In the letter addressed to Eduardo Vitor Rodrigues, to which Lusa had access on 30 January, citizens demand "equal access to public transport", asking the president of AMP to "help to promote the meeting between AMP, the CIM [Intermunicipal Community] of Alto Minho and CIM Cávado as soon as possible and to put the Single Pass for public transport between Alto Minho and AMP into practice".

"Since 2019, with the emergence of PART [Transport Fare Reduction Support Programme], we have been asking the Alto Minho and Cávado CIMs, as well as the AMP, to implement a Single Pass that allows connections between the regions," says the letter, which was also sent to the mayor of Porto and the president of the Mobility and Transport Authority.

The passengers warn that "there are people going unemployed and students who can't afford to go to class every day" in the face of "rising interest rates on loans" and students unable to pay their rent in Porto "caught in the middle of the school year".

For users, it was "the inability of the Alto Minho CIM to liaise with the Cávado CIM and the AMP to create a single pass that led to the Viana do Castelo council reducing "from 67 percent to 40 percent" the support given to frequent users of the bus that connects the municipality to Porto in 2024.

"Bus users (express via the A28) who used to pay 88 euros a month (22 days x 2 journeys x 2 euros) now pay 171.60 euros (22 days x 2 journeys x 3.90 euros)," they point out.

To this must be added another "30 or 40 euros for the Andante pass [for travelling in the AMP], which would be more than 200 euros a month," they lament.

They also asked the AMP for an "exceptional solution" to the cut made by Viana do Castelo council, highlighting that "Esposende council continues to support its residents, who continue to have a monthly expense of 88 euros".

In a reply to the Presidency of the Republic, to which Lusa had access and reported on 24 January, the Viana do Castelo City Council clarifies that "there was a regular Viana-Póvoa-Viana and Póvoa-Porto-Póvoa route that was cancelled after the conclusion of the International Public Tenders for the Public Passenger Transport Service Concession, both for the CIM Cávado and the AMP".