The upcoming days are expected to be challenging for passengers of CP – Comboios de Portugal due to a series of strikes. If you have purchased a monthly pass and intend to request a refund due to a strike, be informed that this is not possible.
“Even if you are a holder of a monthly pass, you are not entitled to be reimbursed or compensated for the delay or cancellation of the train you were intending to travel on,” explained lawyer Dantas Rodrigues during the Notícias ao Minuto segment ‘Trabalho e Impostos (Des)complicados’.
Furthermore, the Autoridade da Mobilidade e dos Transportes (AMT) clarifies this:
“Bus passengers are entitled to a reimbursement of the amount paid for the acquisition of the ticket if, for reasons attributable to the operator, a delay at departure exceeds 90 minutes,” as stated on the AMT website.
However, this rule does not apply to strikes.
Lawyer Dantas Rodrigues further explained to Notícias ao Minuto that “given this scenario, which appears excessively unfair and burdensome for passengers, the Ombudsman has been pressing the Government for legislative changes aimed at compensating holders of monthly and seasonal transportation passes in the event of a strike.”
“A legislative proposal, Projeto de Lei 661/XV/1, has also been submitted to the Parliament, suggesting a legislative change to ‘refund railway transport users for the pass value corresponding to the days when the service is not provided.’ However, to date, none of these initiatives have had an effect, and users remain unprotected,” he added.
‘Trabalho e impostos (des)complicados’ is a segment of Notícias ao Minuto, authored by Dantas Rodrigues, focusing on work, personal finance, and tax-related topics.
