Flixbus – the network of super-cheap bus travel – has won a long-fought case against Rede Nacional de Expressos (RNE) which has been denying it access to the central Lisbon terminal of Sete Rios.
Lisbon’s administrative court has ruled that RNE must cede Flixbus “immediate access” to Sete Rios – upholding Flixbus’ argument on the basis of ‘equality and non-discrimination of other operators’.
There is a proviso, however: access will have to be limited to “capacity available in the terminal” – and this has been one of RNE’s arguments: there is no space available, it argues.
This doesn’t however appear to be likely to hold up for much longer, however.
According to reports, the court has determined that RNE must “indicate the availability of docks and parking, specifying the quantity (effectively) available vs. occupied,” evaluate “each schedule requested by FlixBus, clearly indicating which schedules can be accommodated and which cannot, with objective justification”, and “assign specific stopping times according to the (effectively) available capacity, being able to resort to partial approval, without unjustified overall refusal.”
RNE is further ordered by the court to provide proof that it is doing all of the above within five days of the judgement becoming final.
If not, RNE head people (‘responsible for the execution of the court’s decision’) will each start being charged €92 for each day of delay.
This is a decision that comes after years of pressure: Flixbus presented its first complaint (to the Authority of Mobility and Transports) in 2023. Bizarrely, the complaint was upheld, but RNE continued to cite ‘lack of space available’ to keep Flixbus from using Sete Rios.
In November last year, Flixbus upped the ante with this judicial process (now concluded in its favour), estimating losses for 2024 as standing at €12.5 million.
Source: SIC Notícias
