Since July 10, public transportation has been free for all residents of the municipality of Porto. All you need is a valid Porto Municipal Card to travel for free throughout the entire public transportation network of the Porto Metropolitan Area.
What modes of transportation are included
Free transit covers the entire metropolitan network: metro lines, STCP and Unir network buses, CP commuter trains, the Guindais Funicular, and—as soon as it launches this summer—the future river crossing between Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia.
How to access free transit
Those who already have the free pass (valid until age 23) do not need to do anything. Those who already have the Porto Municipal Card must visit an Andante store or a Payshop to update it—a quick process. Those who do not yet have the card can request it online or visit the Citizen’s Office. The free pass must be renewed annually.
An election promise fulfilled ahead of schedule
Free public transportation was one of the key measures in the electoral platform of Pedro Duarte, who was elected by the PSD/CDS-PP/IL coalition. The proposal was approved by the municipal executive in April and by the Municipal Assembly in May of this year. The official plan called for it to take effect on January 1, 2027, but the city council ultimately brought the measure forward to this summer.
Not everyone is satisfied
The measure has also drawn criticism. Mayors of neighboring municipalities have accused Pedro Duarte of discrimination, since the free transit benefits only those who reside in the municipality of Porto, leaving out the thousands of people who enter the city every day from outside the city—including a large portion of the car traffic that the mayor himself wants to reduce. The mayor himself acknowledged that the initiative alone does not solve all of the city’s mobility problems, particularly issues such as the frequency and coverage of the public transportation network.
To complement this measure, the City Council also plans to extend bus lanes by six kilometers by the end of the year, bringing the total length of bus-only lanes in the city to 22 kilometers.
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