In this business, every day is different. They have the road as their office and it is through it that they fly at the whim of their passengers. Anonymous people with whom they exchange silences, smiles and words. Some even cry in the back seat. Those who drive TVDEs recognize the freedom, but miss the prestige that this profession once enjoyed. Today they resist, in love with the streets, but captive to a computer system they don't control.
In this business, every day is different. They have the road as their office and it is through it that they fly at the whim of their passengers. Anonymous people with whom they exchange silences, smiles and words. Some even cry in the back seat. Those who drive TVDE (Transport of Passengers in a Non-Characterized Vehicle from an Electronic Platform) recognize the freedom, but say they miss the prestige the profession enjoyed in the past. Today they resist, passionate about the streets, but captive to a computerized and legal system that they don't control.
The latest figures from the Instituto de Mobilidade e dos Transportes (IMT) show that there are more than 76,000 certified TVDE drivers in Portugal, most of whom are concentrated in the Lisbon metropolitan area. Of this universe, 37,495 drivers were active (i.e. in circulation) in March 2025 - almost double the 20,317 taxi drivers registered in Portugal at the end of last year. The majority of TVDE drivers are aged between 30 and 39 (59.4%) and are Portuguese (52.8%), followed by Brazilians (20.6%) and Indians (10.4%). The number of valid operators in March this year was 11,894.
Sandra Monteirinho is representative of some of these figures, but she contradicts other statistics. At 52, she is Portuguese and is a driver, mother and carer. She works between 7 and 11 in the morning, when she turns off her apps to go shopping and make lunch for her mother-in-law, who has Alzheimer's and visits her every day. He also finds time to take care of his home and the company affairs he has to conduct on the platforms, returning to work at 16 for a second shift that ends around 22.
