Carris line 732, which connects Caselas (Belém) to Santa Maria Hospital, passing through Saldanha, now circulates on weekdays through Avenida Duque de Loulé instead of Avenida Fontes Pereira de Melo.
Carris announced yesterday, Tuesday, that today, Wednesday, its route 732 will take a new route in the Picoas and Estefânia areas: instead of using Avenida Fontes Pereira de Melo, it will make a detour through the parallel Duque de Loulé. The 732 runs between Caselas, in the Belém area, and Santa Maria Hospital, passing through Praça do Comércio, Avenida da Liberdade, Marquês de Pombal, Saldanha, and Entrecampos.
This change only happens on weekdays, since on weekends and holidays the 732 only circulates between Caselas and Marquês de Pombal. This means that the three stops of the 732 that existed in each direction on Avenida Fontes Pereira de Melo no longer exist. The new route of the 732 can be seen on the following map:
Thus, the route of the 732 became the following:
- of the Marquis of Pombal: by Avenida Duque de Loulé, where it has two stops, one at the bottom of the avenue near the traffic circle and another at the top; from here it goes through Praça José Fontana where it has a stop, goes along Rua Eng. Vieira da Silva, enters the upper part of Fontes Pereira de Melo and makes a stop at the Saldanha traffic circle;
- of the Avenida da República: has a new stop at the Saldanha inner traffic circle and from here it goes along Avenida Casal Ribeiro where, when reaching Largo da Estefânia, it makes a stop; from here it continues through Praça José Fontana where it has a stop, enters Avenida Duque de Loulé, where it has a stop at the top and another at the bottom, reaching Marquês de Pombal.
According to what Carris explained to Lisboa Para Pessoas, this amendment aims at "allow direct connection between Duque Loulé Av. and República Av., Entrecampos and Santa Maria Hospital. Maria, until now existing only with transshipment"., e "reestablish the original route of the 732 route, in an axis with a lot of passenger movement, in a logic of complementarity with the Metro network and with our 738 route in the above mentioned connection".
It should be noted, however, that the change was made overnight. Who searches for information about the 732 on the Carris website you will find the updated route, but if you download the PDF about the line you will see the old route. On the other hand, in applications like Google Maps the 732 still has the stops in Fontes Pereira de Melo, which may mislead users and create confusion in the use of public transportation.
The route that the 732 now takes is the original of this career. In 2006, when it increased from 32 to 732, it connected Caselas to Santa Maria Hospital through Avenida Duque de Loulé and Estefânia. In 2012, with the Troika and Passos Coelho's government, the route was shortened, circulating only between Caselas and Marquês de Pombal - a route that today runs only on weekends. In December 2020, Carris resumed the original route of the 732, which returned this way to connect the western part of the city to Santa Maria Hospital; however, this extension was made by Fontes Pereira de Melo.
