Alto Alentejo's Shared Bikes Will Cost Nothing for Anyone Who Lives or Works in Portalegre District, but Three Hours Is the Limit

The Alto Alentejo is getting a public bike-share network, and for anyone who lives or works in the district of Portalegre it will cost nothing to use. The rulebook for the system, called CICLAA, was published in the Diário da República on Wednesday 23 September as Regulamento n.º 1183/2026 (Regulation 1183/2026) of the Comunidade Intermunicipal do Alto Alentejo (Alto Alentejo Intermunicipal Community, or CIMAA). It enters into force on the fifth day after publication.

The free ride comes with a clock and a fine schedule that is steep for a bicycle. Keep a bike for more than three hours and you commit an administrative offence punishable by a fine of 250 to 400 euros and a 30-day suspension from the service.

Who pays and who does not

The regulation creates two kinds of user, and everyone who signs up starts in the second one.

• Regular users are people who live in the district of Portalegre or work there. They use the system "without any associated payment", once the CIMAA has verified a proof of address or a declaration from their employer. The check is to be done within five working days of the documents being submitted, and after that the account stays open indefinitely.
• Occasional users are everyone else. Each time they take a bike they must pay a caução (deposit). The regulation does not state the amount.

New accounts are created as occasional by default. To avoid the deposit, a resident has to switch to the regular profile in the app and upload one of the two documents. The minimum age is 16.

The fleet mixes conventional bicycles and electric ones. Bikes are collected from and returned to stations made up of a totem and a variable number of docks, which also charge the electric bikes' batteries, and both steps are done through the CICLAA app on the App Store or Google Play.

Where and when

The regulation leaves the practical details to later decisions. Opening hours will be set by a deliberation of the intermunicipal council, may change between summer and winter, and will be published on the service's website and app. The station locations will be listed at ciclaa.cimaa.pt, and the network can be extended, reduced or changed by the CIMAA. When we checked on Wednesday night the site did not display a station list, so where the first stations are could not be confirmed.

Each bike can only be ridden inside a geo-referenced area drawn in the app. Taking one outside it is prohibited.

The system is run by the CIMAA with the councils it groups, and the bikes belong to the intermunicipal community. The preamble says it forms part of the region's sustainable urban mobility action plan and is being carried out under an EU project, TRANSCOM_EUROACE.

The fines

Article 13 lists eight offences under the general regime for administrative offences, Decreto-Lei n.º 433/82 (Decree-Law 433/82). Attempt and negligence are both punishable, and a repeat offence can mean permanent exclusion.

• 250 to 400 euros and 30 days' suspension: keeping the bike beyond the three-hour limit, or lending or handing it to someone else.
• 500 to 700 euros and 60 days' suspension: abandoning the bike, using it for profit or commercial purposes, or riding it on unsuitable ground.
• 800 to 1,500 euros and 120 days' suspension: carrying a passenger, taking the bike apart or tampering with it, or giving false information or documents.

Abandonment has a specific meaning. Leaving a bike near a station is not a return; it has to be docked. Article 12 calls an unjustified abandonment a "very serious" offence and bars the user from the service for a year.

The list of prohibited ground is specific too: stairs, steep slopes, dirt fields and skate ramps. So are the stunts it bans, which include wheelies and drifting. A passenger is allowed only where a bike is fitted with a child seat.

If a bike is lost or stolen, the rider must tell the operator immediately and hand over a copy of the complaint made to the police. Damage from incorrect use is the rider's responsibility, including the repair bill.

Insurance and safety

Riders are covered by a personal accident policy, and the bikes, when used by a registered user, by a third-party liability policy. The policy terms are to be published on the service's website.

Helmets are not compulsory. The regulation says only that riders "should assess the need" for a helmet, a reflective vest or other safety equipment, and that they must follow the Código da Estrada (Highway Code), using cycle lanes where they exist.

What this means for residents of Portugal

If you live or work anywhere in the district of Portalegre, register as a regular user rather than accepting the default profile, and have your proof of address or employer's declaration ready. That is what removes the deposit.

Watch the three-hour limit, which runs from the moment the bike is unlocked. Always dock the bike properly at a station, because leaving it propped nearby counts as abandonment.

Check the website or app for opening hours before you set out: the service is designed to run every day of the year, but its hours are set separately by the intermunicipal council and can change with the season.

The CIMAA runs the region's on-demand village transport too, which we covered in our report on the booking rules for its flexible taxi service.

Source: Regulamento n.º 1183/2026, Comunidade Intermunicipal do Alto Alentejo, Diário da República, 2.ª série, n.º 185 of 23 September 2026.