"With the aim of ensuring efficient and sustainable use of public space", from today "access for tourist vehicles and occasional passenger transport vehicles to the Baixa and Historic Centre of Porto will be subject to prior authorisation", reads a statement sent to newsrooms by the Porto City Council.

According to the local authority, the aim of this one-year pilot project is to "encourage more efficient and targeted mobility in an area of ​​the city that is currently under greater pressure".

"All tourist entertainment vehicles, whether with a capacity of more or less than nine seats – buses, motorbikes with sidecars, tuk-tuks, jeeps, classic cars, among others – are prohibited from circulating in the Restriction Zone, with the exception of companies duly authorised by municipal license", explains the local authority.

Access, circulation and stopping to pick up and drop off passengers may be authorised by the municipality "depending on the capacity of the infrastructure" and time restrictions.

Authorisations may be granted between 10:00 and 17:00, “except for more complex scheduled events supported by the municipality”, and between 20:00 and 08:00, only prior communication of access will be required.

The municipality adds that between 08:00 and 10:00 and between 17:00 and 20:00, occasional services will not be authorised.

As of today, for authorized requests for vehicles with up to nine spaces, there are nine duly signposted parking locations: Rua Ferreira Borges, next to the Palácio da Bolsa; in Largo da Alfândega; Rua de Sá da Bandeira, in front of the Hotel Teatro; in Campo dos Mártires da Pátria; in Rua do Dr. Ferreira da Silva (limited to the size of the vehicle); in Calçada da Vandoma; and in the streets of Passos Manuel, next to the Coliseu do Porto, Alexandre Herculano and dos Heroes and Martyrs of Angola.

"In these cases, passengers must be picked up and dropped off as quickly as possible, and the time spent at authorised points may not exceed six minutes", states the local authority.

The Alfândega car park and the Camélias and Asprela terminals "will serve as parking areas for unauthorized heavy passenger vehicles".

In cases "where the operator's garage is located within the restricted area, access will be permitted provided that it is done without customers or stops and by the most direct route, and duly communicated and authorised by the municipal services".

Applications for authorisation to operate vehicles must be made through the citizen portal or at the citizen's office "at least 20 days in advance".

The restricted area is comprised, to the north, by the streets of Bragas and Gonçalo Cristóvão; to the east by the streets of Alegria, Fernandes Tomás and D. João IV.

To the south, the area is limited by Avenida Rodrigues de Freitas and the streets of Duque de Loulé, Alexandre Herculano, Augusto Rosa, Arnaldo Gama, Clube Fluvial Portuense, Infante D. Henrique and Nova da Alfândega, and to the west by Calçada de Monchique, Rua da Bandeirinha, Largo do Viriato, Rua da Laja and Rua do Professor Vicente José de Carvalho, Travessa do Carregal and Ruas de Diogo Brandão, Miguel Bombarda and Cedofeita.

The restrictions were announced on 22 July by the Mayor, Rui Moreira, for whom "it is somewhat incomprehensible to citizens that the city of Porto and the Portuguese State are making heavy investments in terms of decarbonisation, clean transport, in terms of electric buses, the metro, and at the same time are going to allow highly polluting vehicles to continue to invade the city of Porto".