[ad_1]
Seven companies from four countries presented proposals for the concession of the public bus service in the AML – Lisbon Metropolitan Area. Valued at 1.2 billion euros, this is one of the most desired competitions in recent years and should see more news next week. DN / Dinheiro Vivo knows that candidates from Portugal, Brazil, Spain and the United Kingdom have appeared. The movement of 2.7 million inhabitants is at stake.
For this contest, AML decided to divide the 18 municipalities into four groups, in order of magnitude of demand: northwest (lot 1), northeast (lot 2), southwest (lot 3) and southeast (lot 4). The municipal bus services of Barreiro, Cascais and Lisbon, which are provided by their own companies, will not be concessioned. The contracts will be valid for seven years. There are two groups that can keep two of the lots.
The northwest and northeast lots, on the north bank of Lisbon, had only one competitor each, DN / Dinheiro Vivo found from a source linked to the process.
Scotturb, owned by the Brazilian Barata family, is expected to operate within the municipalities of Amadora, Oeiras and Sintra and also guarantee travel to and from the municipalities of Cascais, Lisbon and outside the AML. Lot 1 is valued at around 400 million euros and will have 133 bus lines, 35 of them new. Currently, this area has buses from Scotturb and Vimeca and represents 33% of the offer in the region.
Rodoviária de Lisboa, belonging to the Barraqueiro Group, was the only company that competed for trips in the municipalities of Mafra, Loures, Odivelas and Vila Franca de Xira. Lot 2 has an approximate value of 365 million and will have 218 races, 31 of which are new. The Barraqueiro Group has several companies in this field, such as Rodoviária de Lisboa, Barraqueiro Transportes, Isidoro Duarte, Boa Viagem and Henrique Leonardo Mota. It corresponds to 32% of the offer in the region.
The south bank of the Tagus has the most popular lots. For lot 3 alone, four companies appeared. Two are Portuguese: A. da Costa Reis & Filhos, which operates the buses from Espírito Santo in Gaia; and Auto Viação Cura, which operates in the Viana do Castelo area. The other two are British: TST, owned by Arriva, which currently operates in the southern municipalities of AML; and Nex Continental Holdings, owned by National Express, which had the STCP sub-concession at the end of 2015 – meanwhile canceled after Passos Coelho left the government.
Lot 3 will have 116 lines (43 new) in the municipalities of Almada, Seixal and Sesimbra, which will account for 18% of the demand. This area has a value of about 273 million euros.
The smallest area is valued at around 197 million euros, corresponding to 14% of demand and includes 111 lines (21 new) in Alcochete, Moita, Montijo, Palmela and Setúbal. Nex Continental Holdings competed for this lot. He also applied for Guanaurb, a company owned by Scotturb owners.
The competition rules prevent any of the competitors from having more than half of the bus demand. In other words, you can only have more than one zone if the second batch is 4. This is what could happen, for example, with Nex Continental if you win with both lots at South Bank.
The price will be the main criterion to choose the winner of each of the lots, representing 85% of the final classification. The average age of the fleet will represent the remaining 15%.
Starting at the end of next year, all AML buses must have the same color (yellow) and the same brand (Carris Metropolitana). At the beginning of the contract, no vehicle can be more than 16 years old and the required average is eight years. Starting in the fifth year, no bus can be older than 12 years, with an average age of eight.
Since December of last year, the management of passenger transport by road is the responsibility of the interurban or metropolitan transport authorities. In the case of Greater Lisbon, the company Transportes Metropolitanos de Lisboa will be established, which may also manage the Transtejo and Soflusa ships.
Diogo Ferreira Nyou are a journalist for Dinheiro Vivo
