It’s called Lisbon Travel and is a web and mobile app that brings together several transport operators from the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (AML)and also bike sharing and bike lanes. Services like Google Maps provide complete directions in the city of Lisbon (for example, from Carris), but lack data on surrounding municipalities (for example, they don’t indicate how to get from Marquês de Pombal to Agualva in a Vimeca bus).
Lisboa Viagem was developed by Transpolisan association formed for the operation and management of multimodal travel information services in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area – which seems to have the same objective as the recently formed Lisbon Metropolitan Transports (TML). After the launch of the mobile application for Android e iOS at the end of 2019, was relaunched earlier this year the site lisboaviagem.ptThis allows access on any computer, but also on the cell phone browser.
Transpolis is associated with CP, Fertagus, TTSL (Transtejo Soflusa), Metro de Lisboa, MTS (Metro Transportes do Sul), Carris, RL (Rodoviária de Lisboa), TCB (Transportes Colectivos do Barreiro), TST (Transportes Sul do Tejo), Vimeca, EMEL and the municipalities of Lisbon, Barreiro and Almada. Therefore, the Lisboa Viagem application is useful essentially in these municipalities and with these transport operators. Note that operators like Vimeca or RL reach municipalities like Sintra or Loures, so Lisboa Viagem can be useful outside Lisbon, Barreiro and Almada.
Lisboa Viagem allows you to get routes between a starting point and a destination but also to know the timetables of each means of transport and operator in one place. There is also an alerts section, which not all transport companies seem to take advantage of, to receive last minute information and route changes. In the mobile version, it is also possible to consult all the transport operators – even if they are not associated with Transpolis – that exist in the entire Lisbon Metropolitan Area.
Lisboa Viagem is a useful application, despite the poor communication around it and the lack of a clear branding when it comes to public transportation in AML. There are, in fact, too many brands: “Viva Viagem” for the disposable cards, “Navegante” for the passes, “Zapping” for the loading platform, there is also “Portal Viva”, “Transpolis”, now “Transportes Metropolitanos de Lisboa”, this “Lisboa Viagem” application, and AML’s own yellowish brand. Each project or entity ends up having its own line of communication, its own site, and there is no clear and perceptible integration from the user’s point of view.
With the emergence of Carris Metropolitana and Transportes Metropolitanos de Lisboawhich will unify a number of road operators under the same umbrellathere may be an opportunity to simplify the communication of public transportation throughout the LMA and the tools available to citizens. Why not a Lisbon Travel style app, but giving directions to all transports in all 18 municipalities?