Only Accredited Taxis Will Get Into Lisbon Airport's Arrivals Rank From 3 November, When a Barrier Starts Checking Each Car: The Fixed Fares and Rules for Passengers

From 10:00 on Tuesday 3 November, a barrier will control access to the taxi rank at the arrivals hall of Lisbon's Humberto Delgado airport, and only accredited taxis will be let in. The Federação Portuguesa do Táxi (FPT, Portuguese Taxi Federation) and the Associação Nacional dos Transportadores Rodoviários em Automóveis Ligeiros (ANTRAL, the national taxi operators' association) announced the date in notices on Tuesday.

The barrier will check each taxi against the accreditation database. The first list will include every accreditation completed by Friday 30 October. After that, drivers can still apply through the two associations, but each week's accreditations will only start working on the Tuesday of the following week, so a driver who signs up late may wait several days to get in.

Why a barrier

The barrier enforces the Protocolo de Cooperação e Autorregulação para o Serviço de Táxi no Aeroporto Humberto Delgado (Cooperation and Self-Regulation Protocol for the Taxi Service at Humberto Delgado Airport). Lisbon City Council, the airport operator ANA and the Associação Turismo de Lisboa (ATL, Lisbon Tourism Association) signed it in September with the taxi associations. We reported on the agreement when it was signed.

The protocol's service rules and fixed prices have applied since 15 October, ANTRAL explains, but until now there was no way to keep out taxis that had not signed up. According to Lusa, as reported by Observador, the measure follows repeated complaints from passengers, mostly tourists, about overcharging and drivers refusing destinations. A PSP inspection in August found 67 offences among about 100 taxis checked.

Carlos Silva, the FPT president, told Lusa earlier that Lisbon has about 3,500 taxis, of which perhaps 500 may want to work the airport rank. Any taxi licensed in Lisbon can serve the airport once it is accredited, he said.

What passengers pay into Lisbon

Trips from the arrivals rank to anywhere in the city of Lisbon cost a fixed price. It depends on the zone, the time and the number of passengers, according to ANTRAL's price sheet:

• Up to 4 passengers, by day: 16 euros to zone 1, 19 euros to zone 2;
• Up to 4 passengers, at night: 20 euros to zone 1, 23 euros to zone 2;
• More than 4 passengers, by day: 20 euros to zone 1, 23 euros to zone 2;
• More than 4 passengers, at night: 24 euros to zone 1, 28 euros to zone 2.

"Day" means 07:00 to 22:00 on working days. "Night" means 22:00 to 07:00 on working days, and all day at weekends and on public holidays.

Zone 1 covers the parishes of Alvalade, Areeiro, Avenidas Novas, Beato, Lumiar, Marvila, Olivais, Parque das Nações, Penha de França and Santa Clara. Zone 2 covers Ajuda, Alcântara, Arroios, Belém, Benfica, Campolide, Campo de Ourique, Carnide, Estrela, Misericórdia, Santa Maria Maior, Santo António, São Domingos de Benfica and São Vicente. That puts the Baixa, Chiado, Alfama and Belém in zone 2.

Trips outside the city

For destinations outside Lisbon, the fixed price is the one on the ATL's voucher table, which ANTRAL has published. Prices cover up to four people and include luggage in the boot and tolls. Some examples, by day and then at night, weekends and holidays:

• Oeiras, or Costa da Caparica: 36.95 and 44.35 euros;
• Estoril, Cascais or Sintra: 53.40 and 64 euros;
• Setúbal, Palmela or Sesimbra: 70.55 and 84.65 euros;
• Évora or Sines: 193.50 and 232.20 euros;
• Porto: 386.30 and 463.60 euros;
• the Algarve: 362.20 and 434.65 euros.

Any destination not on the table is charged by the meter, under the national taxi fare rules. That includes places just outside the city: Carlos Silva has asked for the fixed price to be extended to Moscavide, Sacavém and Prior Velho, in Loures, which are close to the airport but are currently metered. The FPT has also warned that maps or projected price tables circulating online are working documents and must not be used to charge customers.

What drivers at the rank must do

Under the protocol, as ANTRAL sets it out:

• the fixed prices must be respected, with no extra supplements;
• the price cannot change because of how the passenger pays;
• drivers may not refuse a fare;
• vouchers and card or other electronic payments must be accepted, and the payment terminal must be working;
• drivers must be courteous and give correct information about the trip, keep the car clean and in good condition, and not wear flip-flops, shorts or sleeveless tops.

These rules apply to trips that start at the arrivals rank.