This Friday, the President of the Porto Metropolitan Region reported that in many parts of the new transport network, 26 buses with broken windows, flat tires and altered license plates were stopped, indicating that the matter was being investigated by the police.
This was revealed at Friday’s meeting of the Metropolitan Region of Porto (AMP), where several mayors praised the work of the body in view of the problems found in the launch of new lines.
Operation of Unir, which includes 439 lines and began on December 1, has been marked by numerous passenger protests. Delays, unfinished careers and lack of information are among the main complaints.
“Only in one of the lots [Lote 4 – Vila Nova de Gaia/Espinho]We have 26 buses stopped with broken windows, flat tires and changed license plates,” he said, adding that it is now a matter for the police.
Eduardo Vitor Rodriguez, who also thanked for the efforts made to correct what went wrong, explained that the operation is still driven by the large number of drivers on sick leave.
According to the mayor of Gaya, the need to adjust the operation on the ground also arose due to the arrival of buses two days before Unira came into effect on December 1, which still had to be approved.
Eduardo Vitor Rodriguez also explained that regarding the schedules, there is no point in publishing them, since there is a certainty that they will not be respected, given the shortage of drivers and buses.
On the sidelines, in statements to journalists, the AMP president admitted that the acts of vandalism suffered by Unir buses were “strange” and looked like a “boycott”.
“There have never been so many flat tires, so many broken windows and changed license plates as now, I don’t know who it is, but the case has been handed over to the police. My mobile phone has never been tapped. call at stops as a source of information for the Unir e network. Now it is. Bad luck, boycott, it seems to me too, I believe that the police will check, but this is strange,” he said.
According to the mayor, Unir is currently operating at different speeds. There are municipalities such as Matosinhos, Trofa or Maia, in which the same operator operates, where the service is almost 100% guaranteed, and there are others where the operator is starting to operate for the first time or in a different context.
While acknowledging feelings of “sadness and despair,” the mayor stresses that we are facing a “revolution” in the transport system and we cannot expect things to change overnight.
“We’re 15 days into the job, I admit we thought we were in for a revolution from what we had before, but it took the previous operators 60 years to create a service that every agent complained about and it was terrible.” “I admit that it won’t take us 60 years, but we will not resolve this issue overnight,” he said, expressing confidence that from January Unir’s activities will operate at cruising speed.
The difficulties encountered in launching a new transport network in the metropolitan area of Porto were mentioned at a meeting this Friday by the mayor of Gondomar, who was “very disappointed and saddened” by what happened.
“Unfortunately, it didn’t go very well,” he said, lamenting that politicians were being blamed. In site 2, where Gondomar is located, a lot is not working, condemns Marco Martins, who, however, admits that “AMP could not have done more.”
The mayor also warned that municipalities could be forced to pay for any shortfalls caused by Porto Intermodal Transport’s (TIP) lack of permission to sell tickets, as at the moment, he said, most trips are “free”. “
This Friday, the AMP municipalities also approved an addition to the Sharing Agreement regarding the connection of Porto Braga via the A3 motorway with the Intermunicipal Community of Cavado (CIM), the service of which was suspended at the beginning of December with the commissioning of Unir.
By way of clarification, Eduardo Vitor Rodriguez confirmed that all of AMP’s obligations in the agreement signed in 2019 had been fulfilled, and this area was not among the priorities identified at that time by CIM Cavado.
The mayor believes that AMP was caught in an “attempt at manipulation,” stressing that the addition put to the vote had nothing to do with AMP, “it was the inclusion of a line that CIM Cavado forgot.”
“Let them have the courage to say that they are the ones who forgot about the IPO users,” he concluded.
In early December, CIM said AMP had decided to end the Braga-Porto bus service on the A3 motorway, a decision it said “directly calls into question” the public’s right to mobility.
In a statement at the time, Ricardo Rio, president of CIM Cavado and the Chamber of Braga, classified AMP’s decision as “incomprehensible and regrettable,” demanding that the organization “comply with its legal and contractual obligations and continue this service.”
As for the AMP, it is the responsibility of the CIM do Cávado to guarantee the continuity of this line, which, however, has already been resumed after the municipalities of Braga and Porto reached an agreement to guarantee the maintenance of communications between the two cities.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Tifany Hawkins, a professional journalist with years of experience in news reporting. I currently work for a prominent news website and write articles for 24NewsReporters as an author. My primary focus is on economy-related stories, though I am also experienced in several other areas of journalism.