The Union of Parishes of Moncarapacho and Fuzeta (UFMF) wants the AMAL – Algarve Intermunicipal Community to restore the schedules of the EVA company's road routes between Faro and Vila Real de Santo António, which were suppressed.
The entity also asks that "the offer be reinforced outside school periods and at weekends."
Those responsible for this autarchy, presided over by the social democrat Manuel Carlos, came out publicly to denounce "constant changes" in public transport that serve the parish, which cause "upheavals for those who depend on this service".
"In these changes, careers have been eliminated, which affect the mobility of our population who use buses for travel, mainly for Faro and Olhão”, claimed the UFMF.
"This evidence is greater outside school periods, with the offer decreasing to less than half, and also at weekends, when users residing in our parish have only two careers in each direction", adds the same entity.
This led the union of parishes in the municipality of Olhão to send «a protest to the president of the Intermunicipal Council of AMAL, Dr. António Miguel Pina, expressing his repudiation for the suppression of career schedules between Faro and Vila Real de Santo António, which greatly harm the inhabitants».
This protest turns out to be a kind of two in one, since the socialist António Pina is also the mayor of Olhão, with which the UFMF has not had the best relationship.
Moreover, in the press release sent to the newsrooms, those responsible for the Board remember an old controversy, the alleged «reluctance and discriminatory attitude of the Municipality of Olhão in not wanting to extend the Municipal Public Transport Service to our parish».
The answer, however, came not from AMAL, not even from the Chamber of Olhão, but from the PS of Olhão, which considered that the allegations of the União de Freguesias, "not only are meaningless, but reveal a profound mismatch of reality" .
"In a delicate period in which we live, in which mandatory weekend collection has been determined, after 13 pm, what is the objective of President Manuel Carlos in keeping buses running during this period?", question the socialists
In fact, at this time, the curfew is no longer in force, only the obligation to close cafes and restaurants and other non-essential establishments remains, from 13 pm on Saturday and Sunday.
The PS claims, on the other hand, that those responsible for the UFMF have an "obligation to know" that AMAL's EVA concession "obliges a minimum number of traffic/users, otherwise the transport company has to be compensated by the municipalities" .
"Now, keeping buses in circulation, in full, during the time limit for the movement of people, is not only ridiculous, but also unnecessarily onerous for the municipalities", defends the party structure.
«The president of the Union will know that this suppression of transport was voted in favor of the mayors elected by the PSD in Castro Marim, Faro or Albufeira? Are you thinking of accusing them of discrimination as well?”, shot the PS/Olhão.
Socialists urge the UMFM to seek "rather solutions, together with the local authority, for what are the natural needs of the population."
They even leave a suggestion: "in this case, considering the need to supply specific and urgent transport situations or others, I could suggest to the local authority the use of transport and officials from the Board, for example."
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