en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Cávado Intermunicipal Community (Comunidade Intermunicipal do Cávado, CIM do Cávado) announced that, following the cessation of operations by Auto Viação do Minho on routes connecting Alto Minho to Porto, it will ensure bus connections between Viana do Castelo, Esposende, and Porto.
After Auto Viação do Minho (AV Minho) decided to discontinue express services linking Melgaço to Porto and Ponte de Lima to Porto, the Cávado Intermunicipal Community will provide a regular public transport route to maintain connections between Viana do Castelo, Esposende, and Porto. These express services had been well-established, carrying a large number of daily passengers from Melgaço, Ponte de Lima, Viana do Castelo, and Esposende, and forming important transport links with Hospital de São João, IPO do Porto, and the Asprela Intermodal Terminal.
In response to this situation, the Cávado Intermunicipal Community, the Porto Metropolitan Area (Área Metropolitana do Porto, AMP), and the Alto Minho Intermunicipal Community (Comunidade Intermunicipal do Alto Minho, CIM do Alto Minho) engaged in inter-institutional contacts to seek solutions ensuring service continuity. Unable to provide a comprehensive solution for the entire route previously ensured by AV Minho, the Cávado Intermunicipal Community decided to advance a solution within its scope of responsibilities, prioritizing the continuity of connections between Viana do Castelo, Esposende, and Porto.
The solution is being implemented in phases. In the first phase, until the end of July, a Public Service Imposition (Imposição de Serviço Público, ISP) will be implemented, ensuring three daily round trips on a regular route between Viana do Castelo and Porto, with a stop in Esposende. During this period, the current timetables, stops, and fares for the route will be maintained, with fares set at €2 for journeys originating from or destined for Esposende, and €3.90 for those from or to Viana do Castelo. From August 1, the Cávado Intermunicipal Community fare table applicable to this route will come into effect, along with social and youth free monthly passes. Passengers can apply for monthly passes at ticket offices during the last week of July.
Through this measure, all young people benefiting from the youth free monthly pass can travel free of charge between Viana do Castelo, Esposende, and Porto. In a later phase, the route will be integrated into the existing Cávado Public Passenger Service Concession Contract, a process subject to verification by the Mobility and Transport Authority (Autoridade da Mobilidade e dos Transportes, AMT) and approval by the Court of Auditors (Tribunal de Contas).
Previously, transport company Auto Viação do Minho (AV Minho) announced it would cancel two express routes between Melgaço and Ponte de Lima and the city of Porto from July 3. The company's director, Luiz Costa, explained that the cancellation was due to "the service's lack of profitability." The president of the Alto Minho Intermunicipal Community, António Barbosa, stated that due to legal issues, the community could not subsidize the company to provide the service, as the route falls under a national concession and the intermunicipal community is not the transport authority.
