With the Elevador da Glória deactivated, Carris has launched an alternative route in electric minibuses, which runs between Restauradores, Baixa, Largo do Carmo, Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara and Praça da Alegria, with a frequency of 15 minutes.
The Elevador da Glória used to delight tourists but also many locals. That's why September 3rd derailment, which left the service inoperative, the Carris launched an alternative minibus route last friday. A 51E - the numerical designation of the Elevador da Glória - runs between Restauradores, Baixa, Largo do Carmo, Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara/Bairro Alto and Praça da Alegria, in a circular route that can take between 15 and 30 minutes, depending on traffic.
More specifically, the 51E starts at Restauradores and passes through Rossio, Rua do Ouro, Rua da Conceição, Rua Nova do Almada, Rua Garrett, Calçada do Sacramento, Largo do Carmo, Largo da Trindade, Rua da Misericórdia, Rua das Taipas, Praça da Alegria and Avenida da Liberdade, then returns to Restauradores. It runs every day between 7 a.m. and 9.30 p.m. with departures every 15 minutes or so from Restauradores.
There is one problem with this new 51E: traffic in Lisbon's historic center. Without any restrictions in place, the route suffers and can take twice as long to complete, especially in the middle of the day. Without traffic, the whole route can be done in 15-20 minutes. A quick and easy-to-implement help would be for these minibuses to use Rua do Carmo, which has been pedestrianized since the 1980s. The vehicles being used in the 51E are small, electric and quiet, and can be made compatible with pedestrian circulation - as happens, for example, in Coimbra, on the city's main pedestrian artery. Using Rua do Carmo would be a giant shortcut, avoiding all the traffic on Rua do Ouro.
Although this minibus route has been given the number of the route of the crashed Elevador da Glória, 51E, it has a more comprehensive and also replaces the Elevador de Santa Justa, which is suspended, connecting Baixa to Largo do Carmo. By the way, it's the first time in many years that Carmo has had a bus route again, This offer could make sense even with the reactivation of the elevators, as they are in high demand among tourists. In other words, this minibus circuit could be implemented on a permanent basis.
For the time being, an alternative route to the Elevador da Glória was necessary because there was no other way to make the upward journey by public transport. The same cannot be said for the Bica and Lavra elevators, which are redundant with the 22B and 19B, respectively. Even so, the route of the 19B was slightly adjusted and gained new stops, to better serve the route of the Lavra Elevator, as the portal reports Buses from Lisbon.
“Mission Team” set up to design a new technological system for the future Glória Elevator
In the wake of the Glória Elevator accident, the Lisbon City Council approved a series of measures to support the victims and their families, such as the creation of a Municipal Support Fund. setting up a Mission Group to begin the process of designing a new technological system for that equipment.
“In addition to all the answers we demand in relation to this tragedy, which we want to be ascertained in the shortest possible time, we must also look ahead and take the lead now with new solutions for the future Elevador da Glória”, Carlos Moedas, Mayor of Lisbon, said in a statement. “It is precisely this confidence-building work that is beginning to be prepared and which brings together some of the most prestigious institutions in our country.”
On behalf of National Civil Engineering Laboratory (LNEC) Civil engineer Luís Oliveira, director of the Structures Department, and mechanical engineer João Viegas, head of the Scientific Instrumentation and Information Technology Center, are now part of this mission group. A Order of Engineers will be represented by its President of the College of Engineering and Quality, Ricardo da Cunha Reis, and by Manuel Tender, Coordinator of the Occupational Safety group. Representing Instituto Superior Técnico will be Jorge Ambrósio, Full Professor specializing in Structural and Computational Mechanics.
It's a priority for Lisbon City Council and Carris to study new solutions and restore normality as soon as possible, while ensuring the preservation of the historical and cultural heritage that the Elevador da Glória represents for Lisbon and the country.
A meeting between all the members of this Task Force and the Mayor of Lisbon is planned for this week.
