In a statement, Metro do Porto highlights the "path taken of active listening, intense work, and strong collaboration" that allowed the metrobus to begin operating, which, for now, will connect Casa da Música to Praça do Império.

"This phase is essential to consolidate schedules, frequencies, and procedures, preparing the way for regular operation," it reads.

On 18 December, it was announced that the metrobus would start at the end of this month, with a free trial period in March.

The first phase of the metrobus project, between Casa da Música and Praça do Império, has been completed since the summer of 2024, and the second phase, which was suspended by the new administration of Metro do Porto in October, restarted on 3 November on Avenida da Boavista, between Colégio do Rosário and Fonte da Moura (Antunes Guimarães).

Still at the end of last year, the president of Metro do Porto, Emídio Gomes, explained that the reason for the start of operations only happening in February was due not only to "mandatory testing items that are already underway on the vehicles in the existing line, whether in the dedicated line or in the shared line on Avenida Marcial Gomes da Costa," also related to "traffic lights and safety," but also due to the supply of hydrogen, the energy source for the vehicles.

Second phase of the project

Regarding the changes for the second phase of the project, which include, on Avenida da Boavista, maintaining the central divider next to Parque da Cidade and the circulation of buses not in a dedicated lane but alongside cars, the Mayor of Porto, Pedro Duarte, said in December that the central corridor could even be widened.

Different phases

Regarding the differences between phase 1 and phase 2, there will be "a very different framework within Avenida da Boavista compared to phase 1," with "greater respect" for a space "much more conducive to popular interaction, to community enjoyment by families and the people of Porto, a space of excellence" that the executive wants to "preserve and promote," the mayor explained.

Regarding the merging of traffic between the metrobus and cars, which will occur both on Avenida Marechal Gomes da Costa and, in the second phase, between Antunes Guimarães and Castelo do Queijo, the president of Metro do Porto also said he believes the new transport system's efficiency will not be lost.

"In what is the least critical area we all know in terms of traffic flow, which is the stretch between Antunes Guimarães and the Castelo do Queijo roundabout, and also with the consent and agreement of STCP, it seems to us that the operation there between Antunes Guimarães and Castelo do Queijo on a shared road is much less penalised than in other locations," Emídio Gomes considered at the time.

The Porto metrobus will be a hydrogen-powered bus service connecting Casa da Música to Praça do Império and Anémona (in the second phase), with travel times of 12 and 17 minutes, respectively, representing a total investment of €76 million, financed by the Recovery and Resilience Plan, the Environmental Fund, and the State Budget.