Anyone who regularly uses public transportation is familiar with the frequent breakdowns of elevators and escalators and the often inadequate auditory information, which affects everyone but is particularly challenging for people with reduced mobility.
An investigation followed the journeys of three individuals in such circumstances as they used the metro, train, and bus services in Lisbon. Subsequently, the primary public transport companies in the city were questioned about the accessibility of their services.
The Lisbon Metropolitan leads in complaints, receiving 525 grievances concerning escalators and 420 regarding elevators in 2024—exceeding the previous year’s numbers. “This increase is mainly due to the growing number of temporarily non-operational facilities due to replacement and modernization interventions,” the company explained.
However, it noted that elevators had an average availability rate of 85% in 2024.
As of February 18, nine metro stations had “silent zones hindering auditory message transmission to passengers,” attributed “mainly to the equipment’s age and resultant hardware failures, with repairs hampered by difficulty in obtaining replacement parts.”
The ongoing modernization plan aims for full accessibility in 93% of all metro stations by 2026.
Currently, passengers request ramp assistance from station staff, who coordinate with destination agents to facilitate train departure. “The introduction of new rolling stock will eliminate this need, as new trains will have floors level with the platforms, allowing for electric wheelchair boarding and alighting without additional help (manual wheelchair users do not require access ramps),” the company highlighted.
The Carris bus service in Lisbon, meanwhile, receives an annual average of 160 complaints regarding the maintenance or malfunction of access ramps—a situation observed firsthand as a man using an electric wheelchair was followed.
The transport company acknowledged “isolated issues with this equipment,” while committing to “enhancing accessibility conditions” through more agile and frequent internal inspection procedures.
According to Carris, the entire fleet of buses and trams has low floors, but 20% still lack access ramps. This “older fleet” is “gradually” being removed from operation, ensuring new acquisitions prioritize accessibility.
Additionally, Carris operates a special service with five adapted buses, with three more slated by 2028, which requires advance booking.
Carris Metropolitana, the public road transport network for the Greater Lisbon area, claims 99.3% of its over 1,600 vehicles are equipped with ramps or similar systems, with “almost total” operability.
“All fleet vehicles” also have internal auditory information announcing upcoming stops. When a visually impaired person was observed aboard a bus with the sound system off, the responsibility was attributed to the driver for not activating it.
The Transportes Metropolitanos de Lisboa (TML), coordinating the metropolitan transport network under the Carris Metropolitana brand, reported working on an accessibility plan for people with disabilities, currently in the diagnosis phase.
In 2024, TML recorded 24,038 complaints, 83 related to accessibility, with only eight “directly linked to reduced mobility.”
The company emphasizes exerting “pressure” on operators responsible for ramp operability and monitoring transport services on-site.
For exterior auditory alerts aiding access for visually impaired individuals, TML refers to the “strict noise emission limits” in public spaces.
CP – Comboios de Portugal received 20 complaints in 2024, a year when accessible stations increased from 139 to 216, though acknowledging “occasional failures in onboard auditory announcement systems,” which “are identified.”
The Integrated Mobility Service, requiring six-hour advance booking for wheelchair users and limited to adapted stations and trains, handled 4,657 requests in 2024, a 27% rise from the previous year.
CP intends to “reduce and eliminate, in future,” the booking requirement.
On long-distance routes, the Alfa Pendular service has only two spaces per train for wheelchair users, while Intercidades accommodates only manual wheelchairs that can fold.
Platform access issues fall under Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP). As of February 14, from a total of 471, 12 electromechanical devices had been down for more than five days.
IP estimates a 2.5% failure rate in elevators, attributing “99% of the issues” to “misuse and vandalism.”
In 2024, IP received 55 accessibility complaints at stations or stops, about 5% of total railway service complaints.
Among additional transport options, 50 taxis in Lisbon are licensed for people with reduced mobility (out of more than 3,000 city taxis).
Taxi operators note the lack of license enforcement, urging the Federation of Portuguese Taxis (FPT) for the city council to determine “how many are misused for regular transport” and “assess the need” to expand this special fleet.
Lisbon’s municipal government reiterates that “adapted taxis should prioritize services for people with reduced mobility and their companions,” and is studying a new regulation “to enhance control over conditions for vehicles adapted for reduced mobility, as well as requested services.”
Although there are no exact figures for MR — Reduced Mobility taxis in Portugal (with the Lisbon council lacking demand data), the FPT confirms that “most municipalities have no licensed vehicles” for this purpose. In Greater Lisbon, “vehicles are only licensed in seven of 18 municipalities,” leading to trips initiated outside the area and increased costs.
The FPT believes the number of available MR taxis is insufficient, as shown by the “very high occupancy rate” of licensed vehicles. Hence, it advocates incentives for using adapted vehicles with existing active common licenses. Autocoope/Cooptáxis adds that reducing adaptation and maintenance costs for these vehicles, which are “high,” is crucial.
For instance, the nine adapted taxis operated by Autocoope/Cooptáxis in Lisbon completed 248 services in January 2025, averaging 28 services per vehicle. “The current number of adapted vehicles cannot meet the growing demand,” the company notes.
