Metro Mondego Nearly Doubles Sunday Evening Departures From Coimbra-B to 39 From 15 November, Halving the Average Wait to Seven Minutes
From 15 November the Coimbra Metrobus runs 39 instead of 21 departures from Coimbra-B between 17:30 and 22:30 on Sundays and public holidays, to meet trains and buses arriving at the end of the weekend. The extra services pause from 15 June to 15 September.
Metro Mondego, the public company that runs the electric Metrobus in Coimbra, Miranda do Corvo and Lousã, will run more services on Sunday and public holiday evenings from 15 November. Between 17:30 and 22:30, departures from Coimbra-B towards Vale das Flores and Praça da República will rise from 21 to 39, the company said in a statement reported by Lusa on Friday 6 November.
Counting every destination, the average wait between departures from Coimbra-B in that window falls from 14 minutes to seven, according to the company. Outside those five hours, the usual Sunday and holiday timetable stays as it is.
Why Sunday evenings
The extra buses are meant to meet people arriving in Coimbra at the end of the weekend. The reinforcement "will improve the response to arrivals of rail services at Coimbra-B and of road services at the Casa do Sal and Açude stations, making it easier to distribute passengers around the urban area," Metro Mondego said, as quoted by Lusa. Coimbra-B is the city's mainline railway station.
There is one exception. Between 15 June and 15 September the extra evening services will not run, because the company expects demand to drop during the school holidays.
Where the Metrobus runs now
The Sistema de Mobilidade do Mondego (Mondego Mobility System) uses electric articulated buses on dedicated lanes, with a suburban service linking Coimbra, Miranda do Corvo and Lousã and an urban service inside Coimbra. The links to Coimbra-B and Praça da República opened on 16 September, taking the system to 37 stations, Metro Mondego said at the time. The company's own figures put the finished network at 42 kilometres and 42 stations, so five stations are still to come.
Service on the last stretch of the suburban line, between Lousã station and Serpins, resumed on 1 September after slope repairs following the winter storms. Separately, the Government raised the project's spending ceiling to 66.3 million euros this autumn to finish the depot at Sobral de Ceira and pay for 40 electric buses, as we reported on 3 October. Coimbra council is also redesigning its own city bus network, which it plans to cut from 112 lines to 52 from spring 2027.
Times and tickets
Since 1 October Metro Mondego sells only the MOVE-C intermodal fare, which is also valid on SMTUC city buses, SIT Metropolitano regional buses and CP trains in the region. Its own fare table lists:
- Single trips: 1 euro within one municipality, 2 euros across two neighbouring municipalities, 3 euros for three or more, loaded on a paper MOVE-C card that costs 0.60 euros.
- Monthly passes: 30, 35 or 40 euros by zone, on a personal card that costs 6 euros. Circula PT holders pay half or three quarters of the price, and the Veteran pass (65 and over) and the free youth pass cost nothing.
- Where to buy: the ticket machines at every Metrobus station, the SMTUC shops in Coimbra, Miranda do Corvo council and the Lousã municipal library. Validate before every trip: travelling without a validated ticket carries a fine of 120 to 250 euros.
Timetables can be downloaded from the Metro Mondego travel page, and its journey planner covers individual trips. Customer support answers on 239 488 109 on weekdays, from 09:00 to 13:00 and 14:00 to 18:00.
