The municipality of Guimarães, district of Braga, has launched Vitrusbus, a flexible passenger transport service to supplement the municipality's current public transportation network. In this way, interested parties who make a reservation with Vitrusbus by 3 pm the day before, through the municipal corporation Vitrus's free number 800506060, website, or application, and who show up at the stop at the designated time, will be able to use the service.
When utilising Vitrubus for transportation, holders of Guimabus or Ave Mobilidade passes do not need to purchase a ticket. The initiative will use three fully electric minibuses “In a project aligned with the Guimarães 2030 strategy, which aims to transform the city into a climate-neutral zone by the end of the decade”. With its constant connection to the closest stop for regular service, Vitrubus seeks to supplement the municipality of Guimarães’ current public transportation network and make shortages during times of reduced demand primarily at night and on weekends.
As shared by the municipal company Vitrus “The network is made up of 10 zones and two circuits. The zones operate from 8 pm to midnight every day of the year, with four zones operating between 8 am and 8 pm on weekends and public holidays and two zones operating from 8 am to 8 pm on weekdays during school holidays. The two circuits operate on weekdays, from 8 am to 8 pm, within the parish of Polvoreira, and on the connection between the parishes of Pencelo and Azurém”.
The Guimarães mayor forewarned of the challenges that might occur, particularly at the beginning of the implementation of this initiative and demanded that customers always receive an explanation whenever something goes wrong, as this initiative has created expectations that should be met.