Tuk tuks banned from hundreds of Lisbon roads from Tuesday
The city council's order establishes a traffic ban on several streets in the parishes of Avenidas Novas, Arroios, Penha de França, São Vicente, Santo António, Misericórdia and Santa Maria Maior.
The circulation and parking of “tuk tuks” will have restricted zones from Tuesday in Lisbon, with a ban on entering 337 streets in the capital, following an order from the City Council.
The city council’s order, signed in February, establishes a traffic ban on several streets in the parishes of Avenidas Novas, Arroios, Penha de França, São Vicente, Santo António, Misericórdia and Santa Maria Maior and indicates areas for them to stop and park.
In a statement released late Monday afternoon, Lisbon City Council said that the main parishes affected by this measure are Santa Maria Maior, Arroios, Penha de França and São Vicente.
Quoted in the statement, the mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas (PSD), said that “the many excesses” have forced the municipality “to assume zero tolerance for some of the areas that have been heavily massacred with an unregulated presence of this type of vehicle”.
“We argued that the municipality should have other means of controlling the scale of the operation in the city and, specifically, the maximum number of “tuk tuks” that Lisbon can support for circulation, but this step, which is now coming into force, is going in the right direction,” he added.
To enforce the new measures, EMEL – Empresa Municipal de Mobilidade e Estacionamento de Lisboa (Lisbon Municipal Mobility and Parking Company) has reinforced its contingent with 62 inspectors, “who will now support the enforcement actions of the Lisbon Municipal Police, which will lead the operations on the ground”.
Enforcement will be carried out regarding tuk-tuks stopping on the streets, parking, and the prohibition of circulation on 337 roads in the city.
Baixa Pombalina, Encosta do Castelo, Nossa Senhora do Monte, and Belém will be the main areas to be policed.
In July last year it was announced that a new regulation on tourist entertainment vehicles would be created, which aims to limit the places where tuk tuks can park and the number of licences to be granted to this type of vehicle, to regulate the activity in the city.
