In a statement, the Intermunicipal Community of Alentejo Litoral (CIMAL) explained that “the cost of the monthly vignette that allows you to circulate in the five municipalities of the Alentejo coast and travel to Setúbal and Lisbon will drop from 40 to 20 euros” from January 2025.
The decision was unanimously approved by the mayors of the municipalities of Alcácer do Sal, Grândola, Santiago do Cacém and Sines, in the district of Setúbal, and Odemira, in the district of Beja.
According to CIMAL, this reduction allows “a saving of 240 euros per year” for users in this area, “as well as on bus connections to Setúbal and Lisbon”.
The 50% reduction in passes “will be automatic” for passengers who already use the pass worth 40 euros, and there will be no need to carry out “any other procedure”.
“Pass users who have not yet adhered to the fare reduction will be able to do so by filling out the form available on the page www.cimal.pt”, explained this body which, in 2019, took over the responsibility of the Alentejo Litoral Transport Authority.
“This decision by CIMAL comes in the wake of the investment made in public transport in the region, which began with setting the maximum price for passes at 40 euros, when this amount was not yet mandatory, as occurred with free transport for students”, reads in the statement.
The president of CIMAL, Vítor Proença, quoted in the statement, said that “the provision of public road transport” to the region's populations, “at increasingly affordable prices, must continue to be part of the community's commitment”.
The objective is to “provide people with an effective, comfortable and economical way of moving around the five municipalities that make up” CIMAL, added the president of the Municipal Council of Alcácer do Sal.
According to the mayor, “the next step should be the use of new technologies to provide real-time information to users of Alentejo Litoral Transport”, as well as improving the “tariff system”.
Since 2023, CIMAL has also been offering free transport to the beaches of the five municipalities, in the months of July and August.
This year, this transport became daily, connecting the headquarters of municipalities and other parishes to 12 beaches in the region.