Cascais. 20 euros per month to park, cycling and bus – Daily News – Lisbon

Town Hall creates a single pass that lets you use network shared bicycles, public transport and parking

Exit carriage house, leave it in the nearest car park and take a bike to the train station or bus to the town center. For 20 euros a month, who lives in Cascais will be able to buy a pass that allows you to access to public transport, parking and bicycles (Bicas). To check schedules, find out where are the stations or the number of cycles available, just have a phone nearby. A project “pioneering and innovative,” says the local authority, which might be adopted by other municipalities.

The MOBI Cascais, presented yesterday at the Estoril Congress Centre, assumes that “a city where citizens can not move it is not democratic. ” Miguel Pinto Luz, vice president of the Municipality of Cascais, explained to the DN that is a project “that integrates all the county’s mobility systems.” For the price of a “coffee a day” can “park, bike and bus”.

Developed by Engineering & Research Center of the Automotive Industry (CEIIA), the new system “uses only technology national “and may” be exported to other counties. ” The idea is to create “more sustainable mobility”, “making life easier” of 210,000 cascalenses and 1.2 million tourists who visit the county each year.

Implementation will be gradual. In September, the town of Cascais and Estoril will receive the first 217 bikes and the following month, Rama Santo Domingo have at its disposal 123. Only in December next year will be covered throughout the county. In all, 1200 waterspouts and 2000 “docks” parking for the bikes provided by the municipality and for the own citizens, where you can load the electrical.

Those who choose to use the spouts will have at its disposal a smart service, with information on road conditions, vandal alarm, availability of seats and bicycles, tracking system. By the end of next year, the municipality ensures 70 kilometers of bike trails throughout the county, and 12 electric buses with new routes to connect the parking lots, docks for bicycles, terminals of bus and train stations.

As for investment, the president of the municipality of Cascais, Carlos Carreiras, told DN that between 2002 and 2016 were invested 71.3 million euros in roads. Bicycles left at zero cost, because the result of partnerships with private and buses cost between 70 and 100 thousand euros, but will be acquired “based on revenues from parking lots.” “It’s a project that is self-financing,” he added.

In addition to bringing more mobility, this system also allows large savings, said the mayor. A person who moves to a gasoline car from Cascais to Lisbon daily spend on average 350 euros per month. According to the calculations of the local authority, with the new system – using the car, but the bus and the train – can save 250 euros, spending only 101.93 euros per month

The pass for. waterspouts, bus and parking costs 20 euros, but who only want to use the bicycles pays ten euros per month and those who choose to bicycles and buses will have to pay 12.50 euros. In the presentation of the project, Miguel Pinto Luz said that for now, the new system will be available only to residents and will eventually be extended to tourists. Furthermore, he added, there are already talks with Oeiras and Lisbon for the system to be connected.

The aim is that in future, the pass can also be used in CP, making it even more life to citizens . According to Mayor Carlos Carreiras, there is still the possibility of the pass might get cheaper. “The larger the membership, the lower the price,” he said.

After the presentation of the project, the Secretary of State for Environment proved to be “crushed” to innovation, considering it, “probably one of the best transport systems presented in Portugal. ” José Mendes assured even reporters that “the government is working on the renovation of the railway line of Cascais,” although not know details of the project or dates. An essential measure for the Mayor Carlos Carreiras, since this system “will increase the use of the line, which is already in a situation of great fragility”.