The PSD/Algarve and the social-democratic Algarve mayors do not want the Algarve to be discriminated against in the public transport tariff reduction scheme, which will come into force on 2 May, and ask that no regional pass exceed 40 euros
In a joint statement, the party district and the mayors of Albufeira, Castro Marim, Faro, Monchique and Vila Real de Santo António, stress that «AMAL [Algarve Intermunicipal Community] received less than 1 million euros, while the Lisbon Metropolitan Area received more than 70 million, which corresponds to 27 euros per inhabitant in comparison at just over 2 euros in the Algarve».
For the PSD, “there is no reason for such a discrepancy when the region has unbearable mobility constraints. We register positively the drop in prices, but we cannot admit to being treated worse than others».
As an example, the Social Democrats emphasize that “in Lisbon or Porto, all [users], regardless of distance, will pay a maximum of 40 euros. If the reduction is applied in the case of the Algarve, passes worth more than 80 euros will remain, which translates into an inequality of opportunities that a peripheral region and compliant citizens cannot tolerate».
The statement also recalls that “the Algarve has one of the biggest mobility problems in the country. In many ways, it behaves for the purposes of mobility as a metropolitan area, but it does not have the adequate network to respond to the needs of the populations, and it does not deserve that the mechanisms applied to it treat the Algarve as third-division citizens, as I rightly said. The Doctor. Rui Rio».
Therefore, for the measure to be equitable, the PSD considers it necessary for the Government to transfer the appropriate funds so that "no regional pass exceeds 40 euros" and that "road and rail connections to large urban centers such as Lisbon are included on the social pass'.
The Social Democrats also ask that "the transport on demand regime is effectively implemented, and benefits from transfers from the state budget, […] reinforcing the mobility of isolated populations, which has been ensured in many cases by the municipalities" and they want that «the shameful capitulation of the CP that in 2018 suppressed more than 1000 trains is put to an end».
The Social Democrat deputy Cristóvão Norte, in the debate on the tariff for social passes, also criticized the Government on this matter.
“This measure cannot serve to make buses that do not pass, trains that do not arrive and boats that do not sail cheaper (…) nor serve to exclude those who do not have public transport and who have to pay the measure without any benefit, being double penalized. Penalized for not having access and for paying more taxes on fuels,” he said.
Cristóvão Norte also pointed out that “improving mobility is welcome, important in an era of decarbonisation, but it cannot leave many out, excluded, it has to be for everyone, equitably”.
The deputy considers that "in order to avoid injustices, compensatory measures are needed, under penalty of mobility being for some and not for others."
Last year, Cristóvão Norte had already criticized the state of public transport in the region, which "have been abandoned for decades", with "poor service, poor quality, non-existent coordination, inadequate schedules, trains and obsolete machinery".
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