Auto Viação Feirense was the company selected to operate the regional public transport network of Alto Minho, after winning the third tender opened by the Intermunicipal Community of Alto Minho (CIM Alto Minho). The award was announced by the president of CIM, António Barbosa, during a press conference held in Ponte de Lima.
The contract has a duration of five years and a base price of 30.94 million euros, plus VAT. The company will manage a network composed of 120 bus routes, of which 90 are municipal, 26 intermunicipal and 4 inter-regional, which establish connections beyond the territory of Alto Minho.
The tender documentation provides for an annual production of 2,417,649 commercial kilometres, reflecting the size of the operation. CIM Alto Minho will reorganise and strengthen the existing network through the new concession, increasing territorial coverage and improving connections between the different municipalities in the region.
With this concession, CIM Alto Minho will manage the municipal transport services of the majority of the municipalities in the region, including Arcos de Valdevez, Caminha, Melgaço, Monção, Paredes de Coura, Ponte da Barca, Ponte de Lima, Valença and Vila Nova de Cerveira. Only Viana do Castelo is excluded from this operation, as it already has its own urban transport service, TUVIana.
