Bikes and the Lisbon metro: a love affair (Photo © Bernardo Campos Pereira)

On September 18, Portuguese cycling advocacy organization and ECF member FCPUB handed out its annual National Mobility Award. But this year’s ceremony had something special to it: Sergio Silva Monteiro, Secretary of State for Transportation and Public Works, was in attendance and seized the opportunity to announce two important policy changes directed at cyclists.  

Cyclists in Portugal’s capital Lisbon will be able to carry bicycles on the city’s metro trains at any time, said Mr Monteiro. This is a big change compared to the present state of affairs, where bikes were allowed only after 8 pm and on week-ends. Now, Metro de Lisboa, the administration running the metro network, will allow two bikes by carriage free of charge.

Rosa Félix of FCPUB says that pressure from cycling advocacy organizations helped contribute to the changes. “The change in opinion was fruit of much lobbying exercised over the past years towards people from Metro de Lisboa and the Portuguese government.”

Mr Monteiro's second announcement was yet another boost to multimodal transport. He said that the government has decided to equip the country-wide IC trains so that bicycles can travel on them free of charge as well. CP, the Portuguese rail company, is set to have all trains bike-ready by 2014.

Portuguese cycling advocacy is on the up

As these two new changes illustrate, cycling in Portugal has the wind in its sails. Just recently, the Portuguese government has adopted a new road code with many improvements for cyclists and pedestrians. 

Carrying bikes on trains helps cycling

ECF policy officer Fabian Küster has been monitoring bicycle-carrying options in Europe for several years. He says that the announcement from Portugal goes in the right direction. “We think that allowing people to take their bikes with them on trains free of charge is the way to go,” he says. “More people cycling can best be achieved if we manage to integrate Public Transport and cycling.”

Consequently, making it easier to carry your bicycle on metro and inter-city trains therefore is a much-needed signal towards Portuguese cyclists and suggests the government wants to make it easier to use car-free transport options. "The Portuguese example is one to be copied elsewhere in Europe," says Fabian Küster.

Let the copying begin.

Cycling Events and Actions in Portugal

About the Author

Karsten Marhold works as Communications Assistant at the European Cyclists’ Federation. He has a masters degree in European history and cultures and is a researcher in European Integration in Brussels. His interests focus on cycling as a sustainable form of mobility and the corresponding EU policies.