Heritage trams in Lisbon, operated by Carris migh merge with Metro Lisboa according to the Portugese governement plans. © N.ANew year started with a national strike on railway lines in Portugal. The third strike after November 24 in Porto and Lisbon city transport, and December 23 on the national rail network.
Officially, disciplinary proceedings against railway men who did not respect the minimum service were in cause. More importantly, the unions are headwind against "political dismantling of railways and reducing the number of positions in public services".
Public transport has been one of the priority targets in the memorandum signed in spring 2011 between Portugal and the European Union, the IMF and the European bank, the "troika". In 2010, public transport companies debt amounted "to nearly 17 billion euros, i.e 10% of annual GDP of the country," said the Portuguese Minister of Economy.
That is why public transport sector is one of the most affected by austerity measures decided by the new center-right government led by Pedro Passos Coelho (who succeeded the Socialist Jose Socrates) in exchange for financial assistance provided by the troika.
A 78 billion euros loan over three years, with a demanding fiscal austerity plan to consolidate public finances and reduce the deficit from 5.9% in 2011 to 4.5% in 2012.
No more 13th and 14th months salary
The 2012 budget plans to cancel the 13th and 14th months salary for civil servants and retired people whose monthly income exceeds 1,000 euros. The working time of civil servants is also questioned. Private companies employees are asked to work half an hour more per week for the same salary.
City public transport fares rose by 15% in August 2011, a measure which was specified in the international agreement. Fares may increase again in 2012, in order to restore the financial balance of public transport companies.
To save money, Lisbon Metro now closes its doors at 11 pm instead of 1 am, causing a strong discontent among the inhabitants of the capital, even with night buses services.
The mayor also plan a congestion charge to fund public transport investments. Because until now, and it is one of the main reason for such debt, "public transport operators have not received any grant or compensation by the State or local authorities" , said Alain Descamps, Veolia Transdev Portugal general manager.
The French group which operated the Porto light rail system until 2010 (Keolis-Barraqueiro then took over) still operates intercity buses in Portugal (200 million euros turnover with 2.400 employees and 1.300 vehicles).
Priority for the road
In Portugal, private companies have to officially apply before operating long distance bus lines and once allowed, they operate these lines at their own risk. "Public transport companies are now paying for the development of mobility which mainly focused on road for the last 30 years in Portugal", said another observer.
Regional rail services have been abandoned, Portugal being covered by many bus connections using the very dense highways network. And the Coehlo government's strategic plan will probably reduce even more local train services.
Commercial revenues have never been enough to compensate operating costs and deficits of transport public companies like Carris (Lisbon's trams) Metro Lisboa, Transtejo (the ferry company which connects the two banks of the Tejo river in Lisbon), Metro Porto and STCP (city bus lines). In total, an estimated debt of 20 billion euros at the end 2011.
"The State and local authorities behaved as if public transport were making profit !," says Alain Descamps.
There is no real regulator in Portugal, metropolitan transport authorities are new, they have no financial means, just a few compensations provided by the central government for social tariffs and above all, transport services are not at all coordinated. For example in Lisbon, the tram network competes with metro lines.
Merger and privatization of public enterprises
Coehlo government proposes to merger Carris and Metro Lisboa, Soflusa and Transtejo (the two ferry companies), Metro Porto and the bus company STCP.
The new Portuguese government seems determined to ignore the past and intends to deregulate public transport by the end of 2012 : "The State has clearly announced its intention to subcontract the operation of public transport, "said Alain Descamps.
French groups like Veolia Transdev, Keolis, RATP Dev, Spanish companies like Vectalia, Alsa, Cosmen, German Arriva-DB, or British groups like First, Stagecoach and National Express will follow closely the matter. "The need for structural funding is not yet resolved, payment delays can be very long, the risk of traffic and the euro zone crisis is big : so Portugal is not really a paradise. There will be market oppportunities, but we will have to be very careful", sums up Alain Descamps.
Nathalie Arensonas
