Coimbra, Portugal, 29, 2025 (Lusa) - The articulated buses of the Mondego Mobility System (SMM) began their preliminary operation in Coimbra on Friday, with residents taking their first rides to satisfy their curiosity about a service that has been promised for decades.
Fernanda and José Roxo, who live in Santa Clara, in the municipality of Coimbra, had already taken a ride on Sunday, during the SMM's experimental journeys, and today they came to show the articulated buses to their grandson Gonçalo, at the start of the preliminary operation.
"I think it will bring improvements to the city," says Fernanda, who notes the convenience of the service.
José Roxo hopes that the SMM can operate as soon as possible to Serpins (Lousã) and the Coimbra-B railway station.
"It's been many years of waiting," says the couple, who are already thinking about the journeys they'll avoid making by car to Miranda do Corvo and Lousã, where they like to go for walks.
The articulated electric bus, which runs on a dedicated lane, began its preliminary operation today between Portagem, in Baixa, and Vale das Flores, offering free rides until it is possible to ensure the journey to Serpins, which is expected to start before the end of the year.
On one of the first journeys on the bus, which was practically full, Nelson Almeida was already taking the opportunity to travel from Baixa, where he lives, to the stadium area.
Living in Baixa, where parking "is terrible", he believes that the SMM will bring "improvements to Coimbra's mobility" and is satisfied with the service he has seen so far.
For the civil engineer, the wait has been worth it, noting that the works "were actually quite quick", given their complexity.
"It's a shame it's not the surface metro as planned," he laments.
Gabriel, 15, travelled from Porto by train this morning to try out the new system.
"It's been a very good experience," says the young man, who has been fascinated by public transport since he was a child and dreams of working in the field of mobility in the future.
After the journey and the experience, he plans to go to the headquarters of Metro Mondego, the organisation that manages the system, to see if he can take a souvenir pin back to Porto.
"It's been wonderful," says João Santos, 68, who says it's important to see Coimbra "changing, being modernised, so that it doesn't always stay the same".
For the Coimbra resident, the city is now "more beautiful" and the service will help, above all, when travelling to the hospital, whose line isn't due to be completed until 2026.
Carlos Leitão, who was a driver for the Municipalised Urban Transport Services of Coimbra (SMTUC) for 35 years, took advantage of his time in the city to try out the new system, where he found a former colleague driving the bus.
"I enjoyed the experience and it's good that they're continuing to invest in it and ensure that it's maintained," the 65-year-old pensioner, who hopes to become a future SMM user, told Lusa.
For the former driver, the service "is going to be important for people in Coimbra, but also in Miranda do Corvo and Lousã", regretting only the time it took.
Maria do Carmo remembers going to work on an SMTUC bus and hearing everyone say that "Metro Mondego was never going to come to anything, it was never going to come to anything".
"I used to say to myself: Take it easy, it'll come," the woman who has her daughter working for Metro Mondego and today took "a little ride" to try out the new service, told Lusa.
"Now you can't say it's not coming. It's on show," adds her husband, Jorge Freitas.
JGA/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
