More expensive transport in 2024 for occasional passengers

Occasional use of public transport in the Lisbon metropolitan area (amL) will become more expensive from January 1, 2024. The sector's regulator, the Mobility and Transport Authority (AMT), has set fares at can increase up to 6.43% and several operators are applying the maximum fare increase allowed in the transition to the new year. In amL, occasional tickets will become more expensive on trains, buses and streetcars, boats and metropolitan systems. However, fares on Carris Metropolitana, TCB, MobiCascais and MTS will remain unchanged.

To understand these changes, you need to understand that there are two types of passengers on public transport: occasional and frequent. For the latter, there are monthly passes - the Navegante passes - which have had a stable monthly cost since 2019: €30 to get around one municipality, €40 to get around the whole of amL, up to €80 per household of any size, various social discounts and more, and now free for students up to the age of 23. However, for those who use transport occasionally, more attractive solutions, such as weekly passes or X-trip fares, have not been created.

Passengers who only wish to use them from time to time are dependent on single tickets and other options such as the zapping (which consists of pre-loading the balance on a Navegante card). These options will become more expensive in 2024. For example, a journey between Lisbon and Setúbal will increase by more than 10%, costing €5.35 instead of the current €4.85. And a Metro or Carris journey will rise by 15 cents to €1.80. But let's get to the details of the planned increases, by mode of transport.

Train

At CPtickets are by zone and will increase between 10 and 15 cents. A train journey within the city of Lisbon consists of a single zone and today costs €1.35; by 2024, it will cost €1.45. A train journey between Lisbon and Oeiras crosses three zones and will cost €2.10 instead of the current €1.95. There are also fare increases zappingIn the case of CP, this allows you to travel without worrying about zones, paying a single price/fixed price per journey. zapping costs €1.90 and will rise to €2.00. Meanwhile, the so-called one-day tourist ticket, which allows unlimited use of CP's urban trains for 24 hours, will rise by 50 cents to €6.50.

The more substantial increases will be, however, in the Fertagus, a private company that operates the railway line between Lisbon (Roma-Areeiro) and Setúbal under a sub-concession. The full journey between the two cities will increase by more than 10%, from €4.85 to €5.35. A trip between Coina (Quinta do Conde) and the capital goes from €3.70 to €4.05; that's 35 cents more, or a rise of almost 10%. Crossing the bridge between Almada and Lisbon, on the other hand, rises by 20 cents to €2.40 - around 20% more expensive than the previous one. cheapest road toll on the bridge (which you only pay for in one direction).

At Fertagus, the parking+train option will also see significant increases in 2024. Anyone who wants to park their car in one of the Fertagus-managed car parks outside the station and continue their journey by train will also pay more in the new year.

Find out more about the CP increases here.

Find out more about the increases at Fertagus here.

Bus and streetcar

In Lisbon, riding an occasional Carris bus or streetcar is going to get more expensive. A one-way ticketwhich allows you to make an unlimited number of journeys for 60 minutes, will cost €1.80 instead of the current €1.65 - almost 10% increase. For its part, the tariff zapping on Carris will rise from €1.47 to €1.61 on January 1, 2024.

On-board fares are going up. On buses, it will be raised to €2.10, representing an increase of 10 cents compared to the current fare of €2.00. This less rounded figure may create additional challenges for drivers, although it's important to note that Carris plans to implement contactless payments as early as 2024. On Carris streetcars, on-board fares will also rise by 10 cents to €3.10. In the Glória, Bica and Lavra elevators, a trip paid to the brakeman will cost €4.10 instead of €3.80 (30 cents more); in the Santa Justa elevator, it will rise from €5.30 to €6.00 (70 cents more). However, by pre-purchasing a ticket at €1.80 you can travel on the entire Carris network for an hour, which includes any bus, streetcar or elevator.

At Carris Metropolitana, whose operation covers most of the metropolitan area, no increases for the second year running. It's worth remembering that Carris Metropolitana didn't fully launch until January 1, 2023, after a partial launch on the south bank in the summer of 2022. It's therefore not surprising that the brand is still looking for stability with its passengers, absorbing the increases of up to 6.43% that it could practise.

The municipal operators Transportes Colectivos do Barreiro (TCB) and MobiCascais will also maintain their fares in the new year. TCB had even lowering the cost of occasional tickets in 2022 (a journey costs €1.25 if purchased on board or €1.10 if purchased in advance). On MobiCascais, a journey on board will continue to cost €2.00; if bought with the operator's mobile app, it will cost the same €1.50.

Find out more about the Carris increases here.

Metro

In the Lisbon Metro, the increases are similar to those in Carris, since the fares of the two operators are partially combined. Thus, a single Metro ticket will cost €1.80 (is the new cost of a trip contactless) and a zapping will be 1.61 €. The cost of a day ticket for Carris and Metro, which allows an unlimited number of journeys on both operators for 24 hours, will also rise from €6.60 to €6.80.

However Metro Sul do Tejo (MTS)There will be no increase: a one-way ticket, which allows unlimited travel for one hour, will continue to cost €0.85 (and, since July 2023, it can be purchased conveniently by MB Way).

Find out more about the increases in the Lisbon Metro here.

Boat

On the TTSL, which provides river connections between the two sides of the metropolitan area, there will be increases of between 10 and 15 cents on the various connections. A trip between Lisbon and Montijo will cost €3.15 instead of the current €3.00; if it is bought using the zapping (topping up the balance on a Navegante card), will be €3.10 instead of the current €2.97. There will be similar increases on the other connections.

Find out more about the TTSL increases here.