Adaptable commuting solutions across Portugal for everyone's convenience
Revamped Article:
Flexible passenger transport services, covering everything from collective taxis to minibuses, provide adaptable solutions to the ever-changing transportation demands. The study "Flexible Public Passenger Transport Service in Portugal," discussed in Lisbon, delves into its implementation with supervision action from the Mobility and Transport Authority (AMT).
According to the analysis, TPF services in the country demonstrate potential viability and growth prospects, not just in regions with lower population density, but also as alternative and complementary services to conventional transport networks in urban areas.
Addressing People's Needs
By catering to specific population segments, such as the elderly, young people, and those with mobility restrictions, TPF services strive to satisfy the unique requirements of the population.
At the onset, the study's president, Ana Paula Vitorino, considers the TPF an innovative, adaptable solution, empowering itineraries, schedules, and stops to adjust to the real needs of the public. The model has been successfully implemented in various regions across Portugal, promoting social inclusion, economic efficiency, and environmental sustainability.
The study suggests that TPFs should become an integral part of territorial planning and overall public transport strategies, offering a diverse array of services, even in dense urban areas and large population centers.
These flexible networks bring advantages in terms of infrastructure monetization and addressing situations where regular public transport offers inadequate mobility options, such as in regions with low population density, at night, or during weekends.
By overcoming certain limitations of conventional public transport, TPFs serve isolated and dispersed rural areas where the economic viability of regular services is challenging, as well as guaranteeing peri-urban services in areas with insufficient population density to justify public transport offers.
The TPF aims to address the specific needs of the elderly and school-age population in urban areas, as well as cater to equipment or areas that don't generate sufficient demand for traditional care. The elderly population is the most significant TPF user, often lacking access to personal transportation, making it essential to offer easy access to telephone service lines to make reservations.
The experience of transport authorities indicates the value of involving taxi operators in the initial stages of TPF implementation to inform them about the operational and procurement procedures.
The first flexible public transport solutions in Portugal emerged even before the approval of Decree-Law No. 60/2016, with the "Blue Lines" – a type of TPF with a fixed route and timetable but no fixed stops, implemented mostly by municipalities in historic centers using minibuses.
Later experiences include "Collective Taxis" in Beja and "Transport on Demand in Médio Tejo." These experiences revealed a wide array of solutions tailored to the specific needs of the population and the operator or local actors involved.
The TPF has been implemented in numerous municipalities and Intermunicipal Communities (CIM) as an alternative and complementary transport mode to regular public transport, striving to improve social inclusion, economic efficiency, and environmental sustainability in both urban and rural areas.
Key advantages of Flexible Public Passenger Transport
1. Social Inclusion- TPF caters to diverse population groups, enhancing access to employment, education, healthcare, and social activities for those with reduced access to conventional fixed-route services.- Integrating TPF into comprehensive public transport systems fosters multimodal choices and improved accessibility through well-designed pedestrian, cycling, bus, and rail connections, supporting equitable transport access for vulnerable communities.
2. Economic Efficiency- Flexible services adapt operational costs by matching service levels to demand, reducing wasted resources on underutilized fixed routes.- Technology and optimization help reduce congestion, improve productivity, and decrease personal commuting costs, as well as financial burdens on households.- Employer benefits include improved employee punctuality, reduced absenteeism, and increased productivity through flexible commuting policies and transportation benefits.
3. Environmental Sustainability- By encouraging the use of public and shared transportation modes over private cars, TPF contributes to improved air quality and reduced carbon footprints.- Integrating active transport modes (walking and cycling) with public transport promotes sustainable urban mobility and decreases reliance on fossil fuels.- Flexible scheduling and remote work policies can further reduce peak-hour vehicle use and associated emissions.
- The presented study advocates for the integration of Flexible Public Passenger Transport (TPF) into Portugal's territorial planning and overall public transport strategies, considering the potential for these services to serve as alternatives and complements to traditional transportation in urban areas, even in dense population centers.
- As part of Finance and Industry trends in Portugal, the TPF industry shows promising growth prospects, particularly in regions with lower population density, where conventional transport networks might fall short in providing adequate mobility options.
- In the realm of public services, news regarding the successful implementation of TPF in various regions across Portugal highlights its potential role in addressing the unique transportation demands of specific populations, such as the elderly, youth, and those with mobility restrictions, thereby promoting social inclusion, economic efficiency, and environmental sustainability in both urban and rural areas.
