“The Porto Metropolitan Area decided to extend the transition period for 30 days in public service contracts for road passenger transport in Lots 2 to 5”, said AMP, in a statement.

The operating companies and providers of public passenger transport services in AMP requested this extension in order to guarantee the necessary conditions for the start of the operation, he explained.

“AMP, together with the co-contractors and its municipalities, has been working closely to ensure that the new operation guarantees the best possible service to passengers”, he highlighted.

In the note to Lusa, AMP highlighted that in line with European Union policies, a “completely new” strategy was defined to get more people to use public transport and move towards more sustainable mobility, more efficient management of cities and contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions.

“AMP thus reaffirms its commitment to ensuring quality public transport in the Porto Metropolitan Area and thanks passengers for their understanding during this period of adjustment”, he concluded.

The new metropolitan bus network will operate in all AMP municipalities, with the exception of Porto (except at the beginning and end of lines), where the Sociedade de Transportes Coletivos do Porto (STCP) has exclusive rights to operate within the municipality.

The new network of more than 430 lines will replace the current private operators in the 17 municipalities of AMP, does away with a model of line-by-line concessions inherited from 1948, incorporates the Andante system and the buses will have a common image throughout the territory, being above all blue, black and white.