, insurance, road tax, maintenance, and parking, within an already tight monthly budget. There is, therefore, a contradiction that is hard to ignore: the same public authorities that, for years, promoted expressways, shopping centres with large car parks, and car consumer credit policies, are now asking people to 'ditch the car' without simultaneously offering competitive, safe, and comfortable public transport. This does not mean that the city can continue to be designed solely for the automobile. Space is finite, and a car with one person occupies much more road space than a full bus. However, from the driver's point of view, the transition to more sustainable mobility will only be perceived as fair if it is accompanied by clear and reliable alternatives. As long as collective transport is not good, predictable, and comprehensive enough to compete on equal terms with the car—especially in terms of time and comfort—motorists will see any change in parking less as a rational space management policy and more as an additional cost imposed on those who, in practice, still have no other choice.
From burying three sections of Porto's Internal Beltway (VCI) to implementing a shared bicycle system and expanding bus lanes by another 11.5 kilometres—six of which mayor Pedro Duarte plans to add this year. These are some of the measures in the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan.
Almost eight years after the entry into force of Law 45/2018, also known at the time as the 'Uber law', the largest revision ever is planned, following months of discussion and hearings in the parliamentary committee.
The party argues that the imposed measure must also improve the quality of transport: “The increase in passenger numbers cannot result in more overcrowding.”
The ‘metrobus’ connection to Coimbra B Station, as well as to Praça da República, is expected to start between late August and early September, revealed Metro Mondego president Leonel Serra today. “We are counting on the operation starting at the end of August or early September, provided nothing goes wrong in the meantime.”
The president of STCP says that six new kilometres of bus lanes in Porto are worth more than free public transport. The Entre Linhas conference debated urban mobility.
Pedro Duarte announced that starting this Friday, public transport will be free for residents of Porto. “It is a very important incentive for a paradigm shift,” says the mayor.
From 9 am to 7 pm on Saturdays and Sundays, vehicle access will be restricted. The purpose of this measure is to increase sustainable mobility and encourage the use of soft transport and walking.
