At stake is the fulfilment of an electoral promise of the PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Alliance coalition, led by the now mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, who won the local elections last September, and which aims to guarantee free passes for public transport within the city to any minor, students up to the age of 23 and people over 65.

The deputy mayor, Filipe Anacoreta Correia (CDS-PP), said that the council's budget proposal for 2022 provides 12 million Euros for this measure, which is being negotiated with the operators, since the aim is that the free passes promoted by the municipality cover not only Carris buses (a municipal company), but also the metro and trains within the city.

"A negotiation effort has already been made involving TML [Transportes Metropolitanos de Lisboa] in the quantification of the cost", revealed Anacoreta Correia, who said it was a matter of compensating the operators for lost revenue.

The CML deputy mayor, who was speaking at the presentation of the budget proposal for 2022 of the Lisbon City Council (CML), said he was unable to give an "exact timetable" for the measure to come into force and admitted that it could be adopted in stages, as it was easier "from a technical point of view" to go ahead first with the differentiated passes that already exist for the over-65s.

"We understand that there are conditions for the implementation during this year", he reinforced, ensuring that "the commitment of the municipal executive is that it is in force quickly".