Olhão will have another urban minibus service, which will extend this service to Pechão, Brancanes and Quelfes. The Oyenne Chamber received the green light from the Mobility and Transport Authority (AMT) to prepare the tender for choosing the concessionaire forthe public road passenger transport service managed by the municipality, which includes some changes to the so-called “Circuito Olhão”.
According to Elsa Parreira, councilor of the City Council of Olhão responsible for the urban transport portfolio, the specifications and terms of the tender are currently being prepared, which, according to the councilor from Olhão, should be ready to be launched «in June, if everything goes as we hope».
As for the prospects of having the new circuits up and running, Elsa Parreira points out the end of the year as a goal. "This is our desire, as well as that of the population, which has been asking when the changes will be made".
Last week, the AMT reported, in a press release, that it gave a "positive binding prior opinion" in relation to "the procedural parts of the concession of the public service for regular passenger transport by road in the municipality of Olhão", which it means that the Chamber of Olhão «can now proceed with an international competition».
“We are talking about our minibus lines. We currently have two, but the idea is to move to three, to reinforce the service we provide to citizens», he explained.
The two existing lines, identified by colors, namely green and yellow, in addition to serving the city centre, with passages in the areas where the main services are concentrated and next to the commercial area, «only reach the urban limit of Olhão».
“In other words, they go to the municipal pavilion area, close to the EB 2,3 Paula Nogueira school, go behind the urbanizations there, go to the 16 de Junho cemetery [new cemetery on the way to Quelfes] and also to the Parque de Bankers' Camping. Basically, it is the perimeter and the inner zone of the city», summarized Elsa Parreira.
With the creation of a new line, the localities of Pechão and Quelfes, which are both parish seats, will be served, as well as Brancanes, «where we also have a school».
“We are going to make slight alterations to the existing lines, to improve the service and shorten the duration of the journey. The courses will cross at different points. On the other hand, we want to ensure that people who use other transport networks can easily access this circuit», said the councilor of the Chamber of Olhão.
Elsa Parreira pointed out that the only reason why the Olhão Circuit will not be extended to the Union of Parishes of Moncarapacho and Fuzeta is due to the fact that both locations “are already served by intercity transport – and Fuzeta has the train. There was no need to overlap».
Moncarapacho is served by two circular lines guaranteed by Eva Transportes, which has an inter-municipal transport concession. One of them leaves Olhão and also goes to Quelfes and the other goes to Moncarapacho and Fuzeta, via Alfandanga.
“This decision was based on the result of a study that we commissioned from a company. We came to the conclusion that they are well served and that it was not worth creating a minibus circuit. Also because it would be a very long route and the idea is that the minibus routes are fast and agile», concluded the councilor of the City of Olhão.
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