A methodological approach in order to support decision-makers when defining Mobility and Transportation Politics

The public transport analysis were made with close contact to the responsible of public transport
operator and analysed at two different scales, one intra-municipality and other at a regional
context.

Inside the municipality, the main users of public transport are students or elderly people. Being a
relatively rural environment, there is an important spread of urban areas. This linked with low
densification levels, brings natural problems to public transport. Also, there predominance for the
use of private transport, and an absence of parking policies, as a result, public transport assumes
a secondary role, in the mobility patterns in the municipality (Figure 6).

Modal Split for home to work trips of workers that work and
live in Alcobaça Municipality

□ 1409 □²⁰⁹

□ 1510

□ 5571

□ 318

□ 3

□ 697

□ 11455

Figure 6 - Modal Split in the Alcobaça Municipality

□ By Walk

□ Bus

□ Train

□ Company Transport

□ Private trasnsport as Driver

□ Private Transport as Passenger

□ Bicycle

□ Others

At a regional level, there is still a good network of mid and long-distance public services,
especially near the coast. The service offered at a municipality scale is reasonable, lacking
however some frequency and better times of journeys to the services offered in the city of
Alcobaça. In fact, the parish of Sao Martinho do Porto has better services than Alcobaça since it
belongs to a different set of services offered by RedeExpressos the public transport operator in
the municipality.

The rail network with a train-station near Alcobaça (“Linha do Oeste”) is an old railroad, with old
vehicles. The central government already stated that by 2006 it will decide on this rail future.
Right now, the service offered is poor and the role it actually has in the mobility system of the
municipality is by now marginal. However, since there are stations in the centre of Caldas da
Rainha and Sao Martinho do Porto, and it seems possible to improve the connections to
Alcobaça and Leiria, there is still some potential associated to this infrastructure.

After the diagnosis, a SWOT based analysis was performed. All the main conclusions and facts
taken form each area analysed were listed in a table, the columns of the table represented the

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