Porto’s sustainability progress

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Mayor of Porto Rui Moreira announced the arrival of 5 more electric buses in the city and he expressed his enthusiasm about the city’s progress when it comes to sustainability.

Five more fully electrically powered buses are already circulating throughout the city. Public Transportation Association of Porto (STCP) had acquired those in order to reach the target of 40% of all-electric fleet by the end of the decade.

In two years, the intercity company plans to reach the number of 76 vehicles of this type and more than double that fleet by 2027.

The new vehicles have an autonomy of 250 kilometers and will reduce 441 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. With the goal of 40% set in mind, mayor of Porto stated that “this path starts now”.

Mayor Moreira stated via social media: “The beginning of the usage of these buses represents a joint effort to contribute to the climate and energy transition, a matter in which cities are called to assume a proactive and, I would even say, leadership role”. These new buses are part of a batch of 86 vehicles acquired under the II POSEUR Notice (Operational Program for Sustainability and Efficiency in the Use of Resources), joining the 188 “green” buses that the company already uses”.

Mayor of Porto believes that “this gradual renewal has allowed STCP to operate an increasingly efficient fleet in economic and environmental terms and will significantly reduce carbon emissions”. According to him, the allowed environmental sustainability “only makes sense if we also guarantee social sustainability”, since “investing in qualified public transport is the best way for us to redistribute wealth among our citizens”.

Rui Moreira underlined the Municipality’s commitment to introduce “free public transport for those up to 18 years of age, going beyond the costs of the PART [Program to Support Tariff Reduction in Transport] since we believe that this investment contributes to changing the behavior of the generations”.

In his opinion, this solution “has enabled public transport to be aligned with the best international practices’. The inter-municipalization of STCP is a very virtuous example of decentralization of competences”.

 

Photo credit: Miguel Nogueira