The launch of public passenger transport in Alto Minho is scheduled for October

The President of the Intermunicipal Community (CIM), Alto Miño, indicated this Wednesday the beginning of the last quarter of the year for the launch of a new public transport concession for passengers in ten municipalities of the region.

Speaking to Lusa, Manoel Batista said that Alto Minho CIM’s goal is “to get the transport network up and running, practically coinciding with the start of the new school year.”

“Currently, we are analyzing the proposal and complaint about the international tender opened in March. If all goes according to plan, there will be conditions for a transport network that will serve the entire Alto at the beginning of the last quarter of this year. region Minho for the next three years to implement,” he elaborated.

It is about the provision of services, which provides for “an offer at the network level with a capacity of 2,641,613 kilometers per year, for a three-year contract with the possibility of an extension for another one, with a base price of 21,661,226.60 euros.”

The open tender was announced by a group of organizations consisting of the municipalities of Arcos de Valdeves, Caminha, Melgaso, Monsan, Paredes de Cura, Ponte da Barca, Ponte de Lima, Valença, Viana do Castelo and Vila- Nova de Cerveira. “which will allow you to get the desired economies of scale across the network in one go.”

Alto Minho’s CIM previously mentioned that this “first generation” contract, in addition to the main goal of promoting quality public passenger transport services integrated on the scale of Alto Minho, was also prepared to receive information from demand-based, which will allow Alto Minho’s transport authorities to better understand the dynamics public road passenger transport, creating a more solid basis for a future contract that will correspond to reality based on the data received.”

This data, according to CIM, will give “the necessary confidence to start at this stage the conclusion of a contract for a longer period, which will allow you to make a serious bet on improving the quality of the fleet and, as a result, benefits in terms of passenger comfort with better environmental performance.”

CIM Alto Minho emphasizes accessibility to business reception areas, the seaport of Viana do Castelo and other poles that generate demand through adaptation/creation of circuits and frequencies.

The new service has “a common concern for the integration of timetables between quarries at different levels of service (municipal, intermunicipal and interregional), as well as with railway timetables.”

For CIM, one of the main advantages of such service provision is flexibility, as it provides that “during operation, the network will be reconfigured in length and frequency of circuits (routes), seeking to increase the attractiveness of public transport, as well as adapting the needs of demand to the services offered” .