A collaboration agreement on developing a more sustainable city has been signed between the Portuguese municipal government of Braga, the local public transport operator TUB and the University of Minho.

‘Our ultimate goal is that Braga [becomes] a city where public transport is tailored to the needs of the population,’ said Braga’s Mayor, Ricardo Rio. ‘As the owner of the public transport operator, the municipal government intends to grant it the necessary technical capacity, which this collaboration agreement provides.’

Among the products of this new collaboration will be technical studies carried out by the University of Minho. These will provide the foundations for improvements to Braga’s public transport network and spatial planning.

The university and TUB have been co-operating in the past, generally to improve the institution’s access to rail and bus services, as well as pedestrian safety. The collaboration agreement will enable similar work on a much wider scale.

Mr Rio also noted that the collaboration will boost Braga’s profile as a centre for research on smart and sustainable mobility, showing how different institutions can drive improvements to local mobility and transport together.

Original author: Lewis Macdonald