The environmental association Zero defended this Friday, March 27, the bringing forward of the daily opening of the Lisbon Metro to 5:30 am, the reinforcement of supply and improvements in interfaces and stations, given the escalating increase in fuel prices.
The recommendations come in a context marked by the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East and the consequent extraordinary increase in the prices of petroleum products.
The association believes that cities must have public transport networks capable of offering an alternative to the car.
In that regard, Zero recommends that the new administration of Metropolitano de Lisboa (ML) bring forward the network’s opening time to 5:30 am or even 5:00 am, ensuring an alternative public transport option.
In your understanding, the current opening at 06:30 does not meet the needs of workers who start their working day before that time, in essential sectors such as health, cleaning, logistics or hospitality.
Therefore, it also recommends correcting the undersizing of the offer, especially on the section of the Yellow line between Campo Grande and Odivelas on weekdays.
“On weekdays, between 10 am and 4:45 pm, there are, on average, intervals between trains of around 11 minutes in this section, a value clearly inappropriate for an urban metro service at this time”, states in the note.
The situation, he considers, is especially serious on the Yellow line due to the operational model in force, in which trains from Rato end alternately in Campo Grande, only continuing alternately to Odivelas.
“In practice, this means that only half of the trains continuously serve the stretch to Odivelas”, says Zero, adding that this model is “unacceptable, as all trains on the Yellow line should go to Odivelas, guaranteeing decent service levels in an area with around 200 thousand inhabitants”.
The association also advises Metro to “significantly improve the reliability of escalators and elevators that support reduced mobility, in addition to other improvements at stations, namely by not closing accesses early”.
“Zero recognizes that the Lisbon Metro faces real constraints, namely the shortage of train drivers, the need for strong improvements in the communication and signaling system and limitations in terms of available rolling stock”, admits the association, considering, however, that “these limitations do not fully explain or excuse the problems highlighted”.
This, he adds, is because the “situations observed result from management options and operational models adopted”.
In this context, the environmental association considers that the Metro “has an opportunity to reassess priorities, correct operational flaws and re-establish service levels compatible with the public and structuring function of the metro in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, requiring funding from the Government compatible with this mission”.
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