On the sidelines of a meeting with the National Association of Ride-Hailing Vehicle Movement (ANM-TVDE), the mayor, Rui Cristina, told reporters that the restrictions will remain, but that a commitment was reached to create more spaces for passengers to get on and off these vehicles.

“[…] From our side, there may be more understandings and more concessions in terms of spaces for passenger drop-off and pick-up. But the restrictions will remain the same,” said the mayor of that city council in the Faro district, after a demonstration that brought together more than 100 TVDE drivers.

The mayor reinforced the idea that the number of ride-hailing vehicles causes difficulties for emergency vehicles to access the city centre, stressing that the ban, which came into effect on Thursday, aims to ensure that "emergency vehicles continue to go to the aid of those who really need help, that is, tourists and residents of Albufeira."

Non-extensive ban

Rui Cristina considered that the ban applied by the municipality "is not very extensive" and constitutes "a first step" to continue preparing a "mobility plan for Albufeira" that takes into account the need to guarantee the circulation and access of emergency vehicles.

The ban was applied from the Pau da Bandeira area to downtown Albufeira and its surroundings, in the southern area of ​​Avenida da Liberdade, in the Rua da Oura area and on the side accesses of Avenida dos Descobrimentos, where there were accumulations of ride-hailing vehicles waiting for customers, hindering the circulation of emergency vehicles, he justified.

“What we want is for there to be circulation and for emergency resources to circulate throughout the city,” argued the mayor, considering that representatives of the sector “understood that there have to be restrictions” to regulate traffic in areas of greater influx.

According to Rui Cristina, in addition to creating passenger boarding and disembarking points, the municipality will meet with the platforms that manage the sector to “create restrictions on the platform itself” that prevent passengers from entering and exiting the most tense locations.

At the end of the meeting with the city hall, Filipe Lopes, from the National Association of TVDE Movement (ANM-TVDE), described the meeting as “quite pleasant,” considered that progress had been made between the parties, and announced that, during the afternoon, they would go to the field with officials from the security forces to “create effective measures” that facilitate the work of TVDE professionals.

“One of the main problems we have faced, and the City Council also faces, is the TVDE drivers who do not have a [requested] trip on the app and remain parked in downtown Albufeira. This greatly hinders the development of our work,” he stated, appealing to all professionals to “only go down to downtown Albufeira if they have clients on the app.”

Effective measure

Filipe Lopes acknowledged that the municipality “will not back down,” asking colleagues to respect the existing signage in the areas where the ban is in effect, as well as the work carried out by the security forces.

The official added that work will now be carried out with the GNR (National Republican Guard) and the Municipal Police so that, in the areas covered, “there is no excessive influx of drivers” that would complicate mobility and hinder access for emergency vehicles.

“Specific collection points will be created [...]. At these specific points, [the passenger boarding and disembarking area] will be identified with markings on the ground and signs indicating that it is a collection point for TVDE,” he informed, asking his colleagues to comply with the existing signs at the locations while areas for passenger boarding and disembarking are being defined.