Campanhã Intermodal Terminal
“It is nothing more,” says Rede Expresses, who refuses to open doors to the German company’s buses on several terminals. And the waste, where to dump? This is the problem of the two.
There is a guerra In progress at the bus terminals, and is getting hotter. The dispute is between the two large transport companies by van, Flix bus e EXPRESS NETWORK.
Flixbus accuses the expression network of closing the bus terminal doors of various cities. Seven rivers, for example, “It doesn’t fit anything there”guarantees to the leader of Barqueiro Transportes, the largest shareholder of the Expresses network. The same is true in Coimbra, a private terminal.
Often, Flixbus is forced to find a “plan B” in the public road stops, ferturing the necessary conditions of security, due to the express network, says the German.
According to the weekly, the German company has advanced with three other appeal to the Mobility and Transport Authority (AMT), after reassured spaces for space to operate at the Caldas da Rainha, Fatima and Nazareth terminals. In addition to the terminals of seven rivers in Lisbon and Coimbra, the German company wants to enter or have more space in 12 more bus terminals.
Economist Pedro Lima who, since 2019, the year in which he allowed the entry of any operator in the domestic market of long -course buses and began to exponentially increase the number of passengers, if “He put the system weaknesses of terminal infrastructures. Many “are very small and old” for operators in the asset.
Part of the reason for discord is the fact that much of the country’s terminals are managed by the Barraqueiro group. This is the case, for example, of the Lisbon Terminal of Seven Rivers.
AMT says, however, that there is conditions (including space) for Flixbus to enter the seven rivers terminal. But the EXPRESS NETWORK continues to deny it-which may motivate fines against the company, which refuses to open the door to Flixbus.
And the waste, where to dump?
The growing search for long -haul road transport in Portugal brought out another increasingly recurring problem: difficulty access to bathroomsboth in buses and terminals.
Passengers of the Expresses and Flixbus have been reporting several situations in which the onboard bathrooms meet closedforcing drivers to make stops not foreseen in service stations, thus extending the duration of the trip.
The problem is mainly arrested with the lack of conditions at the terminals for eviction and sanitation of vehicle toilets. Although all the expression chain buses are equipped with bathrooms, they are often closed for hygiene reasons.
Martinho Costa, president of Barqueiro Transportes, acknowledges that the theme is a “headache” for companies, aggravated by the lack of adequate infrastructures in places such as Campanhã or Gare do East.
Also Flixbus admits temporarily conditioning access, especially on hot days, to avoid bad odors and lack of minimum conditions. However, it ensures that drivers are instructed to stop when necessary, rejecting the idea that there is a policy of blocking the use of bathrooms.
And there is worse: You must pay in some terminal bathrooms. In seven rivers and Fatima, for example, it is necessary to pay 1 euro, a rule contested by passengers. The Express Network admits to change the system, allowing free admission to those who present a valid ticket.
In 2024, the Expresses network transported more than 11 million passengers, 20% more than the previous year. For the first time, the bus surpassed the train on long -haul trips, representing 51% of demand.
