In Portugal, the transport sector is the second largest source of GHG emissions, which makes sustainable mobility a priority area.

As a way of promoting the use of bicycles as a privileged means of getting around in urban areas and as an alternative to using motorised transport, shared-use bicycle systems have been gradually implemented throughout the municipality.

Vilamoura Public Bikes

In operation since August 2012, Vilamoura Public Bikes is a pioneering system of public transport through the shared use of bicycles. Available throughout Vilamoura, the shared-use bicycle system has proved to be an important means of active mobility in the area and an important alternative to using motorised transport, influencing the resident community to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Bicycles can be used throughout the Vilamoura area for work or leisure, using a personal card. This project is a benchmark in the region, with national impact, due to its size, success and power to spread soft modes in urban environments. The system currently consists of 35 strategically located stations, 304 parking spaces and 200 bicycles, designed using materials and finishes with high standards of demand and safety, guaranteeing easy and comfortable handling.

Smart Bikes by Infralobo

Implemented in 2018, the Smart Bikes by Infralobo system consists of 30 electric bikes and 5 battery charging stations and 20 parking stations, conveniently distributed throughout the area of intervention of the municipal company Infralobo, EM.

With a total of 98,661.35 km travelled by mid-2023 (an average of 14,164.17 km/year), Vale do Lobo residents can make use of this system every day of the year.

As a system included in the Smart Resort by Infralobo project, the Smart Bikes by Infralobo system is monitored in real time, making it possible to know where the bikes are, their battery level, as well as how many are available and at which stations. This information is also available to users themselves, who can plan their journey before leaving home. This information makes it possible to measure an important set of indicators that make it possible to analyse and study the positive impacts that public bicycles are having in Infralobo’s area of intervention and thus contribute to a more sustainable management of the territory. Watch the promotional video here.

Public Shared Bicycle System in the Municipality of Loulé

The Public Shared Bicycle System for the municipality of Loulé is currently under development. It will provide bicycles with electric support and will include stations and parking bays throughout the municipality. The solution will be coordinated with the systems already in operation and will include the urban centres of Loulé, Quarteira, Vilamoura and Almancil (including Quinta do Lago and Vale do Lobo).

Bike Sharing in Schools

The Municipality of Loulé has equipped all EB 2,3 and secondary schools in the municipality with shared bicycle systems for the use of the school community and their workshops.

Organised under the European funding for Urbact’s “Healthy Cities” project, the “Bicycle goes to School” project is aimed at children attending pre-school and primary school (aged 3 to 10) in the municipality’s educational establishments and aims to equip them with the knowledge and skills that will enable them to use a bicycle regularly, autonomously and safely, not only in technical terms but also in terms of traffic signs and rules. At the end of the school cycle - 4th grade - each student will receive a “Driving Licence” which will prove the skills of these cyclists. In addition to the component associated with sports and physical exercise as a way of promoting healthy lifestyle habits, cycling is one of the vectors of Municipality of Loulé’s environmental policy to reduce the territory’s carbon footprint.

As a way of contributing to the mitigation of GHG emissions, the municipality of Loulé is gradually replacing the municipal fleet, according to the needs that are being registered. Replacing old vehicles with new ones from the same range, which are more efficient and less polluting, in itself ensures an increase in energy efficiency and, consequently, a reduction in fuel consumption per kilometre travelled and the associated CO2 emissions. At the same time as incorporating more efficient vehicles into the fleet, it is imperative the replacement of conventional vehicles with electric and hybrid vehicles, with special emphasis on 100 percent electric vehicles.

APANHA-ME, the Urban Public Transport Network of the municipality of Loulé, under the management of the municipal company Loulé Concelho Global EM, provides a bus service for passengers in the city of Loulé, the city of Quarteira, Vilamoura and Almancil, which also benefit from a shuttle service to Loulé-Quarteira Railway Station.

The passenger transport system provided by the municipality of Loulé is made up of buses that guarantee quality and comfort, promoting urban mobility in a more environmentally sustainable way, with Euro VI motorised vehicles with low emissions of atmospheric pollutants.

The city of Loulé is served by four urban transport lines (Yellow Line, Short Blue Line, Long Blue Line and Red Line). Quarteira and Vilamoura are served all year round by three urban transport lines (Short Green Line, Long Green Line and Red Line), reinforced during the summer period (between 1 July and 10 September) by two more lines (Night Green Line and White Line). Almancil is served by two urban transport lines (Purple Line and Red Line).

In the short term, the Urban Public Transport service is to be restructured, including the introduction of 100 per cent electric buses, increasing their frequency, capacity and range of routes.

Pedestrian mobility is a fundamental aspect of the efficient and sustainable functioning of cities. According to the National Strategy for Active Pedestrian Mobility 2030, “walking is the most obvious way for humanity to get around, but it is not always an attractive option”. There are countless advantages to pedestrian mobility, contributing to decarbonising the economy, improving public health, humanising the territory and building friendlier, closer and more resilient territories.

In this context, Municipality of Loulé has been investing in urban regeneration to promote pedestrian mobility, adapting public spaces and creating new green spaces and leisure areas.

With the same aim, the municipality of Loulé has published the Metrominuto de Loulé and the Metrominuto de Quarteira, two synoptic maps, similar to a metro network, which represent the main points of each of the cities with an indication of the distances and journey times to walk between them and which aim to promote and encourage pedestrian mobility. As the Metrominuto is a communication tool for promoting the habit of walking, the municipality intends, by encouraging more sustainable mobility, to affirm Loulé and Quarteira as cities with a perfect scale for walking, contributing to a better environment, healthy physical activity, reduced road traffic and boosting local commerce.

The municipality has been strengthening the Public Network of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations to encourage electric mobility in the municipality, reducing GHG emissions, exposure to traffic noise and encouraging citizens to adopt more sustainable practices.

Operated by Loulé Concelho Global, E.M., the network consists of twenty three charging stations distributed throughout the municipality of Loulé, with at least one charging station per parish. The 7,096 charges made between 1 January and 31 August 2022 enabled more than 525,000 km to be covered with a reduction of around 90% in CO2 emissions, which is equivalent to 582 t less CO2 emitted into the atmosphere.

The aim of this working group is to operationalize the Loulé municipality’s electric mobility strategy, developing planning instruments that will improve capacity in terms of managing and regulating electric mobility, adapting to the new reality and needs and providing citizens with better conditions for mobility, enjoyment of public space and quality of urban life.

As part of the Quality of Life and Organisational Innovation Programme and the Management System for Reconciling Professional, Family and Personal Life, Municipality of Loulé, in partnership with Via Verde Boleias, has launched the “BoleiasCML” programme, which consists of carpooling between colleagues travelling to the same destination. The aims of this initiative are to reduce CO2 emissions, reduce parking and road traffic problems, save time for employees, reduce costs associated with fuel and vehicle maintenance, and strengthen the spirit of sharing and socialising among municipal employees.

Municipalities have a wide range of competences to realise the fundamental right to education, which includes ensuring that children and young people are transported between their homes and their respective educational establishments so that they can attend compulsory schooling under the terms and conditions established by law on an equal footing.

School transport, as well as being an indispensable instrument in the pursuit of educational equity that enables access to school, promotes educational success and prevents school drop-outs, is also a mean of contributing to minimising GHG emissions in the transport sector and favouring collective transport.

In what has been one of the guidelines of its environmental policy, Municipality of Loulé participates annually in European Mobility Week (EMW), an initiative that is the result of a partnership between the respective European Coordination, local authorities and the European Commission. Every year, from 16 to 22 September, European citizens have the opportunity to enjoy a whole week of activities dedicated to sustainable mobility, with the aim of facilitating a wideranging debate on the need to change behaviour
in relation to mobility, particularly with regard to the use of individual motorised transport.

Loulé has been a member of EMW since its inception, organising a diverse range of activities and initiatives every year dedicated to sustainable mobility, with the highlight in recent years being “Park(ing) Day - Take your place in the city! “, an event which consists of a wide-ranging exhibition and demonstration of various products/services related to the themes of intelligent mobility, healthy lifestyles, energy efficiency, clean energy, reuse of materials, environmental sustainability and climate adaptation, with spaces being
made available for this purpose in areas where vehicles are usually parked on a daily basis. The aim of this initiative is to make the general public aware of the need to reduce the environmental impact of urban mobility by promoting new ways of travelling in urban areas and enjoying public spaces.