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The Portugal Brief

Transport

Public transport, infrastructure, and mobility in Portugal.

Sports

WRC Vodafone Rally de Portugal Opens in Coimbra Today as the 59th Edition Loads 70 Crews, 23 Stages and 345 Competitive Kilometres From Aveiro to the Fafe Power Stage — Ogier Defends, Evans Leads on 101 Points and Neuville Tops the Baltar Shakedown

The 59th Vodafone Rally de Portugal opens at 14:00 today on Coimbra's Avenida de Conímbriga as 70 crews, 11 of them Rally1, head into 23 special stages totalling 345.14 competitive kilometres on gravel between the Aveiro lowlands, the Coimbra hills, the Douro and the Fafe finale on Sunday.

Transport

Túnel do Marão Closes Its First Decade With 45 Million Vehicle Crossings — A4 Daily Average Climbs From 9,590 in Pandemic-Hit 2020 to 17,560 in 2025 as the Toll-Free Reset Lands Its Full Year

Infraestruturas de Portugal marks the Túnel do Marão's tenth anniversary with 45 million cumulative crossings. The 5.6 km Iberian record-holder anchors the A4 Vila Real–Amarante stretch, with daily traffic up from 9,590 in 2020 to 17,560 in 2025 after the January 2025 toll elimination.

News

Transtejo Soflusa Will Open a Direct Seixal–Barreiro Electric-Ferry Run From June 2026 — Weekends First, Then Weekdays, on Top of the 100% Electric Seixal–Cais do Sodré Spine That Has Already Saved 1.74 Million Litres of Diesel

Minister Miguel Pinto Luz confirmed Transtejo Soflusa will open a Seixal–Barreiro fluvial connection in June 2026 — weekends first, weekdays to follow. The new line plugs into a 10-vessel electric fleet that has carried 2 million passengers and saved 1.74 million litres of diesel a year.

Porto

Porto's Assembleia Municipal Approves Free Public Transport for the City's 252,687 Residents — €20.5 Million-a-Year Cartão Porto Will Cover the Whole Andante Network From January 2027, With a Pedro Duarte Push to Pull the Start Forward to This Summer

Porto's Assembleia Municipal voted Monday night to make public transport free for the city's 252,687 residents — a €20.5 million-a-year Cartão Porto scheme covering the entire Andante network. Legal start: 1 January 2027. Câmara president Pedro Duarte is pushing for a summer 2026 rollout.

Environment

Fundo Ambiental's New €20 Million EV Incentive Round Opens in May or June 2026 — €4,000 to €5,000 per Light Passenger Car, €1,500 Cap on Bicycles, and a December Programme That Sold Out in Hours Sets the Bar

The Government will open a new €20 million Fundo Ambiental incentive round for electric vehicle purchases in May or June 2026 — €4,000 to €5,000 per car at a €38,500 price ceiling, and €500 to €1,500 for bicycles. The December 2025 round sold out the same day.