These recommendations are driven by recent surges in fuel prices linked to conflict in the Middle East.

The association believes that cities should have public transportation networks that offer an alternative to private cars.

Zero specifically requests that the new administration of the Lisbon Metro (ML) advance the network’s opening time to 5:30 am, or even 5 am, to provide an earlier public transportation alternative.

Zero emphasises that the current opening time of 6:30 am fails to meet the needs of workers who begin their day earlier in essential sectors such as healthcare, sanitation, logistics, or hospitality, and urges an earlier start time.

Addressing undersupply

It also urges immediate action to address the service undersupply, particularly on the Yellow Line section between Campo Grande and Odivelas on weekdays.

“On weekdays, between 10 am and 4:45 pm, there are, on average, intervals of about 11 minutes between trains on this section—a figure clearly inadequate for an urban metro service during these hours,” the statement notes.

The situation, it argues, is particularly serious on the Yellow Line due to the current operational model, under which trains coming from Rato terminate alternately at Campo Grande, continuing on to Odivelas only on a staggered basis.

“In practice, this means that only half of the trains continuously serve the section to Odivelas,” notes Zero, adding that this model is “unacceptable, as all trains on the Yellow Line should continue to Odivelas, ensuring adequate service levels in an area with about 200,000 residents.”

Fixing the escalators

The association also advises the Metro to “significantly improve the reliability of the escalators and elevators that support people with reduced mobility, in addition to other improvements at the stations, specifically avoiding the early closure of access points.”

“Zero acknowledges that the Lisbon Metro faces real constraints, namely a shortage of train operators, the need for major improvements to the communication and signalling system, and limitations regarding available rolling stock,” the association admits, noting, however, that “these limitations do not fully explain or excuse the problems identified.”

This, it adds, is because the “situations observed are the result of management decisions and the operational models adopted.”

In this context, the environmental association believes that the Metro “has an opportunity to reassess priorities, correct operational failures, and restore service levels consistent with the metro’s public and structural role in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, requiring the government to provide funding commensurate with that mission.”