“I think that over the next year, and in the years to come, we will see a very significant increase in territories outside metropolitan areas,” explained João Pedro Matos Fernandes, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the ceremony of Metro do Porto's 70 million customers in 2019.

He referred to the Programme for Support for the Densification and Reinforcement of Public Transport Provision (PROTransP), foreseen in the 2020 State Budget and intended for “low density territories where there is a lack of public transport”.

The minister recalled the creation of PART - Tariff Reduction Support Programme, and its implementation since April, which in the case of Metro do Porto has increased demand by 13 percent, noting that “currently it will not be for economic reasons that someone chooses to travel by car".

The official presented PROTransP as an “important complement” to PART.

Matos Fernandes also stressed that "the budget will be larger where there is more individual transport".

According to a preliminary draft of the State Budget (SO) proposal for 2020, the PROTransP programme aims at “decarbonising mobility” and “promoting public transport”, with funding from the Environmental Fund.

According to the document to which Lusa had access, the members responsible for Finance, Environment and Climate Action determine the rules applicable to PROTransP, by order, to be published within 30 days after the publication of the law.

A government source told Lusa that the creation of PROTransP aims to “increase the supply of public transport in inter-municipal communities and low-density territories”.

Among the rules to be determined should be the form of distribution of the value forecast by the inter-municipal communities, taking into account the potential for demand gains for public transport.

The rules for the application of the funds allocated to the programme should also be included, giving priority to measures aimed at strengthening and densifying the supply of public transport in areas where public transport penetration is lowest.