Company will again suppress several daily connections between Lisbon and Barreiro for not having enough people to ensure them. Constrictions have been constant in recent months on several lines.
“Technical constraints on the fleet" have been affecting the river connections between Cais do Sodré and Cacilhas on a daily basis, but now there is also a problem with the availability of "operational human resources" affecting boats between Barreiro and Lisbon, says TTSL. The river operator will therefore officially cancel several routes on working days.
The deletions will take place at the following times:
- Towards Barreiro > Lisbon (Terreiro do Paço): at 7:15, 8:05, 8:55, 14:55, 16:20, 17:10, 18:00, 18:50, 19:10 and 19:50;
- Towards Lisbon (Terreiro do Paço) > Barreiro: at 7:40, 8:30, 9:20, 15:20, 16:45, 17:35, 18:25, 19:15 and 20:15.
"With the limitation of operational human resources, it is not possible to guarantee that all routes will run on working days"TTSL also said in a statement. This was, however, the second month in which a situation of this kind was reported. In July, the carrier issued a similar warning - with the same cancellations for the same reasons, for an entire month, between Lisbon and Barreiro. In June there were also cutbacks on several days and weeks, just like in May.
This week, which is now coming to an end, there have been various schedules between Cacilhas and Cais do Sodré "due to technical constraints in the fleet". The notices were published day after day on the TTSL website and app with no prior indication of which careers would be abolished. "In order to minimize the impact of route cancellations and delays, some ships start sailing as soon as the maximum capacity of passengers has been reached, regardless of the scheduled time"we read on.
Other river connections have been affected, such as the SeixalDuring the afternoon of Friday, July 29th, there were also disturbances due to "technical constraints on the fleet". The same reason affected the boats between Montijo and Lisbon on the afternoon of July 11. There were many more situations, which began to become more frequent from the end of March.
Suspension of the ferry harms the population
This week the connection was suspended indefinitely by ferry between Belém, Porto Brandão and TrafariaThis was the only one where vehicles such as cars and motorcycles were also allowed. TTSL claimed only "technical reasons". In press releaseThe Union of Trade Unions of Setúbal (CGTP-IN) says that this unexpected interruption is confining the population of Porto Brandão and Trafaria, who have not been offered an alternative public transport route to Lisbon.
"What we're talking about is the disinvestment of successive [TTSL] administrations, appointed either by PS governments or PSD/CDS governments, disinvestment which means that the boats aren't properly maintained, that the Lisbonense boat has been berthed for two years, that the repair that should have been carried out on the Almadense still hasn't been agreed by the administration."reports the Setúbal Trade Union Union. "We're dealing with an administration that is paid by the pound and that doesn't comply with the minimum services and harms the population of Porto Brandão and Trafaria, as well as the workers who want to leave their homes every day to go to work."
Paulo Silva, a resident of Costa da Caparica and a user of river transport, told the Almadense newspaper which "before there were direct lines from Trafaria to Belém and from Porto Brandão to Belém every half hour during 'rush hour', now there aren't any". He regrets that the crossing between the two banks in that area has degraded in recent years, and is now made every hour during 'rush hour', with "huge breaks in the remaining hours and with the near extinction of the night hours that existed in the past".
The suspension of the connection between Belém, Porto Brandão and Trafaria also comes in the middle of the high season, at a time when many people are looking for the beaches of the Costa da Caparica, which are served by this ferry. "We are making every effort to re-establish the transport service on this river link as soon as possible."said TTSL.
