Five electric buses have entered service on the Albufeira Giro bus network. This is on a test basis ahead of a total of 23 electric buses due to be in service by June 2023 to replace and augment the existing diesel fleet.

On 1st December the number of routes on the system will increase from five to 11. Details of actual routes and of course timetables are not yet known, but new areas to be covered will include Olhos de Água, Rocha Baixinha, Malhada Velha, Fontainhas, Cerros Altos, Mosqueira, Patroves, Galé/Salgados, Vale Parra, Guia e Algarve Shopping.

Which on face of it will please residents of Olhos de Água in particular, who have long since been moaning about their poor bus service and even more so over the last couple of years since most weekend buses operated by EVA and VAMUS were discontinued.

And to be able to get a bus to Algarve Shopping should please a lot of people!

https://www.cm-albufeira.pt/content/municipio-de-albufeira-e-o-unico-nivel-nacional-com-autocarros-100-eletricos?fbclid=IwAR1SYLPG8e1sUSrLbDXfqV6DbPd-rzbMNZJi9x8QdWYPa-XLoezgSJmFREM" rel="nofollow - https://www.cm-albufeira.pt/content/municipio-de-albufeira-e-o-unico-nivel-nacional-com-autocarros-100-eletricos?fbclid=IwAR1SYLPG8e1sUSrLbDXfqV6DbPd-rzbMNZJi9x8QdWYPa-XLoezgSJmFREM some pictures at the bottom.

I should have course have said that it is quite likely the fares will go up, after no increase for several years though. Free travel for schoolchildren will be maintained.

Another report says that, in time, it will be possible to recharge passes on line and that there will be a real time app to show where the bus is, which is already the case with VAMUS or most of them anyway. Those who are technologically limited will have to stand and wait, in hope, as has been the case for 150 years.

The new operator for the Giro service will be Grupo Barraqueiro, who operate among other things the Fertagus local trains in Lisbon, the Metro sul do Tejo tram system south of the river, the local buses around Évora, many buses around Lisbon and who are major players in the Rede Expressos national coach system.

[As an aside, I think everyone over age 10 should be given a smartphone by the government. That way they cannot be said to be discriminating when it comes to providing services.]

A thought occurs (yes, dangerous I know) that with 11 Giro routes, will there be room for them all to congregate at the main bus station as the five existing routes do? Or will some have to begin and end their journeys elsewhere in town?

Maybe we shall find out before the time comes.

There is still no information available about the changes to the buses due to come into effect on 1st December. This will be no surprise to those who live here!

A new official website http://www.vamusalgarve.pt/giro" rel="nofollow - www.vamusalgarve.pt/giro is under construction. At the moment it has partial information about the five existing routes including route maps marking all the stops.  Using the map and the 'origin / destination' function under Lines (American English, yuk!) you can see the times of the buses between any two stops. You do of course need to be able to read a map to you can find out where you are and where you want to go to. The 'plan your journey' function is not yet working.

Still no details about new routes and times. Good PR is clearly still not relevant. What I have found out is that fares will not be going up and that I think there will be no changes to the existing five routes, except they will have numbers as well as names. Also the website and app now enables you to see how far away the next bus is from the stop you are waiting at.

VAMUS have advised those with passes for the number 8 route to Rocha Baixinha and the 75 through Galé and Salgados that they must obtain new ones at the bus station.

Seen that but now the VAMUS website has the times and maps for the new system. it didn't until yesterday!

I am working hard to update my pages. Fares are going up - a lot! Good news is that my seniors pass won't be going up. Some routes will have fewer buses at the weekend.

new route map - https://vamusalgarve.pt/#/pt/albufeira/pre-purchase-fares" rel="nofollow - https://vamusalgarve.pt/#/pt/albufeira/pre-purchase-fares click mapa rede

new (simplified) timetables - https://vamusalgarve.pt/#/pt/albufeira/schedules" rel="nofollow - https://vamusalgarve.pt/#/pt/albufeira/schedules

I think I have now managed to decipher the new network. The map looks like a bowl of multi-coloured spaghetti that has been dropped on the floor. Almost everyone, myself included, is going to have to work out how to make their customary journeys in a new way.

My best efforts so far are at http://www.algarvebus.info/albufeira_giro_all.htm" rel="nofollow - http://www.algarvebus.info/albufeira_giro_all.htm

I shall continue to check and add more information as and when I can.

There is no advice or warning posted on the buses or at the bus station so it will not surprise me at all if many are caught out on Thursday and Friday.

I have never seen CM-Albufeira being `friendly` towards tourists ... and this latest trick appears decidely unfriendly .. opposite to likes of Balneario Camboriu in Brazil, where they do everything possible for tourism.

Another corker is that the Red does not appear to go to Liberdade after Camping but heads straight up to Pateo .. then Patroves ... Marina .. and back via Liberdade. If so, people at Camping will have to cross the busy main road and get the Laranja into Old Town ... so many ideas inconsistent with good practice... and safety.

There will indeed no longer be a direct link between the Oura end of town and the Rua Alves Correeia end of the old town. The two main circular routes at Oura (numbers 2 and 4) will be going to and from Avenida da Liberdade. The only bus going down Rua do MFA and into that part of town, including Pau da Bandeira,  will be the number 10, which will run to and from the bus station every 20 minutes. But it does not connect with the 2 and 4 anywhere except at the bus station.

Buses in the Cerro Malpique area will be running in one direction only, down the hill. So anyone wanting to from old town up the hill towards ALDI and LIDL will have to go a very long way around.

And yes the new route 3 will run direct from Camping Albufeira direct via the Dolphins to the marina and back to town via the existing Vermelha 1 route. How many people will want to go from the Camping to the marina? A few journeys a day will divert to run via Páteo and Patroves, down the hill to the marina that way. An even more unlikely journey!

On the plus side it will make a faster link between marina and old town in that direction rather than going through the Cerro Grande area. But to go back to the marina, the map says to take the number 9 up one stop to the Avenida by the traffic lights and change to number 3 there. But, no! The 9 will leave the Avenida at 22 and 52 minutes past, so we can infer arrival at the next stop at say 24 and 54. The number 3 leaves there at 15 and 45, approximately.

Try explaining that to the tourists! In the face of that and the €1,90 cash fare, a 5 minute €4 -5 taxi or uber ride for two people is indeed more attractive.

A few years ago there was a massive upheaval to local routes around Portimão, which didn't last long before it was changed again in face of a huge number of complaints. I can see the same happening here.

The thought also occurs that with eight different routes stopping at the Câmara going in all kinds of different directions that there will be much caos e confusão even tomorrow, let alone Friday!

I can bet 100% that no-one from the Câmara or the bus company will be on hand to help people figure things out

Yes Ferreiras will be better off as the number 5 will go down into the old town Avenida da Liberdade before heading back via the Câmara up to the bus station. Downside will be only one bus an hour at the weekend. The number 5 goes around the area of Ferreiras near the church and school, which will save people a bit of a walk.

I am not sure if the 'obvious' connection from the old town to Ferreiras via the bus station will work unless it's the same bus used, as it arrives 1 minute before the time from the bus station.  Something I would not trust anywhere. Something on the 'to check' list.

There is the option of taking the number 9 from Avenida da Liberdade to the Centro Saúde then walking around the coner (they moved the stops away from the roundabout) and wait 14 minutes for the number 5 to Ferreiras.

Official new map and timetable - http://www.algarvebus.info/PDF/Giro-2022/Giro_5.pdf" rel="nofollow - http://www.algarvebus.info/PDF/Giro-2022/Giro_5.pdf

Guia via Gale, Guia via Shopping, Rocha Baixina and splitting the Laranja. As I said before, this is pure change for the sake of change and ... pure incompetence.

With the black clouds overhead, I took a bus back home after a little walk around the marina. As expected, there is not a shred of information about the new system at any of the four bus stops I either walked past or used.

Don't have a smartphone? Sorry, you are not worthy of our business plan.

There are now small posters and maps (but no timetables) at the bus station but at the stops there is nothing at all about the new system. Some stops still have the old maps on show, there never was a published timetable of course. How can a public transport operation expect to attract passengers if they don't now where and when the buses will run? That was certainly the case on Saturday morning, with the driver on Linha 9 having to deal with questions and complaints because of the lack of information. Not every has a phone in their hand and even those who do probably don't know where to look.

Another thing I noticed was that the timetable is very tight. Despite making only four stops in the 23 minutes of my journey, we only just reached the end stop on time. At busy times (e.g. school times) things could get very out of sync.

As I suspected the new timetables are proving impossible for the drivers to keep. Yesterday afternoon my bus back from Continente to Páteo was 17 minutes late, this morning my bus from Páteo to the nearest place I can now to get for the bowls club was 14 minutes late. Not helped by every bus being flagged down at every stop where people are waiting to ask the driver if he or she is going where they want to go and then a minute's debate ensues about which one they should take.

There is NO INFORMATION at all at the bus stops. If you are so unlucky as to not to have access to the website or app, you are clearly not worthy of being transported. Completely unacceptable.

I don't know. I have a seniors pass so no personal experience. The information on the website does not state it explicitly one way or the other.

The new two zone fare system does mean that you cannot use a 1 zone cash paid ticket to go say from Oura to Ferreiras, so that might be complicating things.

If I want to go to Ferreiras or Guia on my pass, I have to pay an extra €1,50 for a two zone pass.

Complete chaos on the system yesterday. In the early morning, my bus was 'only' 8 minutes late when I got on, 11 minutes late when I got off across town. Later in the morning the buses were running 20 - 25 minutes behind schedule and not just on my route. One bus sailed by the stop where I waiting with 3 others, despite two of us signalling. Still no information at bus stops, so people still have to flag down the driver to ask where he or she is going.

 It's clearly not working and I expect changes in the not too distant future.

The principal behind it is sound, but the execution up to Albufeira's usual standards. Get people out of cars and onto buses. Except making it almost as dear for two people to catch a bus to Seismarias as the cost of getting an UBER from door to door isn't the way to do it. The usual complete lack of information is no help either.

Clowns.       

Caught this from the live tracker on their website at 1648 for the arrivals due at the stop at the Health Centre for buses going to the bus station. The timetable says every route 7 runs every 60 minutes.

I think I have the changes sorted but will not load my new versions until I have double checked everything. Should be done early this afternoon. Some changes are for the better, one not so good for me!

These changes were announced on the website yesterday evening, in some cases a week AFTER they had happened.

Routes 2 and 4 will take a curious diversion on weekdays only between the Worms and the Watches, going up the hill to Correeia and the area by Janelas do Mar then back down through Bellavista to the main road. At the weekend they stay on the main road.

Route 3 will now run between Old Town and Marina in both directions

Route 4 will go into the bus station before wandering off up the hill to Vale das Pedras

Route 6 has an earlier first bus every morning to and from Olhos D'Água

Route 7 re-timed five minutes later from Guia towards Algarve Shopping and Albufeira, allowing a decent connection with route 8 from Galé, Salgados and Vale de Parra.

Route 9 extended via Branqueira, Vale Navio, Vale da Azinheira to Patã de Baixo, thus adding those last two places to the network and restoring a decent service at Branqueira. Bad news is that there will now be only one bus an hour along the road through Páteo, meaning I have to figure out a new way to get to the bowls club and must also time my shopping trips a bit more carefully.

Route 10 was announced not run on Sundays, meaning no buses at all down the Rua do MFA into that area of the old town on a Sunday. At least, that's what yesterday's version of the timetable said. As of this morning, the previous timetable has been re-instated, wit h Sunday buses every half hour.

According to the website, the timetable for route 9 is changing again from tomorrow but is nowhere to be seen!

Very hard to keep up!

Three weeks further on and there is still absolutely no information at all at the bus stops about where the buses go and what times they run, or even where to go for the information on line. The old maps have been left in situ. People are still stopping buses to ask if it's the right one for them.

No-one in the town council seems to have any interest in providing information. Scathing comments are all over blogs etc. I found one which said, more or less, that it's all very well taking beautiful photos of electric buses to make the council look good...

If you don't have a suitable mobile device and know where to look, you are clearly unworthy.

At least there have been no further recent changes, but I am sure they will spring something on us.

Announced yesterday afternoon, ALL the Giro bus times have been changed starting from today.

I will be updating as fast as I can.

Two sets of routes were combined to make circular routes, one of which is actually quite reasonable and useful as it officially provides a direct bus service for the first time ever between São Rafael, Galé, Salgados, Vale de Parra and the Algarve Shopping mall near Guia. Many other changes were minor but announcing changes less than 24 hours notice is ridiculous.

Route 7 now runs in a circle Albufeira Bus Station - Algarve Shopping - Guia - Vale de Parra - Salgados - Galé - São Rafael - Marina - Albufeira with route 8 going in the opposite direction. That will make things easier for those in Guia to get to the beach and those in Galé etc to go to Algarve Shopping.

Route 5 and 11 are similarly combined to run as circular routes between Albufeira, Ferreiras and the railway station. Number 11 will take people from the station and Ferreiras down into the old town.

Route 6 around Açoteais is being badly affected by a long term road closure for drainage works. Buses are often 15 - 20 minutes behind time according to the GPS trackers. Vamus has not seen fit to issue a temporary timetable to take account of this.

And there is still not a shred of information at any bus stop or on the buses, not even a clue as to where to look for it. Do they wonder why the buses are running almost empty?

They've done it again! Announced yesterday to come into effect today, 11th February, changes to the timetable for route 5, Bus Station - Ferreiras - Railway Station - Mosqueira - Bus Station. Not minor changes either. All weekend times have been moved by 30 minutes. Seems all complaints about these abrupt changes are being ignored by both the town council and the bus company.

At least what this does do is that over the weekend and on holidays the buses 5 and 11 will leave from the bus station to the reailway station at 0 and 30 minutes past each hour respectively, rather than both at the same time.

A new timetable was also announced for route 9, which goes past my place. I have yet to spot any differences between that and the old one.

New bus shelters are going up also in some places e.g. between Guia and Vale De Parra.

The number 1 towards Vale Navio stopped between the two Corcovada roundabouts last week, instead of the rather dangerous stop on the roundabout itself.

Although the shelter at Beato Vicente is gone, my bus still stopped there.

It is too much to expect the new and changed stops to be included in the maps and on  line timetables. And there is still absolutely no information at any bus stop.

The local branch of the Communist Party of Portugal saying something meaningful!

https://postimages.org/" rel="nofollow">

Operatives are busy around town putting up new bus shelters. Now if only there was information in them about where the buses go and at what times they leave! Yesterday I sat waiting for three minutes at the Avenida Liberdade stop while several women interrogated the driver about which bus to get to various destinations.

The bus stop and shelter at the St Vincent statue have both disappeared, but buses do definitely still stop there.

The 'new' bus shelter at Quinta da Balaia, outside the school, has obviously been re-purposed as it has the OLD MAP IN IT!