The Metro of Porto’s Executive Committee has announced a consensual agreement for a temporary technical halt on the construction of Phase II of the BRT/MetroBus project. During this pause, essential security and site fencing services will be maintained.
The Metro indicates that this consensus, aimed at protecting public interest, will allow for a careful examination of the project and its developments, ensuring compliance with existing commitments and prioritizing citizens’ well-being.
The construction of the second phase of the metrobus began on September 22, along a dedicated Bus corridor on Avenida da Boavista, between Rua Jorge Reinel (near Colégio do Rosário) and Avenida do Dr. Antunes Guimarães. The project has faced opposition from Porto mayoral candidates and the public.
When the project commenced, Tiago Braga was at the helm, but he has since been replaced by Emídio Gomes, former rector of the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, who assumed the position on Wednesday.
On the day the construction began, Porto’s Municipal Assembly expressed “profound indignation” at what it termed an “unacceptable disrespect” by Metro’s management for proceeding with the second phase without heeding the political forces’ requests.
A document signed by the Porto Municipal Assembly (AM) president on August 12 detailed that Metro had sent a draft alteration of the metrobus project within the Parque da Cidade segment to Mayor Rui Moreira for approval. However, the transport company did not respond to the Public Transport Investment Monitoring Working Group’s requests, particularly concerning a public consultation period for the project.
The group representing elected forces in the AM requested that Metro “promote such a public consultation, not extending beyond September’s end, so any proposals made during it could be analyzed and potentially considered in the final project by the end of October, when new municipal bodies take office and can also deliberate on them (…)”.
After receiving no response from Metro and witnessing the progression of the second phase, all elected deputies passed a motion expressing their “indignation” to the transport company’s board and regretting the timing of the project’s advance.
On September 30, Metro assured in a letter to the AM’s president that the second phase proceeded only with municipal approval. The letter stated, “The initiation of on-site work followed due authorization procedures by the competent municipal services, having been obtained according to” a municipal office “in clear compliance with legal requirements and with the evident knowledge and approval of Porto City Council,” as read in the letter to Sebastião Feyo de Azevedo.
That same day, Rui Moreira emphasized that the issuance of the construction license was “not a political act, but a practical one,” meaning there could be no “drawer veto.”
“The only thing the council issued, and it couldn’t abstain from doing so, is a public space occupation license,” he told journalists, stressing that such issuance “is not a political act; it is a practical act.”
The project prompted the PSD/CDS-PP/IL coalition candidacy to file an injunction to halt it, originating “from a place of indignation with the project’s commencement and tree destruction marking the day on Avenida da Boavista.”
When questioned about Metro’s president Emídio Gomes, a supporter who participated in a march organized by the candidacy precisely against tree felling and for keeping the cycle path near Parque da Cidade, Pedro Duarte expressed hope that he “would help the city.”
Chega’s candidate, Miguel Corte-Real, opposed the project, advocating for an urban development plan to restore Avenida da Boavista’s character with trees, drivable car lanes, and “first-world” public transport.
Livre’s Hélder Sousa stressed the necessity of having the metrobus operational in Porto but criticized the tree removal on Avenida da Boavista due to project commencement.
Meanwhile, Manuel Pizarro of the PS stated that the priority now is operationalizing the metrobus, arguing the second phase shouldn’t have started.
Independent candidate Filipe Araújo mentioned that “the avenue will end up with more trees” and accused Pedro Duarte of political maneuvering.
ADN’s Frederico Duarte Carvalho supported advancing the metrobus project.
The metrobus is planned to connect Casa da Música to Praça do Império in 12 minutes and to Anémona in 17 minutes, using hydrogen buses. Although phase one is complete and vehicles have arrived, the service is not yet operational, with Avenida da Boavista currently being used by soft mobility users like cyclists and scooter riders.
[Updated at 18:49]
