"Let's imagine that Porto has the capacity to have 2,000 TVDE [Transport in Unmarked Vehicles] operating within its territory (taxi services run by companies such as Uber). We can even divide Porto into sectors. From the moment there are more cars than that number, the platform will stop working for the others", explained Rui Moreira regarding the proposal made to the government official.
Miguel Pinto Luz met with the mayors at the headquarters of the Metropolitan Area of Porto (AMP), discussing mobility issues in the sub-region, such as TVDE traffic in the city, traffic management on the Via de Cintura Interna (VCI), the Porto Metro, the Vouga Line and Housing.
Regarding TVDE, Rui Moreira said that, in the case of Porto, there is knowledge about the number of taxis in circulation (around 800), but not about how many TVDEs are circulating in a city affected by excessive traffic.
"There is no way to allocate TVDEs, which means that at certain times there is an excess of TVDEs in the city", said the mayor, referring to a "negative impact, on the one hand, on the city's mobility" and also on the TVDE operators themselves, "because the excess supply leads to extremely low prices".
Asked whether TVDEs waiting for trips could also create traffic, Rui Moreira stressed that "when parking, TVDEs must behave like any other private vehicle, at least in theory".